00:00:05
[Music] This is Edgar Delgado and just seconds ago he fatally shot an innocent man.
00:00:15
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
00:00:22
it's him or not? I don't know. I was with Omar. And is Omar the one that was shooting?
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I don't know. Hispanic. He has a beard. He's light skinned. He's Mexican. What was he wearing last night?
00:00:37
I don't know the shirt, but he's wearing a hat. All units, be advised. We received
00:00:45
reports of a shooting at Hard Rock Casino in at Lake Tahoe. One is reported deceased and the shooter is armed inside
00:00:51
the building. Get on your knees. Get on your knees. All units, we just received an update.
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We got some information that the suspect possibly left in a white Toyota 4Runner
00:01:15
with a Hispanic female adult about Sagal. [Music] Did you know that guy? I did. I just remember we were talking
00:01:25
for like a while, you know, and then that's it. At 2:00 a.m. on March 25th, 2023, Edgar
00:01:31
Delgado enters Hard Rock Casino and meets 32-year-old Omar Garcia, where they spend the next 6 hours together
00:01:38
drinking and having a good time. But by 8:00 a.m., something begins to anger Edgar. The tension rises, an
00:01:47
argument bursts out, and Edgar grabs Garcia. Worst of all, he pulls out a pistol and points it directly at
00:01:54
Garcia's head multiple times. But Garcia resists, knowing his life could end at any time, and physical altercations
00:02:02
ensue. Then, for one last time, Edgar grabs Garcia by the neck and whispers something in his ear to the extent that
00:02:10
Garcia stops resisting. Desperately, Garcia tries to disengage, knowing that this fight is not worth his life. But
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Edgar sees his chance and pulls out his gun before Garcia even has a moment to react. And seconds later,
00:02:26
a single gunshot rings throughout the Hard Rock Casino. Garcia had little to no chance of survival. He was shot
00:02:34
directly in the temple, and every passing second meant a step closer to death. Soon after, panic erupted in the
00:02:40
hotel. Employees and residents scrambled to get a hold of authorities as dozens of 911 calls began pouring in.
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Immediately, a team of 100 officers was put together from multiple police departments and sent to the Hard Rock
00:02:55
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
00:03:02
stairwell now. Important to note is the fact that officers have almost no information on the situation
00:03:16
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
00:03:23
that the Hard Rock Casino is a massive complex with over 670 rooms and that gunman could be hiding anywhere.
00:03:40
Hey, Matt. Ken, Brian's going to take us second floor cuz the stairwells on the outside. Brian
00:03:46
Brian's taking us right here. Second floor. We'll hit our stairwells up. Nice. Ryan,
00:03:57
in an active shooting, officers always need to establish control over the situation the moment they arrive on the
00:04:03
scene. That's why this team immediately moves in to secure the stairwells because they lack security and connect
00:04:10
to several parts of the building, which provides an easy escape route for the shooter. With that said, the shooter's
00:04:15
identity is still unknown, and the officers need to treat everyone they encounter as a potential threat until
00:04:21
confirmed otherwise. Where's your room? Where's your room at? Get back in your room and stay in there.
00:04:29
Okay, clear. Go ahead. Put your baton right here. Stop right there. Stop right there.
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Don't move. Come down here. us. After quickly confirming that these are innocent civilians and not the shooter,
00:04:51
officers can now move towards evacuating them. And you got two coming down. Two coming
00:05:05
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.
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You're good. Keep going all the way down. You're good. Take a deep breath. Paris is on every floor.
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While this team is clearing this part of the stairwells, another team on the casino floor works on securing the crime
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scene and providing life-saving assistance to the victim. No, I'm I ended up here.
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Although emergency services were quick to respond and Garcia was transported out quickly, it was far too late to save
00:05:50
him. He was pronounced dead within minutes. Worst of all, the killer was still on the loose and every second
00:05:56
wasted meant that officers were further away from catching him. and more innocent lives were in danger. That is
00:06:03
why the team on the casino floor immediately starts gathering witness statements to try and figure out exactly
00:06:08
what happened. The first was someone who was able to get a closer look at the crime scene immediately after Garcia was
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shot. Was that the only shell casing you found that was spent? No, the spent ones right here next to
00:06:18
this here. Hold on right there. That's the only spent one you saw. Yeah. The word was that they were struggling.
