Las Vegas Strip Alleged Stabber Found Competent to Stand Trial on Murder, Terrorism Charges

Posted on: December 25, 2024, 08:58h. 

Last updated on: December 25, 2024, 08:58h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The man accused of multiple slashings that left two people dead and six injured on the Las Vegas Strip is able to stand trial following a two-year stay in a hospital.

Yoni Barrios
Yoni Barrios, pictured above in a Las Vegas courtroom. He’s now competent to stand trial for a stabbing spree. (Image: KSNV)

Yoni Barrios, 34, is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas court on Monday after he was indicted last week on 15 counts for the October 6, 2022 attacks.

A Clark County grand jury added a terrorism charge against Barrios, who’s also facing two counts of murder, as well as battery and attempted murder charges, according to Las Vegas TV station KSNV.

Barrios Received Treatment

Last week, Clark County District Court Judge Christy Craig ruled that Barrios is now competent to stand trial after receiving treatment at a Nevada psychiatric hospital.

Based on the judge’s ruling, Craig concluded that Barrios now understands the charges against him and can assist lawyers in his defense.

The incident began when Barrios went up to street performers appearing to be showgirls. He asked them to pose with him for a photo while he was holding a foot-long kitchen knife near the Wynn Las Vegas. They refused to take a picture.

But he believed them to be making fun of him, and he became angry. He allegedly stabbed two of the performers. He then allegedly stabbed six other people on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Brent Allan Hallett, 47, of Canada, and Maris Mareen DiGiovanni, 30, of Las Vegas, both died from their wounds.

During a court appearance on Friday, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said Barrios chose whom to stab “indiscriminately,” according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

The surviving victims of the attack later said the women weren’t laughing at him, but were frightened of the situation, according to news reports.

Barrios was apprehended by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers after the attacks. He told the police he was residing in California, and was trying to sell knives to earn enough money so he could travel back home, according to KLAS.

Shortly before the stabbings, Barrios attempted to get a janitor’s job at the Wynn Las Vegas, KLAS reported.

After the stabbing spree, he tossed the blood-covered knife into some bushes, police said.

It was reported by the New York Post that Barrios had worked previously as a stripper. He also was identified as an illegal immigrant into the U.S. from Guatemala, the Post reported.

Crime Spree Got Attention

The deadly incident received national attention.

On October 8, 2023, during a well-attended campaign rally in Minden, Nev., Donald Trump called Barrios a “sadistic murderer” who went on a “heinous” stabbing spree.

“The perpetrator was an illegal alien with a criminal record a mile long in California,” Trump added. “But the bloodthirsty killer was unknown to law enforcement because of California’s barbaric sanctuary city policies.”