Two LV teens charged with attempted murder

Karen Zekan

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1997 | 10:16 a.m.

Two Las Vegas teenagers have been been accused of kidnapping and raping a 17-year-old boy in a motel parking lot, where he was left in the back of his car after being shot in both eyes with a pellet gun.

James Greco, 18, and Marcos Pasaye, 17, are additionally facing robbery and attempted murder charges in connection with the horrific crime that began about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Metro Police have withheld the names of two other juveniles also taken into custody.

Sgt. Bob Dante of Metro's sexual assault detail said the suspects and the victim live in the same apartment complex near Karen and Eastern avenues where the victim was abducted moments after arriving home from work.

The victim had parked his car in the lot when Pasaye walked up and demanded at gunpoint that he hand over his keys and get into the passenger seat, Dante said.

Greco and the other two suspects also got in the car and Pasaye drove off, heading first to a grocery store where three of the suspects allegedly stole alcohol, then stopped for gas, and forced the victim to go with them to a Strip casino, Dante said.

The car broke down after leaving the casino, and the suspects pushed it into a motel parking lot in the 3700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South. Pasaye then forced the boy at gunpoint to take off his clothes, perform oral sex on him and then raped the boy, Dante said.

The suspects had allegedly covered the car's windows with a tarp before the assault.

"After the assault, the suspect put the handgun (later determined to be a pellet gun) in the victim's mouth and pulled the trigger," Dante said. "The suspect then shot the victim in both eyes. The victim was then choked unconscious and left in the vehicle."

The pellet gun was not loaded but the velocity of each trigger pull was enough to sting the victim, Dante said. Police found the victim in the back of his car. He was later transported to the hospital.

"I've been here one year and this is the most brutal case I've had so far," Dante said. "The victim was only about 90 pounds, and was physically a lot smaller than the suspects ... The victim didn't put up much resistance because he was scared, and he thought it was a regular gun."