00:06:29
Yeah. Holding the arm down and then I just got spring. One shot. So, one shot. That's why I
00:06:35
think the guy still alive. Where was he hit? In the stomach. Oh, it was in the head.
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The next witness was a girl that Omar was on a date with just hours before the murder.
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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
00:06:54
it's him or not? I don't know. Okay. I was with Omar and was Omar the one that was shooting.
00:06:59
I don't know. What happened? What happened was I came in here after my work with a man named
00:07:05
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
00:07:21
know he's like close contact with a lot of people in town. Okay. I know that he's very important in town
00:07:28
as a as a person. You know what I mean? Like everyone likes a description though. Does he have a
00:07:32
beard? He has beard. He's light skinned. He's Mexican. What was he wearing last night? What
00:07:37
color shirt? I don't know the shirt, but he's wearing a hat. A backwards hat or black
00:07:44
baseball hat. Okay. Even though this girl was praying that it wasn't who she thought, she does not know yet that it
00:07:50
was in fact Omar who was shot and has even passed away. Although tragic, officers cannot spend
00:07:58
any time on grievances. They have no clue what the killer looks like, what his escape plan is, and who he could
00:08:05
possibly harm next. This is where they begin executing the last step of their response, chasing the shooter down,
00:08:11
which begins with multiple SWAT teams initiating a wide search of the entire building, checking every hall and every
00:08:18
corner. [Music] Keep pushing. Good job. 202. We will be on 49. [Applause] Hey, what's your hand?
00:08:50
Show me your hands. I'm the one who calls you guys. Show me your hands. I've been crying.
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Show me your hands. I've been crying. Turn around. Hispanic guy, beard, gray shirt.
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They're right there. Down here. Down here. Down here. I call you step over here.
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Okay. When I ran into the car, I saw a guy on the floor. Hey, listen to me. Both you.
00:09:19
He's in a hotel somewhere. One time. I know. That's why we're staying. Okay. You guys need to get to the
00:09:24
stairwell. Okay. Sheriff's office, come out now. Is your hands not allowed to come out?
00:09:34
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
00:09:40
out for any reason. Okay. Okay. Do not come out. There's an active shooter right now.
00:09:46
Stay in the room. At this point in time, officers do not have access to any of the CCTV footage,
00:09:52
and it is difficult for them to find out who exactly the man is, let alone where
00:09:56
he went. But getting their hands on this footage should only be a question of time. The security of casinos are often
00:10:02
incredibly high, designed to quickly deescalate dangerous situations like this, as we will come to see later in
00:10:08
this video. The reason for this is part because of a shooting that happened back
00:10:12
in Las Vegas in 2017. Due to the failure of that casino hotel security, they were
00:10:18
forced to pay out over 800 million to the victims of the shooting, ensuring that security would be increased on all
00:10:24
casino hotels, much like this one. Actually, it's very common for hotels, casinos, or other companies to be forced
00:10:31
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claim with Morgan and by visiting www.forthepeople.com/inssanity found in the description. With that
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said, police at Hard Rock Cafe received intel that the suspect likely fled into one of the five apartments nearby on the
00:11:27
first and second floor. Fortunately, this team you just saw cleared out the stairs and hallways, meaning more teams
00:11:33
can rush into these apartments and look for the suspect. Sheriff's office, open the door. Show me
00:11:38
your hands. Keep your hands up. Hey, we had a shooting downstairs. We need to make sure who's in here and
00:11:44
who's not. Okay, go ahead. Step right here. Keep your hands up. Just you two. clear.
00:12:00
I got this one. Hi, Sheriff's Office. Everybody good in here? How many people? Four.
00:12:04
Four. Y'all here? Okay. Can we just check? Make sure everybody's okay. Nobody's hiding.
00:12:08
Awesome. Thank you, ladies. What a day, huh? All right. You want to unlock it? Yeah. Unlock the door. Open it slowly
00:12:28
with your hands up. There you go. No clothes on. All right. So, this thing come on.
