Police Hunt Down The Hard Rock Casino Shooter

[Music]. This is Edgar Delgado and just seconds. ago he fatally shot an innocent man. Were you with the what happened this? I don't know who is the man who's shot. Can you tell me the name so I know if. it's him or not? I don't know. I was with Omar. And is Omar the one that was shooting? I don't know. Hispanic.

He has a beard. He's light skinned. He's. Mexican. What was he wearing last night? I don't know the shirt, but he's wearing. a hat. All units, be advised. We received. reports of a shooting at Hard Rock. Casino in at Lake Tahoe. One is reported. deceased and the shooter is armed inside. the building.

Get on your knees. Get on your knees. All units, we just received an update. We got some information that the suspect. possibly left in a white Toyota 4Runner. with a Hispanic female adult about. Sagal. [Music]. Did you know that guy? I did. I just remember we were talking. for like a while, you know, and then. that's it. At 2:00 a.m. on March 25th, 2023, Edgar.

Delgado enters Hard Rock Casino and. meets 32-year-old Omar Garcia, where. they spend the next 6 hours together. drinking and having a good time. But by 8:00 a.m., something begins to. anger Edgar. The tension rises, an. argument bursts out, and Edgar grabs. Garcia. Worst of all, he pulls out a. pistol and points it directly at. Garcia's head multiple times. But Garcia. resists, knowing his life could end at. any time, and physical altercations.

ensue. Then, for one last time, Edgar. grabs Garcia by the neck and whispers. something in his ear to the extent that. Garcia stops resisting. Desperately, Garcia tries to disengage, knowing that. this fight is not worth his life. But. Edgar sees his chance and pulls out his. gun before Garcia even has a moment to. react. And seconds later, a single gunshot rings throughout the. Hard Rock Casino. Garcia had little to.

no chance of survival. He was shot. directly in the temple, and every. passing second meant a step closer to. death. Soon after, panic erupted in the. hotel. Employees and residents scrambled. to get a hold of authorities as dozens. of 911 calls began pouring in. Immediately, a team of 100 officers was. put together from multiple police. departments and sent to the Hard Rock. Casino and Hotel. Okay, well, let's go. We got to go to. the south stairwell.

Let's go. We're heading to the south. stairwell now. Important. to note is the fact that officers have. almost no information on the situation. itself. All they know is that there was. a shooting and now there is a man lying. dead in front of the bar. They also know. that the Hard Rock Casino is a massive. complex with over 670 rooms and that. gunman could be hiding anywhere.

Hey, Matt. Ken, Brian's going to take us second floor. cuz the stairwells on the outside. Brian. Brian's taking us right here. Second. floor. We'll hit our stairwells up. Nice. Ryan, in an active shooting, officers always.

need to establish control over the. situation the moment they arrive on the. scene. That's why this team immediately. moves in to secure the stairwells. because they lack security and connect. to several parts of the building, which. provides an easy escape route for the. shooter. With that said, the shooter's. identity is still unknown, and the. officers need to treat everyone they. encounter as a potential threat until. confirmed otherwise. Where's your room? Where's your room at? Get back in your room and stay in there. Okay,

clear. Go ahead. Put your baton right. here. Stop right there. Stop right there. Don't move. Come down here. us. After quickly confirming that these are. innocent civilians and not the shooter, officers can now move towards evacuating. them.

And you got two coming down. Two coming. down. Keep your hands up. All the way down. All the way down. All the way down. Hands up. Let's go, boys. Thank you. You're good. Keep going all the way. down. You're good. Take a deep breath. Paris is on every floor. While this team is clearing this part of. the stairwells, another team on the. casino floor works on securing the crime. scene and providing life-saving. assistance to the victim.

No, I'm I ended up. here. Although emergency services were quick. to respond and Garcia was transported. out quickly, it was far too late to save. him. He was pronounced dead within. minutes. Worst of all, the killer was. still on the loose and every second. wasted meant that officers were further. away from catching him. and more.

innocent lives were in danger. That is. why the team on the casino floor. immediately starts gathering witness. statements to try and figure out exactly. what happened. The first was someone who. was able to get a closer look at the. crime scene immediately after Garcia was. shot. Was that the only shell casing you found. that was spent? No, the spent ones right here next to. this here. Hold on. right there. That's the only spent one you saw. Yeah. The word was that they were struggling. Yeah.

