LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man seen on video footage allegedly killing another with bricks near the north end of the Las Vegas Strip called the victim an “unproductive ant” and a “bum,” reports said.
Officers arrested 36-year-old Tuiofu Sooga on April 1 in connection with the death of Darell Snyder, whose body was found in a vacant lot near Paradise Road and West Sahara Avenue.
According to an arrest report obtained by 8 News Now Investigators, officers were called to the area around 8 a.m. on March 22. When they arrived, police said they found Snyder dead, suffering from extensive head trauma and several large bricks near him. His skull was “broken/fractured in many places,” the report said.
Police said detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the area, which showed Snyder lying in a sleeping bag. Moments later, Sooga appears on video, lies next to him, then allegedly begins stomping on him and throwing bricks at his head, police said.
Metro Police said Sooga was then seen walking away from the scene.
Through additional surveillance, police tracked Sooga’s movements. Around 2 p.m. the same day, he attempted to make a $1.99 purchase using an EBT card at a nearby gas station. The transaction was declined, reports said.
With the help of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, police were able to trace Sooga to an apartment where he had been listed as a guest. On April 1, officers found him standing outside the unit smoking a cigarette. Sooga was arrested and taken into custody, police said.
When detectives showed Sooga photos from the surveillance footage, he admitted he was the person shown in the images, according to the report. He then requested an attorney, and questioning ended; however, as detectives were leaving the room, the report said:
“Sooga stated, not verbatim, ‘lets say someone else did it and it wasn’t me that bashed the head right, that’s an unproductive ant I’m a productive man, I’ve been over job searching for the last three months, so who gives a [explicit] about a [explicit] unproductive ant basically because a lot of that [explicit] up in here, people drugged out, I’m not a drug addict, aren’t you guys tired of that [explicit] they got police over there chasing these bums out.'”
Court records show Sooga is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 5 at 9 a.m.