00:12:35
Just come on out for a second here. We'll get you some pants. Okay. Anybody else?
00:12:41
Anybody else in there? No. Stand right there. Can I ask what's going on shooting?
00:12:49
Holy it's hot, man. Coming out. [Music] Am I okay to check out? Just go in the room and hang tight.
00:13:01
Although the Fourth Amendment bars officers from warrantless searches under most circumstances, this scenario is an
00:13:07
exception as it is classified as an exigent circumstance. Exigent circumstances exist in situations where
00:13:13
people are in imminent danger, where evidence faces imminent destruction or prior to a suspect's imminent escape,
00:13:20
much like in this active shooting. But even with this privilege, officers need to pick up their pace because only two
00:13:26
of the five apartments on this floor have been searched and the killer could be in any one of them.
00:13:32
Sheriff's office door, you see your hands. Anyone else in there with you? No, just you. Is anybody
00:13:41
hurt in here? No. No. Okay, cool. We got Go and stay in your room. Make sure we got to make sure nobody
00:13:50
hurt. No, I don't see the floor. So, sorry. Thank you. Sheriff's office, open the door.
00:14:05
Okay, let me see your hands. Open the door. Let me see your hands. Thank you. Open the door.
00:14:14
Oh Who else is inside? My son. Clear. We had a shooting incident at the hotel. I need to make sure there's no
00:14:22
suspects in there. Put your hands up. You guys all right? Yeah. How many are in here? Just two of you.
00:14:33
Just me and my son. Yes, sir. Okay. Everybody's accounted for? Yes, sir. Yeah. Even with such extensive manpower, SWAT
00:14:41
is having a difficult time tracking down the killer. But they had one more apartment left. And the individual they
00:14:46
came face to face with was someone who could very well be the killer. Sir, open the door.
00:14:55
Open the door. Finishing this way. Open the door. I'm going to break the door down and come in.
00:14:59
Okay. We're having a shooting. We're checking for people. So, please open the door.
00:15:03
There's me and my son. My son's in the shower right now. Okay. Open the door. You're not doing in
00:15:07
the shower. I understand. Open the door, please. What do you want to do? We're first to make sure everyone is
00:15:15
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.
00:15:23
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.
00:15:29
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.
00:15:33
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
00:15:39
can make sure. Are you looking for somebody? Sir, I'm really trying not to make it
00:15:44
difficult. I'm not trying to make it difficult. You are making it difficult. All I need
00:15:47
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
00:15:51
just need you to open this door. You're not You're not going in there when he's naked in the shower.
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I'm not going in the shower. I just need you to open this door. Then why do you need to open this door?
00:15:58
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
00:16:06
don't know. We're checking every single room. Right. So far, out of all the casinos, out of every room guess that
00:16:11
we've been to, you're the only one that's not open the door. You have problem with caused to come in
00:16:15
here. Refusing to cooperate in an active shooter situation is one of the worst decisions this man could have taken. To
00:16:22
make things worse, he mentions the presence of someone else in the apartment. This is why officers have to
00:16:27
be incredibly careful in dealing with this situation. Because for all they know, behind this door could be someone
00:16:33
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.
00:16:41
Thank you, sir. You're not coming in though. I'm breaking down the door to go in the
00:16:46
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
00:16:50
no reason for it. We've told you four times. We're just checking the room to make sure no one's
00:16:54
in there with a gun. Just let him through. This guy's got a gun. Yeah, in case there's another guy in the
00:16:59
room with one. Please put the gun down. It's down, sir. Okay. It was pointed at me.
00:17:04
It's not pointing down. Jesus Christ. Okay. Do you have ID, sir? I do have ID. I don't.
00:17:12
Okay. Who else besides you and your son? Who else is here? Nobody's here as you see.
00:17:17
Okay. Can I come in and look on the other side of that bed over there? Yes, you can come in and look.