Holding the arm down and then I just got. spring. One shot. So, one shot. That's why I. think the guy still alive. Where was he hit? In the stomach. Oh, it was in the head. The next witness was a girl that Omar. was on a date with just hours before the. murder. Hello. Were you with what happened? I don't know who is the man who's shot. Can you tell me the name so I know if. it's him or not? I don't know. Okay. I was with Omar. and was Omar the one that was shooting. I don't know.

What happened? What happened was I came. in here after my work with a man named. Omar. Hispanic. Did he have a beard? What's that? I just met him last week. Two weeks ago. I just met him, but I. know he's like close contact with a lot. of people in town. Okay. I know that he's very important in town. as a as a person. You know what I mean?

Like everyone likes. a description though. Does he have a. beard? He has beard. He's light skinned. He's. Mexican. What was he wearing last night? What. color shirt? I don't know the shirt, but he's wearing. a hat. A backwards hat or black. baseball hat. Okay. Even though this. girl was praying that it wasn't who she. thought, she does not know yet that it. was in fact Omar who was shot and has. even passed away. Although tragic, officers cannot spend. any time on grievances. They have no.

clue what the killer looks like, what. his escape plan is, and who he could. possibly harm next. This is where they. begin executing the last step of their. response, chasing the shooter down, which begins with multiple SWAT teams. initiating a wide search of the entire. building, checking every hall and every. corner. [Music]. Keep pushing.

Good job. 202. We will be on 49. [Applause]. Hey, what's your hand? Show me your hands. I'm the one who calls you guys. Show me your hands. I've been crying. Show me your hands. I've been crying. Turn around. Hispanic guy, beard, gray shirt. They're right there.

Down here. Down here. Down here. I call you. step over here. Okay. When I ran into the car, I saw a guy on. the floor. Hey, listen to me. Both you. He's in a hotel somewhere. One time. I know. That's why we're staying. Okay. You guys need to get to the. stairwell. Okay. Sheriff's office, come out now.

Is your hands not allowed to come out? We thought it was our kids. Our kids are. in the a couple rooms down. You guys. need to stay in this room. Don't come. out for any reason. Okay. Okay. Do not come out. There's an active shooter right now. Stay in the room. At this point in time, officers do not. have access to any of the CCTV footage, and it is difficult for them to find out. who exactly the man is, let alone where. he went. But getting their hands on this. footage should only be a question of. time. The security of casinos are often.

incredibly high, designed to quickly. deescalate dangerous situations like. this, as we will come to see later in. this video. The reason for this is part. because of a shooting that happened back. in Las Vegas in 2017. Due to the failure. of that casino hotel security, they were. forced to pay out over 800 million to. the victims of the shooting, ensuring. that security would be increased on all. casino hotels, much like this one. Actually, it's very common for hotels, casinos, or other companies to be forced.

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stairs and hallways, meaning more teams. can rush into these apartments and look. for the suspect. Sheriff's office, open the door. Show me. your hands. Keep your hands up. Hey, we had a shooting downstairs. We. need to make sure who's in here and. who's not. Okay, go ahead. Step right here. Keep your. hands up. Just you two. clear.

I got this one. Hi, Sheriff's Office. Everybody good in here? How many people? Four. Four. Y'all here? Okay. Can we just check? Make sure. everybody's okay. Nobody's hiding. Awesome. Thank you, ladies. What a day, huh? All right. You want to unlock it? Yeah. Unlock the door. Open it slowly. with your hands up.

There you go. No clothes on. All right. So, this thing come on. Just come on out for a second here. We'll get you some pants. Okay. Anybody else? Anybody else in there? No. Stand right. there. Can I ask what's going on. shooting? Holy it's hot, man. Coming out. [Music]. Am I okay to check out?

Just go in the room and hang tight. Although the Fourth Amendment bars. officers from warrantless searches under. most circumstances, this scenario is an. exception as it is classified as an. exigent circumstance. Exigent. circumstances exist in situations where. people are in imminent danger, where. evidence faces imminent destruction or. prior to a suspect's imminent escape, much like in this active shooting. But. even with this privilege, officers need. to pick up their pace because only two. of the five apartments on this floor. have been searched and the killer could. be in any one of them.

