LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — People stopped by a light pole outside of the Dotty's on Jones Boulevard and Flamingo Road all day on Thursday to leave mementos, candles, and flowers for the slain manager who was well loved by long-term customers.
Police said a robber ran over Alicia Gibellina with a stolen car while she tried to stop the man from escaping with a customer's bag.
"I come here a lot, and I deal with her quite frequently," Joshua Pace-Cruz said.
Pace-Cruz left a bouquet of flowers for Gibellina saying they represent her enduring presence among the customers who loved her.
"She's very much loved in my heart as a person because, you know, she kind of reminded me of my mom in a lot of ways," he said.
RELATED: Suspect ran over manager of Dotty's on Flamingo and Jones, police say
Pace-Cruz said Gibellina's last moments, chasing down a robber for someone else, shows the kind of person she was in life.
"Courageous," he said. "She's kind of a hero, you know?"
Pace-Cruz had a message for Gibellina's family.
"She's got a lot of people out here that care for her, and you guys are not alone," he said.
He says he hopes that Gibellina gets justice for what happened to her.
"I hope that he gets the maximum penalty there is," Pace-Cruz said, "because you're a grown man looking down on a little woman. She was very small and petite, and to flash a weapon on her? Who raised you."
Police have not caught a killer in this case and have asked anyone with information that could help to call the Las Vegas metro homicide department or Crime Stoppers to stay anonymous.
Police said the man fled in a 2012 Mercedes GL5 with Nevada plate 565T77 and it was reported stolen on May 7.
