LAS VEGAS (TCD) — A 46-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of fatally stabbing another man near a homeless encampment last month, leaving a trail of blood.
According to a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, in the early hours of May 25, officers responded to South Lamb Boulevard, where they found a male victim suffering from an apparent stab wound near a walking trail. Medical personnel pronounced the man, identified by KLAS-TV as Joseph Benavente, deceased at the scene.
Benavente reportedly sustained stab wounds to his neck and arm, and the coroner determined the suspect likely suffered injuries in the attack.
Police identified Elvis Ruvalcaba as a suspect in this case. According to KLAS, investigators recovered blood from the crime scene and interviewed multiple homeless people from around the area.
One witness reportedly told police he was with Ruvalcaba, who also goes by “Rude,” at a trailer known as the “heroin hub.” Ruvalcaba’s girlfriend allegedly told him she saw “a guy on the bike path who had some money, and he’s assaulted her in the past.”
Documents reviewed by KLAS say the witness told police Ruvalcaba left the “heroin hub,” hopped over a wall, and went toward the bike path. The witness reportedly saw Ruvalcaba days later and said he was “hot or on the run.”
KLAS reports another witness told police, “Elvis and his girl had cut the victim’s throat.”
According to KLAS, police noticed a sharp force wound on Ruvalcaba’s hand following his arrest. He reportedly claimed he heard about the stabbing, but he didn’t know anything about it.
Police took Ruvalcaba into custody on May 31, and he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon. Ruvalcaba remains held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on June 17.
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