Las Vegas Crime News Roundup: Prosecutors Drop Gun Charge Against Rapper

Posted on: October 11, 2024, 10:17h. 

Last updated on: October 11, 2024, 10:22h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Popular rapper Lil Baby won’t be put on trial after a gun charge against him was dropped earlier this month.

Lil Baby, whose real name is Dominique Armani Jones, was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. He had the gun at an unnamed Las Vegas Strip property on August 26.

It was tucked into his waistband while he was on the casino floor gambling.

He told Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers he forgot he was carrying the firearm and that he had it with him when he was at a nightclub earlier that night.

He has a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Georgia, but the Georgia permit doesn’t apply to Nevada, police explained.

The charge was dropped on October 1 after prosecutors reviewed the case, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

Jones told LVMPD officers “to just arrest him for the charge and let’s go,” according to an arrest report. He predicted he would “beat the charge.”

Defendant in Cyclist’s Death Incompetent for Trial

A teenager who was arrested for the death of a former California police chief was ruled incompetent to stand trial.

The ruling was announced in Las Vegas court on Wednesday when the defendant, Jesus Ayala, appeared for a competency hearing before Judge Christy Craig, according to Las Vegas TV station KTNV.

Ayala was ordered to report to Lake’s Crossing Center, a psychiatric facility in Sparks, Nev. He may have brain damage, the report added.

Mental health professionals reportedly had been divided over whether Ayala should be put on trial. The trial was scheduled to start on November 12.

Ayala was identified as the driver of the car that struck Andreas “Andy” Probst, 64, on Aug. 14, 2023, near Tenaya Way and Centennial Parkway in Las Vegas.

A passenger, Jzamir Keys was charged with murder, attempted murder, and battery on Sept. 19, 2023. Keys will next appear in court on October 22.

The two teens also were arrested for a burglary and driving into another bicyclist.

The duo allegedly stole at least four cars before they went on the crime spree, authorities said.

Ayala also was charged with attempted murder for a 2023 stabbing. That case is still pending.

“I don’t know why he did this,” Ayala’s mother told KLAS on the day of a court appearance for the death of the police chief. “I don’t know if God can forgive this.”