Coroner’s office identifies man found dead in LV apartment

David Kihara

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 | 10:03 a.m.

The Clark County coroner's office has identified the man found dead from a gunshot wound in the head on Aug. 8 in an apartment in the 200 block of North Seventh Street as 36-year-old Michael Guarino.

Gilberto Carrillo, 23, was arrested and booked on charges of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with Guarino's death. Carrillo also is charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Carrillo told police officers that a friend shot Guarino and that he was merely the owner of the gun and was in the apartment at the time of the killing, according to a police report.

The friend, whom Carrillo allegedly identified only as a white female named "Haley," told Carrillo that Guarino stole money and two guns from her, according to the police report. Haley then asked Carrillo to help her recover the items, the police report stated.

Carrillo met with Guarino and intended to fight him, but once he saw how big Guarino was, he convinced him to go to his apartment instead, the report stated.

The coroner's office did not release Guarino's weight or height.

According to the police report, Carrillo said three women were in Carrillo's apartment -- including Haley -- when he and Guarino walked inside. The women began arguing with Guarino, and the victim told the women, "Do you know who the ... I am?!" and told them he was a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, the report stated.

The argument continued, Carrillo said. He told police that he heard a gunshot, then watched as Haley dropped a gun to the floor and ran out of the apartment.

Carrillo admitted that the gun belonged to him and that he placed the gun inside his car, the report stated. Carrillo also told a friend, John Rousseau, that he had killed Guarino, the report stated, but only because "Rousseau wouldn't help him (dispose of the body) if it was someone else (who) had killed the victim," according to the report.

Rousseau, who was arrested on Aug. 8 in connection with a stolen vehicle, reportedly told police where to find Guarino's body and that Carrillo asked him to help dispose of it.