Sheriff's office. door, you see your hands. Anyone else in. there with you? No, just you. Is anybody. hurt in here? No. No. Okay, cool. We got. Go and stay in your room. Make sure we got to make sure nobody. hurt. No, I don't see the floor. So,

sorry. Thank you. Sheriff's office, open the door. Okay, let me see your hands. Open the door. Let me see your hands. Thank you. Open the door. Oh. Who else is inside? My son. Clear. We had a shooting incident at the. hotel. I need to make sure there's no. suspects in there. Put your hands up. You guys all right?

Yeah. How many are in here? Just two of you. Just me and my son. Yes, sir. Okay. Everybody's accounted for? Yes, sir. Yeah. Even with such extensive manpower, SWAT. is having a difficult time tracking down. the killer. But they had one more. apartment left. And the individual they. came face to face with was someone who. could very well be the killer. Sir, open the door. Open the door. Finishing this way. Open the door. I'm going to break the. door down and come in. Okay. We're having a shooting. We're.

checking for people. So, please open the. door. There's me and my son. My son's in the. shower right now. Okay. Open the door. You're not doing in. the shower. I understand. Open the door, please. What do you want to do? We're first to make sure everyone is. okay. Okay. Yes. Did you just turn it on? Yes. It's on. It's on. So, I need you to open the door, sir. But if you're coming in with SWAT gear, like I I've been sleeping. I just. My gun is down and it's holstered. Okay. I just need you to open the door so I.

can talk to you here. I got to make sure. everyone's okay that's inside the room. Okay. We had an active shooter on the. casino floor. Everyone's okay in here. Okay. I need you to open the door so we. can make sure. Are you looking for somebody? Sir, I'm really trying not to make it. difficult. I'm not trying to make it difficult. You are making it difficult. All I need. is you to open the door. You're not. going to break down that door. I'm not going to break down the door. I. just need you to open this door. You're not You're not going in there. when he's naked in the shower. I'm not going in the shower. I just need. you to open this door. Then why do you need to open this door? You're not telling me much. Do you have.

some money? We don't know. We had an. active shooter on the the floor. So, we. don't know. We're checking every single. room. Right. So far, out of all the. casinos, out of every room guess that. we've been to, you're the only one. that's not open the door. You have problem with caused to come in. here. Refusing to cooperate in an active. shooter situation is one of the worst. decisions this man could have taken. To. make things worse, he mentions the. presence of someone else in the. apartment. This is why officers have to. be incredibly careful in dealing with. this situation. Because for all they.

know, behind this door could be someone. ready to shoot at them. I'll wait. If. you want me to wait till your son gets. out of the shower so I can talk to him. Thank you, sir. You're not coming in though. I'm. breaking down the door to go in the. shower. I'm not going to break down the door to. go into the shower. Okay. It's my kid. He's in the shower. There's. no reason for it. We've told you four times. We're just. checking the room to make sure no one's. in there with a gun. Just let him. through. This guy's got a gun. Yeah, in case there's another guy in the. room with one.

Please put the gun down. It's down, sir. Okay. It was pointed at me. It's not pointing down. Jesus Christ. Okay. Do you have ID, sir? I do have ID. I don't. Okay. Who else besides you and your son? Who else is here? Nobody's here as you see. Okay. Can I come in and look on the. other side of that bed over there? Yes, you can come in and look. All right. Thank you. Fortunately, the apartment seemed. relatively safe for officers to enter, but the suspect's behavior causes them. to think that he might have been in.

contact with the shooter and need to. interview both him and his son. And you're the only two that are in the. room. We are the only two that are in the. room. I'm going to wait right here. Can you. ask your son to maybe stop shower, put. on towel, and stick his head out so I. can verify he's okay? Yep. How you doing, sir? Good. Good. I'm Sergeant Sor with the. sheriff's office. Sorry for the rude. awakening. Um, we had an active shooter. on the casino floor. So, we're going. room to room making sure everyone's. okay. No one was shot. There's no one. that's tried to come in get in your. room. Okay.

