Two charged in slaying of Las Vegas homeless man

By Ana Ley

Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013 | 8:45 p.m.

Two men accused of strangling and beating a homeless man to death, stuffing his body into his own suitcase and dumping it inside a trash bin have been arrested in California, prosecutors said today.

Emilio Arenas, 43, and Peyton Hemingway, 37, were arrested late last month in connection with the slaying of Carl Simon, 50, whose body was discovered on Aug. 12 in an east Las Vegas Valley dumpster. He was found in the fetal position wearing nothing but a ring with an inscription that read “peace” on his pinky finger, and his ankles were bound with black electrical tape.

Simon, who was better known as “Shorty” by friends, had no permanent address but was known to frequent the Budget Suites motel at Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road, according to incident reports released today. Witnesses told police that several days before his body was discovered, Arenas and Hemingway had beaten the victim inside his temporary home because they suspected that Simon took money intended for drugs.

“The beating was so extensive and long that the witnesses elected to leave for several hours,” the reports state.

Among the evidence that police discovered inside the home was a new roll of black electrical tape inside a plastic tub in a bedroom closet. Detectives also found an identification card for Arenas.

The two men were formally linked to the crime after they were identified by witnesses through a photo lineup. The witnesses did not have injuries that made it apparent they’d been involved in the beating, the reports say.

A murder warrant was issued for Arenas on Aug. 16. He was arrested in San Diego on Aug. 28. He waived extradition and was booked at the Clark County jail on Wednesday.

Hemingway was charged with murder Aug. 19 and arrested in Santa Ana, Calif., on Aug. 30. Extradition proceedings were underway to bring Hemingway to Las Vegas, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office said.