00:17:21
All right. Thank you. Fortunately, the apartment seemed relatively safe for officers to enter,
00:17:27
but the suspect's behavior causes them to think that he might have been in contact with the shooter and need to
00:17:32
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
00:17:37
room. I'm going to wait right here. Can you ask your son to maybe stop shower, put
00:17:41
on towel, and stick his head out so I can verify he's okay? Yep. How you doing, sir?
00:17:46
Good. Good. I'm Sergeant Sor with the sheriff's office. Sorry for the rude awakening. Um, we had an active shooter
00:17:53
on the casino floor. So, we're going room to room making sure everyone's okay. No one was shot. There's no one
00:17:56
that's tried to come in get in your room. Okay. Obviously, it's just you and have you have you apprehended the uh
00:18:05
suspect? Uh, that I do not know yet. Am I leave or not? So, we're asking people to shelter in
00:18:14
place right now. We're fairly pretty close to being done. So, I say give about a half hour call down to the front
00:18:18
desk and ask if it's okay to come on out. A shelter in place is an emergency protocol deployed to protect citizens in
00:18:24
case of an emergency by staying put in safe places like their apartments. Any threats are deterred from being able to
00:18:30
harm individuals. For now though, this man showed no proof of being affiliated with the shooting. So, officers decide
00:18:37
to move on. But even with the five apartments searched, there was no sign of the killer. The only option officers
00:18:42
had left was to begin searching even more rooms on the higher floors. But this would cost them precious time. time
00:18:48
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
00:18:54
is and most importantly where he ran off to. Upstairs, I'm taking her upstairs to look at the
00:19:03
camera. Fortunately, this proves to be a big breakthrough in the case as officers
00:19:09
soon find footage of the man running off from the crime scene. Officers had finally had an image of what the suspect
00:19:15
looked like, and it was soon sent to every single team in the hotel. And not even minutes later, officers get a lead.
00:19:22
A man in the lobby who matches the image exactly. Put your hands up. Get on your knees.
00:19:38
Get on your knees. Get on your knees. You two get the out of the way. You out. Let's get the wall.
00:19:48
Let him get the wall. Get the wall. Burn out this wall. You got him. Where you coming from?
00:19:59
Huh? What room? behind you. I don't know. Hey, get the out of here. Cover down. Look at this.
00:20:14
Yeah. Cop him. [Music] Cross referencing the image to the suspect. The two are almost an exact
00:20:27
match. However, officers are still not entirely certain and need to have a closer look before taking the next step
00:20:33
in arresting him. Hey, I'm take off. Hey, take his cap off. Do you have any tattoos
00:20:49
at uh behind my arm? Take off. Hey, take off his jack now. Take his tatto. Okay. Check
00:21:03
[Applause] [Music] his right. Let me see right here. So this what we're looking for, buddy.
00:21:16
Dude's got similar. So that's why Unfortunately, this turned out to be a dead end. This was not the man that the
00:21:26
officers were looking for and the frustration clearly began to grow. Did you Were you out in the scene
00:21:32
before? We were at the the restaurant and then went their surveillance guys did not know
00:21:38
anything about this when I went up there. Zero. I I gave them a picture when I went up there.
00:21:43
Southside with the gun right now. That's what the last thing they are. That was that was 10 10:15 ago.
00:21:50
Yeah. Nobody. Let's get you out of here. It is around this time that officers make a crucial breakthrough in the case
00:22:05
by digging deeper into CCTV and tracking back the shooters movements. They discover that their man is not a
00:22:11
visitor, but a tenant named Edgar Julian Delgado, who checked into the hotel the
00:22:16
day before with his girlfriend, Savannah Tatapale. Right after the murder, Edgar
00:22:21
is seen rushing to his room and coming out with a handful of bags. Savannah soon joins him and they exit the hotel.
