A 19-year-old Nevada resident, Joshua Martinez, has confessed to the premeditated murder of a man, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Martinez is facing charges of open murder with a deadly weapon. He reportedly told the police that he had been harboring thoughts of homicide and felt compelled to act on them.
The crime took place in the early hours of February 17, outside a Walgreens store on North Durango Drive in Las Vegas’ Coral Bay neighborhood. A distress call was made to the Fire and Rescue Department around 2:45 a.m., reporting a man in need of assistance who was potentially suicidal and had ingested a large number of pills. The call was subsequently transferred to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the victim, covered in a white sheet and suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, near the steps of the pharmacy. Despite attempts to administer CPR, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
A local resident who witnessed the incident identified Martinez as the shooter. The witness reported being awakened by noises outside his home around 3 a.m. that day. Martinez was arrested shortly thereafter at his residence, where police reportedly found two handguns.
During his interrogation, Martinez allegedly confessed to having murderous thoughts that intensified when he consumed alcohol. He reportedly told the police that he had stolen his parents’ debit card with the intention of withdrawing money, but was unsuccessful due to not knowing the correct PIN.
Martinez claimed that while at the ATM, he became paranoid about a group of men in white who he thought were following him. He returned home to arm himself with two guns and went back to the bank to confront the men. On his way, he encountered a man in a white hoodie.
According to Martinez, he offered to take the man to a nearby hospital, but the man declined, wanting to go to a different hospital. The two men then sat on the steps where the victim was later found. During their conversation, Martinez allegedly confessed his murderous intentions to the man, who reportedly admitted to having similar feelings in the past.
Martinez allegedly told the police that the victim confessed to having once set someone on fire, which triggered Martinez’s decision to kill him. He reportedly offered the man a drink, walked behind him, shot him in the head, and fled the scene.
Martinez is currently being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 4, according to jail records.