Obviously, it's just you and. have you have you apprehended the uh. suspect? Uh, that I do not know yet. Am I leave or not? So, we're asking people to shelter in. place right now. We're fairly pretty. close to being done. So, I say give. about a half hour call down to the front. desk and ask if it's okay to come on. out. A shelter in place is an emergency. protocol deployed to protect citizens in. case of an emergency by staying put in. safe places like their apartments. Any. threats are deterred from being able to.

harm individuals. For now though, this. man showed no proof of being affiliated. with the shooting. So, officers decide. to move on. But even with the five. apartments searched, there was no sign. of the killer. The only option officers. had left was to begin searching even. more rooms on the higher floors. But. this would cost them precious time. time. that they did not have. This is why they. turned to the hotel CCTV footage in. hopes of getting a lead on who the man. is and most importantly where he ran off. to. Upstairs,

I'm taking her upstairs to look at the. camera. Fortunately, this proves to be a big. breakthrough in the case as officers. soon find footage of the man running off. from the crime scene. Officers had. finally had an image of what the suspect. looked like, and it was soon sent to. every single team in the hotel. And not. even minutes later, officers get a lead. A man in the lobby who matches the image. exactly.

Put your hands up. Get on your knees. Get on your knees. Get on your knees. You two get the out of the way. You out. Let's get the wall. Let him get the wall. Get the wall. Burn. out this wall. You got him. Where you coming from? Huh?

What room? behind you. I don't know. Hey, get the out of here. Cover down. Look at this. Yeah. Cop him. [Music]. Cross referencing the image to the. suspect. The two are almost an exact. match. However, officers are still not.

entirely certain and need to have a. closer look before taking the next step. in arresting him. Hey, I'm take off. Hey, take his cap. off. Do you have any tattoos. at. uh behind my arm? Take off. Hey, take off his jack now. Take his tatto. Okay. Check.

[Applause]. [Music]. his right. Let me see right here. So this what we're looking for, buddy. Dude's got similar. So that's why. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a. dead end. This was not the man that the. officers were looking for and the. frustration clearly began to grow.

Did you Were you out in the scene. before? We were at the the restaurant and then. went. their surveillance guys did not know. anything about this when I went up. there. Zero. I I gave them a picture. when I went up there. Southside with the gun. right now. That's what the last thing they are. That was that was 10 10:15 ago. Yeah. Nobody. Let's get you out of here.

It is around this time that officers. make a crucial breakthrough in the case. by digging deeper into CCTV and tracking. back the shooters movements. They. discover that their man is not a. visitor, but a tenant named Edgar Julian. Delgado, who checked into the hotel the. day before with his girlfriend, Savannah. Tatapale. Right after the murder, Edgar. is seen rushing to his room and coming. out with a handful of bags. Savannah. soon joins him and they exit the hotel. Edgar along with his girlfriend were now.

on the run. Despite the fast response. from police, Edgar was able to escape. because no one had a description of the. suspect yet. And as we would later see, he even had a close call with an officer. before he escaped. Immediately after. finding out Edgar had escaped, all roads. and highways in the state were placed. under heavy monitoring. They were not. going to let a murderer escape. And. while they waited for Edgar to fall into. their hands, they began interviewing. hotel employees to understand the. motives behind this murder. Starting.

with a security guard who was present at. the time of the murder, Robert Bells. And as he and I were finishing the. cigarettes, we heard a loud boom, like a. shot. Within 10 seconds, the dispatcher, who was Santos Nunees, said, "Someone. has been shot at center bar.". And he relay that information over the. radio. Relay that information over the radio. I. heard the information. Okay. I stepped into the center hallway. and proceeded down towards the center.

bar. when I saw. rather large man about six 6' 61. walking in my direction. Okay. My thought was this is a guy who just. shot someone at the bar because he. seemed a little agitated walking. So I. immediately turned around. I I stayed. far away enough till he exited to the. left going towards the security podium. That's when I walked out. I had.

overheard earlier the traffic that a. gunshot somebody had been shot at the. bar and that's when I walked over and I. saw. a man laying there in a pool of blood at. the bar. From what Robert says, the killing. itself was quite a big scene at the. center bar. Yet, the response was so. slow that Edgar was not only given the. time to escape, but pack his belongings. before doing so. To make matters worse, Edgar actually walked in front of the. security podium, the point at which the. entirety of the casino security cameras. were managed by guards. Security likely.

