LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A man is dead and was stabbed about 36 minutes after he originally called 911 for help.
The incident happened on Feb. 3 just after midnight near an apartment complex at E. Twain Avenue and Paradise Road.
According to a police report, Leary Adams called 911 at 12:09 a.m. stating he had been threatened by an unknown man, later identified as 33-year-old Cornelius Williams, who was waving a six-inch knife in the parking lot of Adams' apartment complex.
The report states at 12:45 a.m., Adams' girlfriend called 911 saying he had been stabbed in the neck and was bleeding. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:08 a.m.
The woman told police they had been hanging out at Adams' apartment when he said he was hungry and decided to go to a nearby 7-Eleven for a snack. She said that sometime later, he ran back into the bedroom door and was holding his neck saying someone had stabbed him.
Through the course of the investigation, police found another person who lived at the apartment complex that claimed Williams had threatened them with a knife just after midnight, on the same night he allegedly stabbed Adams. However, the man told detectives that he yelled at Williams to the point where Williams backed away and put the knife back in his jacket pocket before walking away. As soon as Williams started walking away, the man told police he ran inside his apartment, watched Williams through the peephole of his apartment, and called police.
At the same time Adams was pronounced dead, Williams stabbed a second person a mile away. A woman called 911 saying her husband had been stabbed in the neck at their apartment complex, located at 3825 Cambridge Street.
Detectives interviewed the husband who said he was watching a video on his cell phone when Williams walked up to him and asked for a cigarette. The man said he didn't have anymore and went back to watching the video. He told police Williams grabbed him from the back and cut his neck with a "large, machete-type weapon". The man said Williams walked towards an apartment complex wall, jumped over it, and went to another apartment complex.
Police said during their investigation, they found out a similar incident had been reported in the same area on Jan. 21. A woman was walking through a parking lot near the Vegas Market, on 777 E. Twain Ave., when surveillance video showed a man stalking her before taking out a large knife and then trying to cut her throat. Police said she was taken to Sunrise Hospital where she was treated for her injuries.
The report states after reviewing surveillance video from the area, they identified a man that matched witnesses' descriptions. They were able to identify Williams as a suspect and compared photographs from the surveillance video to body-worn police camera video from an LVMPD officer who detained Williams in 2022. The report states Williams was wearing the same grey and white flip flops seen in multiple videos. Witnesses also pointed him out of a photo lineup.
Police tracked Williams down to a home in Henderson where he was arrested.
During an interview with detectives, the report states Williams claimed that he stays in Henderson with his mom and he rarely leaves the area. When asked if he ever goes to Las Vegas, he said he would only go to the area near Vegas Valley and Mountain Vista.
After Williams was shown surveillance video photos from the area near Twain, the report states he told officer that he and his friend "Dennis" had stopped in the area to buy cigarettes. However, he couldn't provide any specific information about Dennis or where he lived.
The report states Williams was arrested and is facing multiple charges including open murder, attempted murder, and assault. He's scheduled to be in court for those charges on Feb. 20.
