Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

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Second man charged in fatal Kyle Canyon Road shooting

By Cara McCoy

Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009 | 12:16 p.m.

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Metro Police

Rene Zambada

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A second man is facing charges in connection with the shooting death of a man on the side of Kyle Canyon Road earlier this month after an amended criminal complaint was filed this morning in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Ulises Mendez Rodriguez, 37, died Dec. 9 at University Medical Center from injuries that included several gunshot wounds from a shotgun. Paramedics responded at about 7:20 p.m. to the side of State Route 157, also called Kyle Canyon Road, in an area just west of U.S. 95.

Before he died, Rodriguez told a motorist who stopped to assist him that Rene Zambada was the person who shot him, according to a Metro Police arrest report.

A second man, Edmundo Oliveras, is now facing charges and a warrant was issued today for his arrest.

Oliveras’ brother-in-law, Rene Zambada-Jiminez, 26, was arrested Dec. 10 in connection with Rodriguez’s death.

The two men each are facing charges of murder, robbery and first-degree kidnapping, all with a deadly weapon, along with conspiracy charges related to those crimes.

Police allege Zambada-Jiminez and Oliveras took Rodriguez’s vehicle and several hundred dollars after leaving Rodriguez for dead. Rodriguez had four gunshot wounds to his torso and one to his bicep, authorities said.

Zambada-Jiminez reportedly sold drugs, according to the arrest report.

Oliveras was picked up on outstanding unrelated warrants after an investigation led authorities to suspect the two men. He was interviewed at the Las Vegas city jail on Dec. 10 and, according to his arrest warrant for this case, provided police with details about Rodriguez’s shooting.

Oliveras reportedly told police he had gone to his sister’s house Dec. 9 and that her husband, Zambada-Jiminez, had said that some people wanted to kill Zambada-Jiminez and his family, the warrant says.

Later that day, Rodriguez arrived at the house. Zambada-Jiminez told Oliveras that Rodriguez was among those who wanted his family dead, Oliveras told police.

Zambada-Jiminez then gave Oliveras a shotgun, which he hid underneath his coat, and the three men got into Rodriguez’s vehicle, a silver 1999 Jeep Cherokee, the warrant says.

Oliveras told police that Zambada-Jiminez was driving, with Rodriguez in the passenger seat and himself in the rear seat on the passenger side. He said that during the drive the men were laughing and joking. Oliveras said Zambada-Jiminez stopped the vehicle and Oliveras exited the Jeep, leaving the shotgun on the seat. He said he was facing away from the vehicle, urinating, when he heard two or three shots, according to the report. Oliveras ran back to the car, Zambada-Jiminez got in the driver’s seat and the men drove away, according to the report.

Oliveras told police he believed Rodriguez didn’t know about the gun. He also said Zambada-Jiminez didn’t tell him he was going to kill Rodriguez, the report says.

An arrest report for Zambada-Jiminez indicates that after the shooting, investigators located Rodriguez’s silver Jeep at an apartment complex on Brush Street. They learned that Zambada-Jiminez lived in the same complex and obtained a search warrant for his apartment.

The search of Zambada-Jiminez’s apartment yielded a blue backpack that police said belonged to Rodriguez, as well as a 12-gauge shotgun and shotgun shells that matched shells found at the crime scene.

Zambada-Jiminez was arrested in the area of Boulder Highway and Desert Inn Road. Through a Spanish translator during an interview with police, Zambada-Jiminez told investigators he had killed Rodriguez with the shotgun then taken his vehicle, leaving Rodriguez by the side of the road to die, according to the report.

Police also interviewed Zambada-Jiminez’s wife, who told investigators her husband had told her he had done something “bad,” the report says. The woman told police Zambada-Jiminez and Oliveras, her brother, had driven away with Rodriguez when her husband said they stopped the car. Oliveras then aimed a gun at Rodriguez before Zambada-Jiminez grabbed it and pulled the trigger, she said her husband told her.

The woman also told police her brother had given her $200, which the two men had taken from Rodriguez, according to the report.

Rodriguez used a flashlight he had in his pocket to flag down a passing motorist, who called 911.

Zambada-Jiminez is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for 9 a.m. on Jan. 20. A search of Las Vegas city jail records indicated Oliveras was no longer being held there.

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