LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Evidence in the cases against two young men accused of going on a crime spree on the Las Vegas Strip, which left two dead, includes DNA and a jail phone call, where one says he tried to “make money… the dumb way,” prosecutors said in newly filed court documents.
Jesani Carter, 21; and Jordan Ruby, 19, are accused in two homicides, an attempted murder and a robbery from Dec. 30 to Dec. 31, 2021, at several locations.
Grand jury evidence, including several videos and photos, shows how prosecutors believe the pair committed the crimes. Four videos seemingly show the same thing: A silver BMW with a California temporary tag rolling through a parking garage.
One video shows a man getting out of the car inside a garage at the Fashion Show mall and then attacking Clarice Yamaguchi, 66. The man steals her purse and then shoots her as several other cars move through the structure.
Yamaguchi was shot and killed during the attempted robbery in the garage near the Dillard’s entrance. She and her husband came to Las Vegas on Christmas Day, and were on their way into the mall when a man confronted her with a pistol.
Other videos, such as one from a Wynn parking garage the night before, show the car stopping as a woman walks by. One of the suspects then gets out and steals her purse.
The second homicide of the night, which happened in the garage at Palace Station, is not caught on camera. Hyo Sup Um, 60, an employee, was killed in the robbery attempt gone wrong, police said. The video evidence includes a security guard in the garage biking to the scene after hearing gunshots. The same BMW is also shown in the garage seconds later.
About a half-hour later, the pair went into Bally’s to get something to eat, police said. Police said they also have a video of Carter and Ruby getting out of the car, though the video was not in the evidence reviewed by the 8 News Now Investigators.
Attorneys for Carter have asked a judge to re-consider setting bail. A judge ordered both he and Ruby held without bail due to their murder charges.
In documents opposing the two men’s release, prosecutors said Carter’s and Ruby’s DNA were found on several items, including a gun, which was in the BMW. Shell casings and a bullet inside a victim’s body also matched the same gun, prosecutors said.
Police also found several ski masks with Carter’s and Ruby’s DNA, a sweatshirt with Ruby’s DNA and paperwork from a victim in the car, prosecutors said.
In a phone call at the Clark County jail in January 2022, Ruby told his mother “he came to Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve to make money, he just went about it in a dumb manner,” prosecutors said.
“I was trying to make some money… I did it the dumb way, obviously,” a person, who prosecutors identified as Ruby, said in the recording.
In addition, prosecutors allege Carter attacked and robbed a woman in California in March 2021 and also robbed a California jewelry store in October 2021, documents said.
Carter’s attorneys write in court documents that their client should be offered bail and that he “is highly motivated to participate in his defense and return to court to face these charges.”
Carter spoke to the 8 News Now Investigators’ David Charns via video at the Clark County Detention Center shortly after his arrest.
David Charns: So, you’re saying police have the wrong person.
Jesani Carter: For sure. For sure. For sure.
When Carter talked to the 8 News Now Investigators, he said he was the driver. Prosecutors said Ruby told his mother he was the driver. They believe Carter was the gunman in the Wynn and Palace Station incidents and Ruby was the gunman at Fashion Show Mall and the Sahara, documents said.
Attorneys for Ruby have filed a request for a judge to consider dismissing the case.
Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty should the men be found guilty.
Trials for both men were scheduled for 2024.