00:22:27
Edgar along with his girlfriend were now on the run. Despite the fast response from police, Edgar was able to escape
00:22:36
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
00:22:42
before he escaped. Immediately after finding out Edgar had escaped, all roads and highways in the state were placed
00:22:49
under heavy monitoring. They were not going to let a murderer escape. And while they waited for Edgar to fall into
00:22:55
their hands, they began interviewing hotel employees to understand the motives behind this murder. Starting
00:23:00
with a security guard who was present at the time of the murder, Robert Bells. And as he and I were finishing the
00:23:06
cigarettes, we heard a loud boom, like a shot. Within 10 seconds, the dispatcher,
00:23:13
who was Santos Nunees, said, "Someone has been shot at center bar." And he relay that information over the
00:23:19
radio. Relay that information over the radio. I heard the information. Okay. I stepped into the center hallway
00:23:27
and proceeded down towards the center bar when I saw rather large man about six 6' 61
00:23:39
walking in my direction. Okay. My thought was this is a guy who just shot someone at the bar because he
00:23:46
seemed a little agitated walking. So I immediately turned around. I I stayed far away enough till he exited to the
00:23:56
left going towards the security podium. That's when I walked out. I had overheard earlier the traffic that a
00:24:03
gunshot somebody had been shot at the bar and that's when I walked over and I saw
00:24:08
a man laying there in a pool of blood at the bar. From what Robert says, the killing
00:24:13
itself was quite a big scene at the center bar. Yet, the response was so slow that Edgar was not only given the
00:24:19
time to escape, but pack his belongings before doing so. To make matters worse, Edgar actually walked in front of the
00:24:26
security podium, the point at which the entirety of the casino security cameras were managed by guards. Security likely
00:24:32
decided that pursuing an armed suspect, especially one responsible for a shooting, was not a wise decision to
00:24:38
make and rather opted to keep tabs on his whereabouts. Regardless, it is unfortunate that Edgar was given enough
00:24:44
time to escape comfortably. At this point, officers move on to the next employee, Noble, who gives more insight
00:24:50
into what the two were talking about before Edgar pulled a gun. Do were you able to hear what kind of conversations
00:24:56
they were having, what they were talking about? Um, not not exactly. I I wasn't really
00:25:01
processing. It was still kind of early for me. It was kind of background noise to me, but
00:25:05
Okay. They were, you know, there. Now, while as they're being loud, was it a loud argument? Were they just being
00:25:12
loud, laughing, joking? It seemed more like just kind of tough buddy stuff, I guess. Um,
00:25:20
more joking. I I would think more. In what way would you describe that? The tough buddy stuff. Comments.
00:25:26
They did mention they were starting it like, "Oh, joking like I could kick your ass. No, you you know, no, you can't
00:25:31
type thing." Okay. Um, and that's when, yeah, they, you know, they started just scuffling up a
00:25:39
little bit. Do you remember who told who, who initiated that type of conversation?
00:25:43
Uh, no. I can I I can say for sure. Friendly banter turning into a murder is something highly unusual. There is a
00:25:52
crucial piece of the puzzle that detectives are missing out on, and the only person who can give it to them is
00:25:57
Edgar himself. But in order to catch him, officers have to be patient. They already know what
00:26:03
his car looks like from the CCTV footage, and checkpoints have been set up on all roads leading to the Hard Rock
00:26:09
Casino. This meant that it was only a matter of time before Edgar fell into their hands. And sure enough, hours
00:26:16
later, Edgar's vehicle would approach one of these checkpoints near Highway 50. There was no escaping anymore, and
00:26:23
officers could finally get the answers they've been so desperately searching for.
00:26:29
Turn around from the edge. No, towards me, man. Edgar, my name is Steve Schultz. Yeah,
00:26:38
it's nice to meet you. What's your last name, Edgar? Delgado Gallardo. Delgado. Gallardo.
00:26:44
Gallardo. Gallardo is my maiden name, so I don't go by a bit too much. So, you go by Edgar
00:26:49
Delgado. Delgado. Got it. Edgar, um, I'm going to want to talk to you back here in the town of
00:26:55
South Lake. Okay, that's fine. So, the the sheriff's department here in California is going
00:27:00
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.
00:27:05
Where are your glasses? I have no idea. They're not being my girlfriend's car. That's your girlfriend's car?
