Hearing set for murder suspect in double shooting

By Dave Toplikar

Monday, March 5, 2012 | 2:55 p.m.

A man accused of shooting two acquaintances in the head in the garage of his North Las Vegas home, killing one of them, will have the evidence in his case reviewed by a judge next month.

A preliminary hearing was set today for Mario Camacho for 9 a.m. April 17 in North Las Vegas Justice Court. A justice of the peace will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to send the matter forward to District Court, where it would be scheduled for a jury trial.

Camacho, 33, is accused of murder with a deadly weapon in the death of Frank Wiest, 18, and of attempted murder in the shooting of Cody Lucas, 20, who is expected to recover from his injuries.

Camacho is charged with the shootings, which occurred Feb. 15 in his home in the 1600 block of Splinter Rock Way, near Tropical Parkway and Camino Eldorado. He is also being charged with kidnapping with a deadly weapon, coercion with a deadly weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, conspiracy to kidnap and use of a minor in producing pornography.

Camacho called 911 after the shooting. He told officers that someone came into his house and shot two people who were his guests, North Las Vegas Police said. Both of the injured men were in critical condition and taken to University Medical Center, where Wiest later died.

Camacho told officers that both men were inside his garage and that he went inside the house to check on his dogs and use the upstairs bathroom, according to a police report. He told officers that while in the bathroom, he heard a bang and then another loud bang. He said he went back downstairs, opened the door to the garage and saw both men had been shot, so he called his wife, who advised him to call 911, police said.

Officers said that an autopsy showed that Wiest was shot at close range in the head.

Police said the next day, a 16-year-old girl came forward and told them she knew Camacho, Lucas and Wiest and had seen the shootings, after having been kidnapped and taken to Camacho’s home.

She told officers she was driving near Tropical Parkway and Commerce, when she saw an orange Chevrolet El Camino that she recognized as belonging to Camacho, police said.

The girl reportedly told police that Camacho was driving and Wiest was in the passenger seat. She said Camacho swerved toward her car, forcing her to hit the curb, police said.

She told police Camacho pulled his car in front of hers to block her path, then another white vehicle also stopped that was occupied by Lucas, two unidentified white males and an unidentified black male.

The girl told police Camacho got out of his car and was armed with two handguns, which he pointed at her head, police said.

One of the men got into the girl’s car, made her move over to the passenger’s side, then all three vehicles drove to Seastrand Park, the girl told police.

She said she didn’t believe she was free to leave, police said. Once at the park, Camacho, still armed with a handgun, went up to the girl and asked her for $50,000 and 16 pounds of marijuana, police said.

The girl told Camacho she didn’t know what he was talking about, police said. Then the group drove her against her will to her home, she told police. She said Camacho forced her to go inside and look for valuables, police said.

The girl said her grandmother, who is legally blind, was inside the house and that Camacho pretended to be the father of a friend of the girl’s to fool her grandmother, the police report said.

The girl said Camacho then forced her to go to his home on Splinter Rock, where he forced her to go upstairs into his bedroom, police said.

The unidentified black male was also in the bedroom and was armed with a handgun, police said.

The report said the black male pointed the gun at the girl’s head and forced her to remove all her clothes. Once she was nude, the black male pointed the gun at her and told her this was how serious they were and if she told anyone anything he would kill her and anyone she ever cared about, police said.

The girl said the man then threw her clothes at her and told her to get dressed, police said. Once she was dressed, Camacho ordered her to go downstairs and into the garage, police said.

In the garage, she was told to sit on a stool, police said. The girl said Camacho, Wiest, Lucas, the two white males and the one black male were all in the garage, police said. She said Camacho had a gun in each hand, police said.

The said Camacho was pointing his guns at the faces of both Lucas and Wiest and was telling them to tell him what had just happened, police said. The girl said she heard a gunshot and saw Lucas fall, police said.. She reportedly told police she saw Wiest put his hands over his ears, then she heard another gunshot and saw Wiest fall.

The girl said Camacho and the other men made her swear not to say anything, then she was allowed to leave, police said.