LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A judge sentenced a man, who shot and killed another man inside a Las Vegas nightclub in 2017, to a minimum of 40 years in prison, meaning he will be in his 70s before his first possible release.
District Court Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Joel Nuno-Cruz, 31, to 40-100 years in prison, which was the stipulation of his plea deal. Nuno-Cruz took the deal in June. As part of the deal, prosecutors said they would no longer seek the death penalty.
Metro police arrested Nuno-Cruz in January 2017 for the shooting death of Alberto Sanchez-Delatorre at the OK Corral Bar and Nightclub in the east valley. Police found Nuno-Cruz after an hours-long manhunt near East Charleston and Hollywood Boulevard.
In addition to Sanchez-Delatorre’s murder, prosecutors charged Nuno-Cruz with several violent robberies.
Nuno-Cruz was on a date with a woman before the shooting. Police said the woman told them that when she and Cruz returned to their table from the dance floor, Sanchez-Delatorre was sitting in Nuno-Cruz’s chair.
Nuno-Cruz then left the bar, but returned, walked back inside and shot and killed Sanchez-Delatorre, police said. He also injured a waitress who was hit by a stray bullet.
Nuno-Cruz denied his involvement in a jailhouse interview in 2017.
Metro police have referred to Nuno-Cruz by that last name. He is also known as “Joel Nunez Cruz” and “Joel Nunoz,” according to records.
