LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man accused of stabbing and killing a man on an RTC bus was released from jail on a similar charge just days earlier and had served more than 20 years in a Texas prison, the 8 News Now Investigators confirmed Monday.
Aaron Cole, 59, was arguing with the victim, identified as Dominique Lucas, 30, on the bus Sunday before the stabbing, police said. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a murder charge.
Ten days earlier, on Feb. 16, Las Vegas Metro police arrested Cole on a charge of assault with the use of a deadly weapon and two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, records showed.
Cole was arrested for allegedly threatening a person on a bus with a knife, sources said.
In 1995, police arrested Cole on a charge of second-degree murder, records said. The charge was reduced to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, records indicated.
Cole served nearly 23 years in prison and was released in 2017, officials in Texas confirmed. Details on the incident were not immediately available.
On Feb. 22, Judge Joseph Sciscento set bail at $3,000, ordering Cole not to have contact with the victim. Cole’s public defender had argued for release on his own recognizance without setting bail, records showed. While the court docket indicated prosecutors asked for $3,000 bail, it was unclear Monday if this was the correct number.
Records showed Cole was released into a pretrial compliance unit on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Cole was released from custody on Thursday, Feb. 23, a Metro spokesperson confirmed. It was unclear if Cole’s Texas records were available to the court before the bail determination.
Within three days, Cole was back in custody.
Cole refused to appear during his first court appearance Monday.
Lucas died from multiple stab wounds. His manner of death was classified as homicide, the coroner’s office said.
