UPDATE ON FEB. 22: The arrest report for Craig Lattin that detectives assigned to the case were contacted by a local attorney on Feb. 10 on behalf of a client who had information about the case.
The client told police that his friend told him that her friend's boyfriend had robbed and killed a "Mexican" drug dealer, stole his car, drugs and cell phone. In addition, the boyfriend also tried to sell the car to the lawyer's client.
Police then interviewed the man's friend. She told police that Lattin's girlfriend had told her that Lattin came home one night and was covered in blood and confessed to killing the victim.
On Feb. 17, police interviewed the suspect's girlfriend. She told them that Lattin told her that he "robbed and shot the Mexican in the head."
After securing a search warrant, detectives found the drug dealer's cell phone in the apartment occupied by Lattin. He was placed under arrest.
UPDATE FEB. 21: Craig Lattin has been arrested in the death of the man found in the desert in December.
The SWAT team arrested Latin on Feb. 17. He is being held at Clark County Detention Center where he faces charges of murder with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon.
UPDATE DEC. 8, 2016: Due to the information provided to police, they were able to identify him as 25-year-old Carlos Lopez-Perez.
UPDATE: Police have released photos of the man's tattoos in an attempt to identify him, along with a photo of his face.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- Las Vegas police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in the desert Tuesday morning.
Around 7:45 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 11200 block of Gilespie Street, near Starr Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, to investigate a body found in a vacant lot. Arriving officers were met by paramedics from the Clark County Fire Department who pronounced the individual deceased at the scene.
Homicide detectives indicated the victim, an unidentified Hispanic man in his 20s or 30s wearing dark clothing, was likely murdered at a different location and left at the desert area where he was found.
This is the 159th homicide investigated by the LVMPD in 2016. The identity of the victim, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be released by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555.
