Arrest made in fatal stabbing case
Las Vegas police early Thursday arrested a man accused of fatally stabbing two people in their hotel room on the Strip.
Julius Trotter, identified as the suspect late Wednesday, was taken into custody by Las Vegas police, with assistance from the FBI Los Angeles Fugitive Squad, after a vehicle pursuit in the Los Angeles area Thursday morning, police said.
The victims, Sang Boi Nghia, 38, and Khuong Ba Le Nguyen, 30, were Vietnamese tourists traveling with a tour group and had been expected to participate in a group trip to the Grand Canyon on June 1, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police were called about 4 p.m. as part of a welfare check at the
Circus Circus hotel room of the man and woman. Security officers discovered the man and woman had each been stabbed multiple times.
Security footage from Circus Circus released Wednesday showed a man who police suspect of burglarizing the victims’ hotel room before they were killed.
The footage showed the suspect riding an elevator to the hotel’s top floor about 4 a.m. About 45 minutes later, he returns to the elevator wearing a backpack that police say belonged to Nguyen. Police initially thought the attack happened about 2 a.m.
Metro homicide Lt. Ray Spencer called Thursday’s arrest “a great example of teamwork and the amount of dedication and resources.”
“As soon as we identified a suspect, we were working every investigative lead. Within basically 18 hours, we had a suspect in custody from
ARREST
the time we identified him,” Spencer said Thursday evening. “If someone commits a crime in this community, we are going to continue to investigate until we have turned over every stone possible.”
Spencer said the arrest did not stem from a tip from the public, and at this point nobody would be receiving the $10,000 reward offered by Circus Circus.
Police were able to track the suspect’s movements after he left the casino and get an identification, he said. Police are still investigating how the suspect was able to enter the hotel room.
Trotter, 31, was arrested on two counts of open murder, one count of burglary while possessing a gun and two counts of robbery, records show.
Reached by phone Thursday, Nguyen’s cousin, Steven Nguyen, said the family did not wish to comment.
MGM Resorts International, which owns Circus Circus, issued a statement following Thursday’s arrest.
“We thank law enforcement for their swift action in apprehending a suspect in this horrendous crime,” the statement read. “We will continue working closely with authorities as this case moves forward.”
Trotter previously faced charges in Clark County in 2017 for resisting arrest with a deadly weapon and reckless driving, according to court documents.
He was sentenced to 19 months to four years in a Nevada prison and five years of probation, but his sentence was suspended, records show.
A bench warrant for his arrest was issued in May for violating probation.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702387-5244. Follow @brianarerick on Twitter. Review-journal staff writer Mike Shoro contributed to this report.