LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A judge issued a warrant for a woman accused of giving a man fentanyl, leaving him to die in a Las Vegas hotel room, and stealing his car and debit card to go shopping, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
A Clark County grand jury indicted Cori Lynn Perkins in connection with the overdose death of Ricardo Ortiz on May 1, 2024, according to court documents.
Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese issued the warrant and set bail at $1 million Thursday morning.
Perkins is charged with 15 felony counts, including second-degree murder while failing to render or seek medical assistance for a person injured or killed by the use of a controlled substance, administration of a drug to aid in the commission of a felony, residential burglary, burglary of a motor vehicle, grand larceny auto, theft, five counts of use of a credit or debit card, and four counts of burglary of a business.
Clark County Deputy District Attorney James Puccinelli called the allegations “particularly egregious.”
Ortiz was found stripped naked and dead in a hotel room after a call for service was made about an overdose at the Rio Hotel, according to Puccinelli.
Ortiz’s wallet was emptied, Puccinelli said.
Detectives reviewed surveillance video which showed Ortiz and Perkins entering the hotel room on the 18th floor, Perkins leaving alone, and then entering Ortiz’s mother’s gold Nissan Sentra, according to Puccinelli.
Perkins spent more than $2,000 with Ortiz’s debit card at businesses including Smith’s Grocery, Target, Sprouts, Walmart, and Pizza Hut, according to the indictment.
Perkins confessed to the murder and said she provided the fentanyl for Ortiz to smoke and ingest, according to Puccinelli.
Puccinelli called Perkins a “danger to the community,” as he explained she targets individuals on the Las Vegas Strip to give them fentanyl and then take their belongings, and in the current case, she did not attempt to seek or render medical assistance for the victim.
As of Thursday afternoon, it appeared Perkins was not yet in custody.
If Perkins posts bail after her arrest, she will be required to comply with high-level electronic monitoring.
Perkins has a history in Las Vegas Justice Court, according to records. She pleaded guilty to drug charges in cases in 2013 and 2014 and received no prison time, records show.
