Accused Stateline Casino Murderer Pleads Guilty in Court

Posted on: April 19, 2024, 06:19h. 

Last updated on: April 19, 2024, 09:13h.

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

The California resident who fatally shot a man at Nevada’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe recently entered a guilty plea in the 2023 murder case, according to a news report.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe
Nevada’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe, pictured in 2023. A man arrested for a murder there has pleaded guilty. The hotel has since been renamed. (Image: KOLO)

Edgar Delgado, 25, pleaded guilty this week to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, according to Reno, Nev. TV station KRNV.

Faces Life in Prison

Delgado’s attorney, Thomas Viloria, revealed the plea. The maximum penalty Delgado could face is life in prison. It’s not immediately known when he will be sentenced.

Delgado was arrested for the March 25, 2023 death of Omar Reyes Garcia at a bar at the Stateline, Nev. gaming property, which recently was renamed the Golden Nugget Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino.

Reyes Garcia, 32, was wounded in the head. He later died at Barton Hospital in Lake Tahoe.

The shooting followed a dispute between the two men. Delgado and Garcia first met at the Hard Rock’s Center Bar. At one point, an argument broke out, and Delgado pointed a 9 mm Glock at Garcia three times before shooting him.

Hours after the shooting, Delgado was apprehended on a California highway while a passenger in a Toyota 4Runner driven by his girlfriend, Savannah Raquel Tautaupele, 27. The pair were attempting to flee to Mexico, authorities said.

Tautaupale was charged with driving under the influence and being an accessory after the fact. It’s not immediately clear what happened to her charges.

Because the incident was believed to be an active shooter situation, between 50 and 100 officers arrived at the casino, according to initial estimates.

Casino, Highway Closed

Due to the shooting, portions of the gaming property and Highway 50 in both directions were closed temporarily while police searched for the suspects. Each room at the casino was inspected. Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies evacuated the north and Tahoe Towers of the hotel, and the casino was placed on lockdown while guests were ordered to shelter in place.

Dotty’s Casino in Stateline also was shuttered temporarily because of the shooting.

No one else was injured during the shooting.

In a Twitter post, just hours after the shooting, casino officials announced “The Hard Rock has reopened after an incident this morning. Thank you to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies who skillfully handled the challenge and kept all guests and team members safe.”