00:27:12
Yeah. Savannah. What's her name? Savannah. Savannah, I understand. Okay. So, I'd
00:27:17
like to meet with you. I'm just going to have my partner take a couple of photographs of you. Um, where did
00:27:22
Krueger Krueger? He is in a battery car for you. I am a Nevada detective. So, I'm from the state
00:27:28
of Nevada where the casinos are. Yeah. You're being um held right now by the California by the Elorado County
00:27:36
Sheriff's Office. Even though Edgar was arrested in California, he'll still be charged under
00:27:41
Nevada law because that's where the crime took place. In fact, California police will need to send Edgar back to
00:27:47
Nevada through a process called extradition. This is required by the extradition clause in article 4 of the
00:27:53
US constitution which states that if someone commits a crime in one state and flees to another, they must be returned
00:27:59
to the state where the crime occurred to face trial. This ensures that Edgar is tried based on laws of the state where
00:28:05
the crime happened. And in Nevada, firstdegree murder results in either life without parole or 50 years with the
00:28:12
possibility of parole after 20. Now, I understand that I can smell that you've had a little bit to drink. Okay.
00:28:18
Yeah, a little bit. So, I'm going to give you I've been drinking since like we got
00:28:22
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
00:28:29
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,
00:28:34
right? You okay? I'm good. All right. I'm good for now. It is chilling to see Edgar act so
00:28:39
nonchalant after taking the life of someone who wished to be friends with him. But this explains several of
00:28:46
Edgar's mannerisms. the slurred speech, the lack of understanding, his stumbling
00:28:51
while escaping from the casino, and most importantly, his sudden impulse to shoot
00:28:56
Garcia. Although aggression to this extent stems from an individual's personal decisions,
00:29:02
alcohol can often act as a catalyst. According to the NIH and WHO, alcohol is the most commonly associated drug with
00:29:10
aggression compared to others that affect body function. This means that Garcia was murdered at the whims of a
00:29:17
twisted drunkard and Edgar needs to give them answers. But before an interview proceeds with him, detectives decide to
00:29:24
interrogate his girlfriend, Savannah, in order to understand Edgar as a person, possibly giving them invaluable evidence
00:29:31
to charge him with murder. Hi, Savannah. Hi, my name is Ken. Nice to meet you. Uh, Jenkins is my last name. Nice to
00:29:39
meet you as well. Um, I'm a detective with Douglas County Sheriff's Office on the Nevada side. Um, I would like to
00:29:46
talk to you about what happened um, over at the Hard Rock that kind of led up to
00:29:52
you being contacted by Elorado County Sheriff's Office from the time that you arrived in Tahoe until the time you left
00:29:58
Tahoe and tell me everything that happened from the beginning to the middle to the end in as much detail as
00:30:02
you can. So, we got here, we went straight to the Hard Rock. We parked in the front. We
00:30:08
walked in, checked in, moved. But um after we checked in, we went and we parked in the parking garage and then we
00:30:15
went to our hotel. We went up to the hotel room and then um we went down to the casino area and
00:30:23
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.
00:30:31
He said he was going to be back in 30 minutes and then I fell asleep on the bathroom floor.
00:30:35
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
00:30:44
happened. And he just he just kept saying, "Um, let's go." I was getting frustrated. I was like, "Why? I'm like,
00:30:53
I'm hung over. I want to sleep. What's going on?" And he just kept saying over and over,
00:30:58
"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,
00:31:06
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
00:31:15
told us they said there's someone with a gun or someone got shot and then he turned around, faced them, put his hands
00:31:21
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,
00:31:27
"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
00:31:34
was being rushed to leave in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, due to Edgar's horrible decisions, she is now
00:31:40
an accomplice in her boyfriend's escape. So, either she tries to defend him and risk being charged as an accomplice in
00:31:47
murder or fess up and answer every question honestly, especially the ones about his past.
00:31:54
How did you meet Edgar? How do you know? Um, we went to high school together and
00:31:58
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
00:32:06
my boss. Okay. He's your boss. Okay. What do you know about him and his history before meeting you?
00:32:13
Nothing. Okay. Don't really know anything. I just know that we went to school together.