decided that pursuing an armed suspect, especially one responsible for a. shooting, was not a wise decision to. make and rather opted to keep tabs on. his whereabouts. Regardless, it is. unfortunate that Edgar was given enough. time to escape comfortably. At this. point, officers move on to the next. employee, Noble, who gives more insight. into what the two were talking about. before Edgar pulled a gun. Do were you. able to hear what kind of conversations. they were having, what they were talking. about? Um, not not exactly. I I wasn't really.

processing. It was still kind of early. for me. It was kind of background noise. to me, but. Okay. They were, you know, there. Now, while as they're being loud, was it. a loud argument? Were they just being. loud, laughing, joking? It seemed more like just kind of tough. buddy stuff, I guess. Um, more joking. I I would think more. In what way would you describe that? The. tough buddy stuff. Comments. They did mention they were starting it. like, "Oh, joking like I could kick your.

ass. No, you you know, no, you can't. type thing.". Okay. Um, and that's when, yeah, they, you. know, they started just scuffling up a. little bit. Do you remember who told who, who. initiated that type of conversation? Uh, no. I can I I can say for sure. Friendly banter turning into a murder is. something highly unusual. There is a. crucial piece of the puzzle that. detectives are missing out on, and the. only person who can give it to them is. Edgar himself. But in order to catch him, officers have.

to be patient. They already know what. his car looks like from the CCTV. footage, and checkpoints have been set. up on all roads leading to the Hard Rock. Casino. This meant that it was only a. matter of time before Edgar fell into. their hands. And sure enough, hours. later, Edgar's vehicle would approach. one of these checkpoints near Highway. 50. There was no escaping anymore, and. officers could finally get the answers. they've been so desperately searching. for. Turn around from the edge. No, towards.

me, man. Edgar, my name is Steve Schultz. Yeah, it's nice to meet you. What's your last. name, Edgar? Delgado Gallardo. Delgado. Gallardo. Gallardo. Gallardo is my maiden name, so I don't. go by a bit too much. So, you go by Edgar. Delgado. Delgado. Got it. Edgar, um, I'm going to want to. talk to you back here in the town of. South Lake. Okay, that's fine. So, the the sheriff's. department here in California is going.

to bring you back so that we might be. able to talk to you. Um, I don't have my glasses, so I can't see. Where are your glasses? I have no idea. They're not being my girlfriend's car. That's your girlfriend's car? Yeah. Savannah. What's her name? Savannah. Savannah, I understand. Okay. So, I'd. like to meet with you. I'm just going to. have my partner take a couple of. photographs of you. Um, where did. Krueger Krueger? He is in a battery car for you. I am a. Nevada detective. So, I'm from the state. of Nevada where the casinos are.

Yeah. You're being um held right now. by the California by the Elorado County. Sheriff's Office. Even though Edgar was arrested in. California, he'll still be charged under. Nevada law because that's where the. crime took place. In fact, California. police will need to send Edgar back to. Nevada through a process called. extradition. This is required by the. extradition clause in article 4 of the. US constitution which states that if. someone commits a crime in one state and. flees to another, they must be returned. to the state where the crime occurred to.

face trial. This ensures that Edgar is. tried based on laws of the state where. the crime happened. And in Nevada, firstdegree murder results in either. life without parole or 50 years with the. possibility of parole after 20. Now, I understand that I can smell that. you've had a little bit to drink. Okay. Yeah, a little bit. So, I'm going to. give you. I've been drinking since like we got. into over there at like what 1:30 and. I'm going drink until like 7:00 a.m. Okay. So, what I want you to do is I. just want you to have a seat in that.

car. We gave you we did you a solid, right? Got you out. Let you take a pee, right? You okay? I'm good. All right. I'm good for now. It is chilling to see Edgar act so. nonchalant after taking the life of. someone who wished to be friends with. him. But this explains several of. Edgar's mannerisms. the slurred speech, the lack of understanding, his stumbling. while escaping from the casino, and most. importantly, his sudden impulse to shoot. Garcia. Although aggression to this extent stems.

