LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man police said shot and killed a man inside a truck on a Las Vegas freeway over the weekend told police the victim threatened him and his family and he “had no choice but to shoot him,” according to documents 8 News Now obtained.
On Sunday, March 2, at around 7:15 a.m., officers with the North Las Vegas Police Department responded to the southbound Interstate 15, north of the Cheyenne Avenue off-ramp, after a man called 911 and said he shot someone inside a truck.
The person calling, later identified as Joseph De Luna, 28, told 911 he was “threatened by someone” and “had no choice but to shoot him,” according to an arrest report. He said they were in a truck on the shoulder of the highway.
De Luna said the victim, who he called his friend, was “deceased,” and De Luna “emptied [his] clip in him” before putting his gun in the center console of the truck.
Arriving officers took De Luna into custody. Police found the victim, who the coroner’s office had not publicly identified as of Monday, in the back seat of the truck with multiple gunshot wounds. Medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
De Luna told detectives at the scene that he was hanging out on Fremont Street with the victim the night before, and the two decided to drive around. De Luna said he was drinking heavily and didn’t remember where they drove, but said the victim told him he worked for a traffic cone company “of some sort,” the report stated.
De Luna said the victim told him he was going to work for him and if he didn’t, the victim “had the capability of hurting [De Luna] and his family,” the report said.
He told police he became concerned for his safety and put on his seatbelt before he reached over and put his truck into park while they drove. De Luna said the brakes locked up, the truck veered to the right shoulder, and they “sideswiped” the barrier bordering the freeway, according to the report.
De Luna said the victim said, “What did you do that for? Now I’m going to hurt you for real,” and began “shifting” his body. De Luna said he thought the victim had a gun, so he shot the victim multiple times, the report stated. De Luna then moved the victim to the back seat and told police he “didn’t know why he did that.”
According to the arrest report, there was no evidence the victim had a gun at the time of the shooting. Police found 12 cartridge cases in the truck.
De Luna said he called his girlfriend and said he killed someone before he called 911 and told the dispatcher.
A family member of the victim told police he was with the victim and De Luna the night before the shooting, and while hanging out, De Luna “began snorting cocaine” and used it throughout the night, the report stated. The family member said they saw De Luna holding his gun at various times throughout the night.
They told police that De Luna confronted the victim about “trying to talk to [De Luna]’s ex-girlfriend” but said the encounter was not violent. He also said De Luna was “acting paranoid” and at one point asked the victim to “punch him in the face,” according to the report.
Police booked De Luna into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center where he was held without bail. He faces a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon and his next court appearance was scheduled for March 4.
