LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — An arrest report is shedding light on why a mother and son are facing murder charges in connection to a deadly December shooting.
Marquita Denise Wheeler and Tremaine Gentry face charges of murder with use of a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Sam McCoy and Donald Brown, according to court documents.
The shooting occurred at approximately 9:31 p.m. on Dec. 22 at an apartment complex on Lewis Avenue. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police received multiple calls reporting gunfire and ShotSpotter activations confirmed the incident.
Officers found McCoy in the parking area suffering from gunshot wounds and transported him to Sunrise Hospital, where he later died, according to the report. Police say Brown was found near a dumpster on Lewis Avenue and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the report, video surveillance from the apartment complex showed McCoy and Brown arriving in separate vehicles and getting into a verbal argument with a group of people in a nearby parking area.
The argument escalated when an unknown male wearing a white hooded sweatshirt pushed McCoy, investigators say. McCoy and several males in the group then produced firearms and began shooting at each other.
Brown was not armed during the altercation and appeared to try and break the fight up, police said. They add that Brown was shot multiple times as he tried to flee and eventually fell to the ground.
Investigators later found a white Chevrolet Malibu with numerous bullet holes less than a quarter mile from the shooting scene. Paperwork in Wheeler’s name was found in the vehicle during processing, according to the report.
Cell phone records showed Wheeler’s device used cellular resources consistent with being at the crime scene at the time of the murders, police said. The records also showed her departing after the shooting and eventually traveling to Fresno, California.
Anonymous information received by detectives named Wheeler, her son Teddy, and a male known as “Killer” as suspects in the homicide. Clark County School District records showed Wheeler had a son named Tremaine Gentry whose nickname was “Teddy.”
A Fresno police detective familiar with Gentry identified him from video surveillance of the shooting. Gentry was already wanted in Fresno for robbery and carjacking charges.
The mother and son were extradited back to Las Vegas earlier this week, and faced a judge on Thursday morning. They are due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 29.
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