from an individual's personal decisions, alcohol can often act as a catalyst. According to the NIH and WHO, alcohol is. the most commonly associated drug with. aggression compared to others that. affect body function. This means that. Garcia was murdered at the whims of a. twisted drunkard and Edgar needs to give. them answers. But before an interview. proceeds with him, detectives decide to. interrogate his girlfriend, Savannah, in. order to understand Edgar as a person, possibly giving them invaluable evidence.

to charge him with murder. Hi, Savannah. Hi, my name is Ken. Nice to meet you. Uh, Jenkins is my last name. Nice to. meet you as well. Um, I'm a detective. with Douglas County Sheriff's Office on. the Nevada side. Um, I would like to. talk to you about what happened um, over. at the Hard Rock that kind of led up to. you being contacted by Elorado County. Sheriff's Office from the time that you. arrived in Tahoe until the time you left. Tahoe and tell me everything that. happened from the beginning to the.

middle to the end in as much detail as. you can. So, we got here, we went straight to the. Hard Rock. We parked in the front. We. walked in, checked in, moved. But um. after we checked in, we went and we. parked in the parking garage and then we. went to our hotel. We went up to the. hotel room and then. um we went down to the casino area and. we had a few drinks and then I was not. feeling well, so we went back up to the. room and I was puking and then he left.

He said he was going to be back in 30. minutes and then I fell asleep on the. bathroom floor. Okay. Um, and then I woke up to him. calling me saying, "Let's go. We need to. leave." And I kept asking him what. happened. And he just he just kept. saying, "Um, let's go." I was getting. frustrated. I was like, "Why? I'm like, I'm hung over. I want to sleep. What's. going on?". And he just kept saying over and over, "Let's go. Let's go. Let's go." And I.

assumed that he had like been gambling. and he lost money and he was mad. Um, and so we we grabbed our stuff and we. went we walked to the car and that's. when we saw cops pulling up and the cops. told us they said there's someone with a. gun or someone got shot and then he. turned around, faced them, put his hands. up and I looked at him. I was like, "What are you doing?" And then I just. said, "Babe, let's go." They just said, "Someone has a gun. Let's go." And so we.

went to the car. It is likely that. Savannah genuinely did not know why she. was being rushed to leave in the heat of. the moment. Unfortunately, due to. Edgar's horrible decisions, she is now. an accomplice in her boyfriend's escape. So, either she tries to defend him and. risk being charged as an accomplice in. murder or fess up and answer every. question honestly, especially the ones. about his past. How did you meet Edgar? How do you know? Um, we went to high school together and. but we didn't we were never really.

talked in high school and then he's um I. started working at a bar. Um, and he is. my boss. Okay. He's your boss. Okay. What do you know about him and his. history before meeting you? Nothing. Okay. Don't really know anything. I just know that we went to school. together. Okay. Do you know anything about Edgar, his life, things he may or may not have. done in between when you knew him in. high school and then when you knew him. as your boss at the Red Room? Okay. Have you guys had, you know, some. couples don't really have the.

this is my history talk, some do. We have not. You have not had that talk? No. Okay. For now, the detective believes that. Savannah isn't comfortable enough to. reveal details and decides to take an. alternative approach. By explaining the. trouble she's in and mounting some. pressure, there is a chance that crucial. information can be squeezed out of her. You have to understand that um when you. know somebody has done something illegal. or or have a suspicion of it or they are. giving you that hint and then if you.

help them escape that's a crime. So by. driving him away from the scene, you put. yourself in a really bad spot. Okay? Help me help you. Right? I need to know. everything. I'm going to be blunt with. you. He shot that guy. I have a video of. it. I watched it with my own eyes. Okay? Cuz you got yourself wrapped up into a. mess. So, let's go back. He calls you at. some point. Take me from the time he. called you in Please Savannah. Be as. detailed as you can about what he said. to you because I can see him calling you. on the surveillance video. I can see him.

