July 5 shooting suspects remain in custody with no bail — PHOTOS

On Monday, Oct. 13, the suspects in the July 5 murder case of 22-year-old Joey Perry appeared at the Pahrump Justice Court for their preliminary hearing and were bound over to district court by Justice of the Peace Kirk Vitto.

Carlos Blakely, 19, and Anthony Aguilar, 18, were arrested days after the shooting. Both face one count of open murder with use of a deadly weapon and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, according to charges read out by Judge Vitto on Monday.

During the hearing, Aguilar sat with his attorneys, Josh Tomsheck and Christopher R. Oram. At the other end of the defendant table, Blakely sat with his attorney, Michael A. Troiano. Family members of Perry, Aguilar, and Blakely were present in court.

Senior Deputy District Attorneys Keith Brower and Daniel Young sat at the prosecution table to represent the state.

Recollections of the murder

The fatal shooting of Perry occurred on July 5 at Ian Deutch Memorial Park during a community movie viewing event. A fight broke out but was eventually resolved. A witness reportedly heard “automatic gunfire” and observed a red Chevy Camaro speed away.

That July evening was recounted by three witnesses who were brought in by the prosecution to present evidence. The first person to testify was Chestina Robertson.

“I hear (imitated loud rapid succession bullet fire) gun went off in complete silence,” Robertson said in her testimony. “I thought every one of my kids were dead.”

Robertson confirmed that Perry was dating her daughter but that she knew him for practically his whole life. She cited knowing Perry’s mother for more than 20 years. Robertson said she treated Perry like her own son.

During her testimony, she explained that a fight broke out between Aguilar, Perry and others. Robertson stated that she pulled Aguilar off Perry and restrained him by holding his arms behind his back.

Robertson said she asked Aguilar if he was recklessly trying to get in trouble, pointing out the deputies in the park. Robertson claimed Aguilar told her he was calm multiple times and that she let him go, adding that he ran away with his friends. After this and as she was gathering her children into vehicles, Robertson said a red Camaro pulled up with Blakely in the driver’s seat and Aguilar in the backseat.

“After the shots went off, my daughter says, ‘Mom, Joey got hit,’” Robertson reenacted.

Additional witnesses

The next witnesses who testified to recount the events of that July night were Kory Crossman, Robertson’s fiancé, and Kevin Perry-White.

Perry-White stated that while he is not Joey Perry’s biological brother, they were close and considered him as family.

“Anthony gets out of the car, runs around the car, and shoots and kills Joey,” Perry-White said during his testimony.

During his testimony, Perry-White said that when the suspects pulled up and exited their vehicle, he noticed that Blakely had a gun in his waistband.

The suspects’ attorneys also asked the three witnesses questions about that night for cross-examination, asking them to recap the event in great detail.

The judge’s deliberations

“So, we think we’ve met the burden by slight evidence at this stage,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Daniel Young detailed after a recess. “We would ask the court to bind them over on count one, open murder, and count two, conspiracy to commit murder.”

Blakely’s attorney, Troiano, then asked permission of the judge to speak and tried to make the case why his client should not be bound over to district court, citing that mere presence at the scene of the crime is insufficient to support a conviction.

“Counsel referenced my client having an open firearm. Open carry is legal in the state of Nevada. He did not produce it. He did not use it. He did not threaten anybody with this actual firearm that he’s alleged to have by one of the few people that were here testifying today,” Troiano said.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Young then rebutted by stating that Blakely engaged in more than just mere presence, pointing out that he was involved in the fight and also was the driver of the Camaro.

“So, we have active conduct, not just mere presence, and it meets the definition of conspiracy,” Young countered.

After listening to both sides, Judge Vitto emphasized that a preliminary hearing is not a trial, stating that he wasn’t there to determine guilt or innocence. He did note though that there was enough evidence to take the case to trial.

“It appears to me from the complaint on file herein and from the testimony adduced at this preliminary hearing that the crimes, as alleged, count one, open murder with use of a deadly weapon, and count two, conspiracy to commit murder, have been committed by both defendants,” Vitto explained.

The judge declared that the defendants will be held without bail and that they will be bound over to the Fifth Judicial District Court for arraignment and any future proceedings. Blakely and Aguilar’s next appearance is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com