Clark County DA reacts to stabbing spree suspect, comments on immigration status
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson gave statements on the stabbing spree suspect following his first court appearance Friday afternoon.
For the first time, 32-year-old Yoni Barrios made his court appearance. Police say Barrios stabbed 8 people near the Wynn Thursday morning, two were killed.
His initial court appearance was a bail review that lasted roughly 30 seconds. Bail was denied.
After court District Attorney Steve Wolfson spoke with the media.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Barrios is a Guatemalan National and is living in the U.S. illegally. ICE said he has a criminal record from California.
Wolfson said his citizen status does not change his stance on this case.
“It really doesn’t affect it at all. Whether he is a citizen or not, we are going to proceed based on the evidence of this case so that has no effect at all. I’m not thinking about deportation right now I’m thinking about filing very serious charges, based upon the evidence and based upon what you all know occurred just yesterday,” Wolfson said.
He said on Tuesday Barrios will be arraigned and he will be informed of the charges against him.
When asked if he will seek the death penalty Wolfson said it’s too early to tell. Whether or not they will file intent for the death penalty is a decision they will make within the next 30-60 days.
Wolfson said the Las Vegas Strip remains one of the safest tourist destinations in America.
“These are isolated incidents, these are random, very unusual incidence we have thousands and thousands of people visiting our strip corridor, our casinos, and they enjoy themselves so I don’t think that there should be a fear for the safety we have people out there walking right now. But, we do take this seriously. There is increased police presence so we’re always subscribing to provide the best public safety atmosphere that we can,” Wolfson said.
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