00:32:16
Okay. Do you know anything about Edgar, his life, things he may or may not have done in between when you knew him in
00:32:22
high school and then when you knew him as your boss at the Red Room? Okay. Have you guys had, you know, some
00:32:27
couples don't really have the this is my history talk, some do. We have not. You have not had that talk? No. Okay.
00:32:35
For now, the detective believes that Savannah isn't comfortable enough to reveal details and decides to take an
00:32:42
alternative approach. By explaining the trouble she's in and mounting some pressure, there is a chance that crucial
00:32:48
information can be squeezed out of her. You have to understand that um when you know somebody has done something illegal
00:32:56
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
00:33:04
driving him away from the scene, you put yourself in a really bad spot. Okay? Help me help you. Right? I need to know
00:33:11
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?
00:33:17
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
00:33:24
called you in Please Savannah. Be as detailed as you can about what he said to you because I can see him calling you
00:33:29
on the surveillance video. I can see him on the phone. So, what did he say to you?
00:33:33
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
00:33:39
go. Let's go. Okay. So, then he gets up to the room. Be super specific. What is everything
00:33:45
that happened from the time he walked into that room until the time you guys walked out of the room? Tell me
00:33:50
everything. He just said, "Let's go. We need to go." And I kept asking why was going on and
00:33:57
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
00:34:04
go to Mexico." We need to go to Mexico. That's what he said. Okay. So, he said, "We need to go to
00:34:08
Mexico." Okay. The time that he walked into the room. All right. So, you guys get your stuff
00:34:12
together. M boom. He says, "We need to go to Mexico. Keeps telling you we got to go."
00:34:17
You guys leave. Mhm. You walk out to the parking structure. And you're contacted by the police.
00:34:23
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
00:34:30
said to you and then you stopped. I cuz I don't really remember exactly what he said.
00:34:34
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.
00:34:40
Everything was a blur. Okay. Um I I genuinely don't remember. Don't remember. Okay. So, I'm picturing
00:34:48
it in my head cuz I wasn't there, but I don't want to get it wrong. So, when you
00:34:52
say like, can you give me a demonstration of what he did when the police approached? Like, what did he do
00:34:57
body language wise? What did he do? Well, that um he I'm pretty sure he dropped his hat on the ground and he
00:35:05
just like put his hands up. What does his backpack look like? I think it's a Jordan backpack. It's
00:35:11
black. Um, the only other things in the car were my bag, which is green and he had another black duffel bag.
00:35:19
The bag that Savannah mentions contains several of Edgar's items, including the weapon he used to kill Garcia.
00:35:27
The black barrels towards barrels. And then it looks like the mag and the gun are separate.
00:35:32
Side is open. Okay. And there's a magazine with it. Okay. Okay. So, let's watch for trace evidence or
00:35:39
anything on the barrel or anything like that. Got it. It's a 26. So, it's 2:00 26.
00:35:50
Yep. This information is what the detective uses to not only make sure that Savannah
00:35:55
is telling the truth, but to find out whether this murder was premeditated or not.
00:36:00
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
00:36:07
it with him. Okay. I didn't know that he had it when we were like in the casino.
00:36:13
Okay. So, you were not aware of that? No. Does he generally carry it on his person
00:36:16
when you guys go out? No. Have I guess I'm trying to wrap my mind around, you know, sometimes people like
00:36:23
for me for instance, law enforcement, I carry it everywhere I go. Nature of the job, right? Some people only carry it
00:36:29
sometimes if they feel like there might be a problem or they feel threatened or it's a bad environment or something like
00:36:35
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
00:36:40
him all the time. Okay. So he doesn't have it on him all the time. Do you have any idea what would have
00:36:44
prompted him to carry it today? No. When he came back to the room, did you see the gun in his possession?
00:36:51
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
00:36:59
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.
