LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Police have arrested the brother of an 18-year-old already in custody for a series of drive-by shootings in May, one of which hit a school resource officer, accusing him of taking part in the alleged crime spree.
Adrian Rios, 20, faces charges of attempted murder, assault and other gun-related charges, records showed Friday. Las Vegas Metro police arrested him Monday, records showed. A judge initially set his bail at $10,000, then another judge raised it substantially.
Jessie Rios, his brother, faces charges of attempted murder, battery with the use of a deadly weapon, and two gun-related charges, records showed.
The campus school monitor was shot outside of Ed Von Tobel Middle School on Monday, May 8. The 8 News Now Investigators first reported the man was struck by a stray bullet fired a quarter-mile away.
The employee was standing outside the school when the bullet hit him around 12:30 p.m. near the intersection of Pecos Road and Carey Avenue in northeast Las Vegas. Police suspect Rios fired several rounds near Judson Avenue and Clifford Street, south of the campus, documents said.
In a jail call from Jessie Rios to Adrian Rios on May 9, Adrian Rios reportedly said, “It’s nobody to blame, we [expletive] up,” according to police. Officers said Adrian Rios then alluded to the fact that “he [was] confused why he wasn’t arrested, and then says the police have him and Jessie chasing the suspect,” officers wrote in documents.
Video from a high school showed the brothers leaving campus about 15 minutes before the shooting, police said. Police suspect Adrian Rios was driving while Jessie Rios fired his weapon, documents said.
Before receiving the report of the staff member’s bullet wound, police had responded to a report 15 minutes earlier of a shooting near the Judson and Clifford intersection, documents said. Police found seven cartridge casings but no victims.
Officers also learned two cars were involved in a road-rage incident around the same time as the shooting, documents said. Police later found more spent cartridge casings at a second location near the intersection of Judson and Chrystie Lane, documents said.
On May 10, Judge Rebecca Saxe set Jessie Rios’ bail at $100,000. Prosecutors said Adrian Rios left the state after his brother’s arrest, documents said.
On June 6, Judge Lauren Deifenbach, who was filling in on a pro tem status, set Adrian Rios’ bail at $10,000, saying his brother’s bail was “unacceptable or excessive,” prosecutors said. Adrian Rios’ attorney had argued for the $10,000 number, while prosecutors sought $100,000, records showed.
“We need that protection in the community, but I think the $100,000 was a little bit way too high,” Deifenbach said, according to a transcript of the proceedings. “So I try to get it more affordable.”
On June 8, Judge Harmony Letizia reset Adrian Rios’ bail at $100,000, citing prosecutors’ concerns.
Both brothers remained in custody as of Friday. A bail hearing for Adrian Rios was scheduled for June 13. A status check in Jessie Rios’ case was scheduled for June 22.
