Mark Salazar, a 46-year-old Hispanic man, was found dead in an alley in Las Vegas on April 20, 2018, about 9:20 p.m. His body was located on the 3700 block of Hazelwood Street near Twain Avenue and Swenson Street; he had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooting came a day after his birthday.

Police identified two suspects. Gonzalo Rivera, 42, was arrested April 24, 2018; he gave varying accounts but said another person was the shooter and later admitted his brother had called 911 after witnessing the incident and cleaning the scene. Security footage and further inquiry led to the arrest in early May 2018 of 42-year-old John V. Kelley. Kelley allegedly confessed to firing one shot in a laundry room of a nearby apartment complex during an argument that followed Salazar’s arrival. Rivera told investigators that after the shooting Kelley ordered him to clean up, that they moved the body, and that Rivera took Salazar’s cellphone and a blood-soaked T-shirt.

Both Rivera and Kelley were booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a murder charge.