00:37:08
Okay. So you I'm sorry. Say that for me one more time. You saw it when you were leaving
00:37:12
the room and um Yeah. From from the room to the car. Okay. So he stopped and he put it
00:37:18
in a box of some sort. I think it's his gun case. Under normal circumstances, it would not
00:37:24
have been odd for Edgar to carry a weapon. This is because he worked as a security guard in Santa Cruz and due to
00:37:30
the nature of his job, one would expect him to be safety oriented. If this were the case, detectives likely would not
00:37:36
think that the murder was premeditated. However, the reality was that carrying a
00:37:40
weapon was unlike him, as his girlfriend testifies. If anything, this has dug an
00:37:46
even deeper grave for Edgar since there are grounds to charge him with first-degree murder. But Edgar somehow
00:37:52
makes this situation even worse for himself with the interview he gives one of the officers who arrests him. This
00:37:58
would also be where we finally see Edgar's mental state during and after the murder.
00:38:03
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
00:38:07
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
00:38:12
you have a gun and that it's in the car, I think it's important that we have the
00:38:16
conversation. So none of that is like, you know, why don't you tell accountable to me because you didn't
00:38:22
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?
00:38:30
How did this happen? In the long run, I and she knows too, like I know that she's been wanting to do it
00:38:38
for a while. She's been wanting to become like a police officer, you know? Okay.
00:38:44
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,
00:38:50
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
00:38:55
conversation, you can say, "Hey, Steve." Like, I've had I've had family members that are gay members, you know, and like
00:39:01
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
00:39:11
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
00:39:18
that. Immediately, the detective sets up a safe space for Edgar to talk. Considering the fact that he is drunk,
00:39:25
these sort of questioning tactics have an instant effect on him as he begins to open up.
00:39:30
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
00:39:37
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
00:39:43
to like snowboard. I'll teach you how to skate. I'm like, I know the way she is, too. You know,
00:39:50
like I was like, oh, yeah, it's fine. You know, did he do something that made you shoot
00:39:54
him? I don't know. I I I kind of agree. I kind of I just know that one thing. My
00:40:04
next is trying to get out of the parking lot real quick. And I realiz she was asleep the whole night. She was sleep
00:40:11
the whole night. But I wish I wish I was that right, too. Are you an armed security guard when
00:40:17
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
00:40:26
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
00:40:31
happened, what was said, why it happened. Slowly but surely, Edgar begins to crack. The tears begin to flow and his
00:40:40
consciousness starts to catch up to his actions. This seems like from what you described
00:40:46
it kind of spur the moment thing. So something happened. I'd like to know what I've been
00:40:59
wanting to say like that. You know react like what? I don't know. How many How many times
00:41:07
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
00:41:12
any of that. I just remember talking to someone about snowboarding. I remember talking to someone about skiing. And I
00:41:19
just remember like leaving like, you know, Tony Rush. And I just remember a bunch of AR pointed everywhere.
00:41:27
And I remember like earlier like in in the night like once we got here cuz like we we headed out of crew like
00:41:36
pretty late. We head out like probably like at 9, you know. Mhm. S is like 4 hours away. 4 hours and
00:41:43
halfway. Mhm. And my girlfriend was the one driving me like look at the miles in the car. you know.
00:41:51
Okay. Okay. I it up again. How did How did you meet this guy? Just talking to the bar something there.
00:42:02
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
00:42:11
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
00:42:17
California, you know? You can't you can't serve alcohol after 2:00 a.m. Mhm. Yeah. I'm aware of that.
00:42:22
And I was like, "All right." Like, I mean, it's the matter. Like, I've never experienced that. I've never experienced
00:42:26
Vegas. I never experience any of that. Like, it would be nice to experience that like for once.
00:42:32
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
00:42:40
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?
00:42:48
I decided to go back down and I don't know what happened. I just remember it being like
00:42:56
pissed after like now like I remember I was just leaving out of nowhere. You always carry your gun with you.
00:43:10
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
00:43:17
hates the fact that like there's a gun in the household. I've never been raised with the firearm
00:43:25
like that. With no plausible reason for his actions, there was no escape for Edgar. His actions were downright
00:43:32
horrible and nothing more than him doing whatever he felt in the spur of the moment. Edgar's girlfriend, Savannah,
00:43:39
went on to admit to the destruction of evidence as she lied about the presence of a gun when the two were arrested. She
00:43:45
was granted a suspended 364day jail sentence. As for Edgar, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and faced
00:43:54
additional charges for the use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to a maximum of 55