on the phone. So, what did he say to you? He said, "Grab the bags. Let's go." And. he just kept saying repeating that over. and over. Grab the bags. Let's go. Let's. go. Let's go. Okay. So, then he gets up to the room. Be super specific. What is everything. that happened from the time he walked. into that room until the time you guys. walked out of the room? Tell me. everything. He just said, "Let's go. We need to go.". And I kept asking why was going on and. he seemed upset, but he just kept. saying, "Let's go. We need to go." He.

also said, "Um, so he said, "We need to. go to Mexico.". We need to go to Mexico. That's what he said. Okay. So, he said, "We need to go to. Mexico.". Okay. The time that he walked into the room. All right. So, you guys get your stuff. together. M boom. He says, "We need to. go to Mexico. Keeps telling you we got. to go.". You guys leave. Mhm. You walk out to the parking structure. And you're contacted by the police. I heard you say that the police. approached and he put his hands up and. turned. and you you started to tell me what he.

said to you and then you stopped. I cuz I don't really remember exactly. what he said. I don't need verbatim. Give me the gist. of what it was that he said to you. I I really don't. I had just woken up. Everything was a blur. Okay. Um. I I genuinely don't remember. Don't remember. Okay. So, I'm picturing. it in my head cuz I wasn't there, but I. don't want to get it wrong. So, when you. say like, can you give me a. demonstration of what he did when the. police approached? Like, what did he do. body language wise? What did he do?

Well, that um he I'm pretty sure he. dropped his hat on the ground and he. just like put his hands up. What does his backpack look like? I think it's a Jordan backpack. It's. black. Um, the only other things in the. car were my bag, which is green and he. had another black duffel bag. The bag that Savannah mentions contains. several of Edgar's items, including the. weapon he used to kill Garcia. The black barrels towards. barrels. And then it looks like the mag.

and the gun are separate. Side is open. Okay. And there's a magazine with it. Okay. Okay. So, let's watch for trace evidence or. anything on the barrel or anything like. that. Got it. It's a 26. So, it's 2:00 26. Yep. This information is what the detective. uses to not only make sure that Savannah. is telling the truth, but to find out. whether this murder was premeditated or. not.

Do you know, Edgar, to carry a firearm. on a regular basis? Did you know he was. carrying a firearm? I knew that he had. it with him. Okay. I didn't know that he had it when we. were like in the casino. Okay. So, you were not aware of that? No. Does he generally carry it on his person. when you guys go out? No. Have I guess I'm trying to wrap my mind. around, you know, sometimes people like. for me for instance, law enforcement, I. carry it everywhere I go. Nature of the. job, right? Some people only carry it. sometimes if they feel like there might.

be a problem or they feel threatened or. it's a bad environment or something like. that and other people carry it all the. time just just in case. Right. I know for a fact he doesn't have it on. him all the time. Okay. So he doesn't have it on him all. the time. Do you have any idea what would have. prompted him to carry it today? No. When he came back to the room, did you. see the gun in his possession? No. I saw it when we were leaving the hotel. room about to go to the car. And where did you see it at? He I think. he put it in his like box. I I don't.

know if it's like a lock a gun case or. what it is. Okay. So you I'm sorry. Say that for me. one more time. You saw it when you were. leaving. the room. and um Yeah. From from the room to the. car. Okay. So. he stopped and he put it. in a box of some sort. I think it's his gun case. Under normal circumstances, it would not. have been odd for Edgar to carry a. weapon. This is because he worked as a. security guard in Santa Cruz and due to.

the nature of his job, one would expect. him to be safety oriented. If this were. the case, detectives likely would not. think that the murder was premeditated. However, the reality was that carrying a. weapon was unlike him, as his girlfriend. testifies. If anything, this has dug an. even deeper grave for Edgar since there. are grounds to charge him with. first-degree murder. But Edgar somehow. makes this situation even worse for. himself with the interview he gives one. of the officers who arrests him. This. would also be where we finally see. Edgar's mental state during and after.

the murder. It's important for you to be able to. tell your side of the story about what. happened back there. And I I I want to. listen to it. I I didn't necessarily. want to do it here in the back of a. police car, but since you mentioned that. you have a gun and that it's in the car, I think it's important that we have the. conversation. So. none of that is like, you know, why don't you tell. accountable to me because you didn't. tell me that before, you know, but all I got to tell you is. like. Why don't you tell me your side of this?

