Teenager hit with murder charge

Jen Lawson

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murdering a man and wounding his brother during an armed robbery at an apartment complex near Charleston and Nellis boulevards.

Michael Lavelle Scott Jr. is accused of wearing a bandana over his face and attacking a group of four men at the Reid Manor Apartments along with an accomplice the night of Oct. 2.

After allegedly committing seven armed robberies over the next few months, Scott was arrested and charged Feb. 3 with the murder of Raul Melgarejo, 32.

Melgarejo was shot in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun, and when his 28-year-old brother Victor went to help him, Victor was shot in the shoulder with a handgun, police said. Raul Melgarejo died at University Medical Center.

Police said the brothers, along with two other men, were also robbed.

The two attackers then ran down the street to the Alpha Gardens apartment complex and approached a man in the parking lot. The man's 1997 Volkswagen was running and he was standing next to it chatting with a friend.

One of the suspects racked a shotgun and asked "if he (the Volkswagen owner) had a problem," the police report says.

The man and his friend ran, and when they returned they saw that the man's car was still there, but the ignition was off and the key was gone. Police said the suspects probably tried to steal the car but didn't know how to drive a car with manual transmission.

Scott is accused of committing seven other robberies before his arrest Jan. 29 following a robbery at Terrible Herbst on Tropicana Avenue near Eastern Avenue.

His name had been given to homicide detectives in connection with the murder in October, and he agreed to be interviewed.

Scott told detectives he was there when the shooting occurred, but that he didn't shoot anyone, the report says. He said his friend shot the men after the men tried to rob them.

Court paperwork shows Scott's most recent felony delinquent adjudication was June 10 for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

It's becoming more common for juveniles to commit crimes as serious as murder, said Deputy District Attorney Jonathan VanBoskerck, who prosecutes juvenile cases. He won't be handling Scott's case because he is being treated as an adult in the courts.

Nevada law requires anyone 8 or older who is charged with murder or attempted murder to be tried as an adult.

He has had cases in which children as young as 12 have been charged with gun-related crimes, he added.

"It has more to do with our society and the changes in it," he said.