Gilbert Lopez, 46, was shot and killed outside the Blue Bull Bar on Telegraph Street in downtown Carson City on the evening of April 30, 2025. Family remembered him for his laughter and devotion to his children and baby granddaughter; he had been living and working in Carson City for several months. Deputies found him in the street around 9:45 p.m.; investigators determined he had been unarmed and had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shortly after the shooting, Da’lecs Smith called 911 saying he wanted to turn himself in, surrendered at the sheriff’s office, and was charged with open murder. Later arrests included Ernst Waldermar Johnson V on a conspiracy to commit murder charge and Alayns Hotchkiss on charges of being an accessory to a felony and destruction of evidence. The jury trial for Smith began October 13, 2026, and on October 23, 2026 he was found guilty of second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed firearm without a permit; sentencing was pending as of October 2026.

Did anyone in Carson City have information about the night of April 30, 2025, or know Gilbert and what happened at the Blue Bull Bar?