How did this happen? In the long run, I. and she knows too, like. I know that she's been wanting to do it. for a while. She's been wanting to. become like a police officer, you know? Okay. So, we're we're okay talking? Yes. You're willing to talk to me. a little bit. Okay. A little bit. And like I said, anytime you want, Edgar, if I don't if I don't want to talk to. you, that's it. You can say anytime during this. conversation, you can say, "Hey, Steve.". Like, I've had I've had family members. that are gay members, you know, and like.

I know the way it is in the streets. So, I and I understand that that you had. a life, right? I I get that. Um, and. it's it's important for you to get your. side of this out. What happened? why it. happened and I'm willing to listen to. that. Immediately, the detective sets up a. safe space for Edgar to talk. Considering the fact that he is drunk, these sort of questioning tactics have. an instant effect on him as he begins to. open up.

Did you know that guy? I didn't know him. You didn't know him? What happened? I just remember we were talking for like. a while, you know, and then like that's. it. Like I just remember we met up. He. was like, "Oh, like I'll teach you how. to like snowboard. I'll teach. you how to skate. I'm like, I know the way she is, too. You know, like I was like, oh, yeah, it's fine. You know, did he do something that made you shoot. him? I don't know. I I I kind of agree. I.

kind of I just know that one thing. My. next is trying to get out of the parking. lot real quick. And I realiz she was. asleep the whole night. She was sleep. the whole night. But I wish I wish I was. that right, too. Are you an armed security guard when. you're a bouncer or no? No. So, how did why did you have a gun on me. today? You don't know? I appreciate you taking. the time to talk with me. And I think. it's important to just get it out. Tell.

me tell me the whole thing about what. happened, what was said, why it. happened. Slowly but surely, Edgar begins to. crack. The tears begin to flow and his. consciousness starts to catch up to his. actions. This seems like from what you described. it kind of spur the moment thing. So. something happened. I'd like to know. what. I've been. wanting to say like that. You know.

react like what? I don't know. How many How many times. did you shoot this? Can you remember? I don't know. You don't remember? I don't know. I don't I don't remember. any of that. I just remember talking to. someone about snowboarding. I remember. talking to someone about skiing. And I. just remember like leaving like, you. know, Tony Rush. And I just remember a. bunch of AR pointed everywhere. And I remember like earlier like in.

in the night like once we got here cuz. like we we headed out of crew like. pretty late. We head out like probably. like at 9, you know. Mhm. S is like 4 hours away. 4 hours and. halfway. Mhm. And my girlfriend was the one driving me. like. look at the miles in the car. you know. Okay. Okay. I it up again. How did How did you meet this guy? Just.

talking to the bar something there. She's there. Like I I had taken my. girlfriend up to her room to our room. I. had taken her up to our room and she was. like, "You want to stay down there?" And. I was like, "I don't know." Like it's. Nevada. Like they don't have like like. California, you know? You can't you. can't serve alcohol after 2:00 a.m. Mhm. Yeah. I'm aware of that. And I was like, "All right." Like, I. mean, it's the matter. Like, I've never. experienced that. I've never experienced. Vegas. I never experience any of that. Like, it would be nice to experience.

that like for once. Okay. So, then she was like, I was hoping. you're not there cuz she was like. throwing up. She was like like out of. it. Pretty hot. And like cuz like she. was driving the whole night and I was. like, I'll take care of you, you know? I decided to go back down and I don't. know what happened. I just remember it being like. pissed after like now.

like. I remember. I was just leaving out of nowhere. You always carry your gun with you. I don't. You don't? My dad hates it. My mom hates it. Mom. hates the fact that I own a gun. My dad. hates the fact that like. there's a gun in the household. I've never been raised with the firearm. like that. With no plausible reason for. his actions, there was no escape for.

Edgar. His actions were downright. horrible and nothing more than him doing. whatever he felt in the spur of the. moment. Edgar's girlfriend, Savannah, went on to admit to the destruction of. evidence as she lied about the presence. of a gun when the two were arrested. She. was granted a suspended 364day jail. sentence. As for Edgar, he pleaded. guilty to first-degree murder and faced. additional charges for the use of a. deadly weapon. He was sentenced to a. maximum of 55.