On December 13, 2020, 32-year-old Jacqwan James Rankin was shot and killed inside an apartment in the 4700 block of Deckow Lane in Las Vegas, near Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane. Rankin and 33-year-old Barry Raymond had been at the residence of Raymond’s mother when a loud bang was heard. Raymond’s mother found Rankin slumped in the living room with a gunshot wound to the head; the Clark County Coroner confirmed Rankin died at the scene. Raymond was seen tucking a handgun into his waistband and, according to an arrest report, wrapped a sheet around Rankin’s head after the shooting.

After the shooting, Raymond initially prevented his mother and brother from leaving; they later escaped to a nearby cousin’s apartment while Raymond followed and made statements about the shooting. Raymond returned to the apartment, rifled through Rankin’s pockets, and fled before officers arrived. A police lieutenant said an altercation had occurred, though Raymond’s mother said there had been no arguing beforehand.

After a multi-month investigation, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police identified Barry Raymond as the primary suspect. In March 2021 he was arrested and booked on one count of murder; records show he had been released from a California prison less than a year earlier with prior convictions including attempted murder. Does anyone have information about Rankin’s final hours or the relationship between him and Barry Raymond?