LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — New information reveals more about the stabbing Metro Police said 18-year-old Jesus Ayala was involved in just two months before retired California Police Chief Andy Probst was killed.
In new evidence presented to a Clark County grand jury, cell phone records and photos reveal more about the stabbing last June.
The gruesome stabbing took place at an apartment complex near U.S. 95 and Jones last June, when a man reported to police he was stabbed while taking out the trash.
According to grand jury testimony, a group of people approached him and one of them demanded his money, phone and necklace before stabbing him.
During the follow-up investigation, the stabbing victim was shown multiple photos of possible suspects in a police line-up and identifies Ayala by circling his mugshot.
"I'm sure #3," he wrote in testimony to police. "I recognize him. The face, the tattoos, the look, there's no doubt."
When looking at the murder case, Ayala and his co-defendant, 17-year-old Jzamir Keys, entered not guilty pleas earlier this month, following a superseding indictment including new charges.
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Ayala and Keys are suspects accused of intentionally hitting and killing Probst while he was cycling in the Northwest valley last August.
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Prosecutors believe the stabbing, which police said involved Ayala, may show a pattern of criminal behavior.
The grand jury agreed to add new charges of attempted murder and battery to Ayala.
"It's one thing to get an indictment and it's quite another to get the court to allow you to include all charges," said former Clark County District Attorney David Roger.
Roger said prosecutors must show some sort of connection if separate criminal incidents are combined.
Although prosecutors did not specify that connection before the grand jury, an FBI special agent testified Ayala's cell phone records showed him in the vicinity of the stabbing last June and then the hit-and-run crash just two months later.
Ayala and Keys are scheduled to be back in court in April for a pre-trial conference.
During the last hearing, Ayala's attorney David Westbrook objected to the superseding indictment and said he plans to fight the new charges in a future hearing.
