Charges in stabbing upgraded to murder upon victim’s death

By Jackie Valley

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 | 2:46 p.m.

Two men charged in a brawl and stabbing July 9 near the Strip now face murder charges following a victim's death seven days after the attack, officials said.

The Clark County district attorney's office issued amended criminal complaints Wednesday against Christopher McIntosh and Jerome Hopkins, both 38, to include murder with use of a deadly weapon, officials said.

They also were charged with battery with a deadly weapon with substantial bodily harm, attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder, authorities said.

Randall Blackwell, 25, died July 16 at University Medical Center from stab wounds suffered during the attack outside the Stage Door, a bar on Audrie Street near Flamingo Road.

The deadly attack followed three other slayings on the Strip during a two-week stretch beginning June 25 when Andres Armando Elena, 21, of Las Vegas, died from a stab wound to the chest during a fight on the pedestrian walkway between New York-New York and MGM Grand.

A second stabbing occurred July 4 outside the Cosmopolitan, leaving Javier Medrano-Padilla dead. Two days later, Utah resident John Massie died from a punch suffered during a fight at O'Sheas.

Whether the July 9 attack qualifies as being on the Strip, however, is a matter of semantics, as the Stage Door is a block shy of Las Vegas Boulevard.

According to arrest reports, a confrontation between the victim and suspects began when Blackwell and his friends arrived at the Stage Door parking lot. Someone in Blackwell's group talked to a woman with the suspects, which sparked a fight, police said.

During the brawl, Blackwell was stabbed in the chest, and his friend, Jeremy Fenney, was stabbed in the left hip, according to arrest reports.

A friend summoned nearby police officers, who witnessed Hopkins striking Blackwell in the chest, police allege in the report. Detectives found the knife on the roof of a nearby business. Witnesses said McIntosh threw the knife as police arrived.

Both suspects denied seeing or using a weapon during the fight, according to the arrest reports.

They are being held in the Clark County Detention Center.