Four men face murder charges after a rap video confession helped solve a Las Vegas shooting that left one of their own gang members dead.
A man accidentally shot and killed his own gang member in a 2023 ambush in Las Vegas, and a rap video he posted months later became evidence that solved the case.
Four men now face murder charges after a Clark County grand jury indicted Thursday in the death of 18-year-old Curtis Smith. Curtis Smith suffered a fatal gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital, where he died days later.
The shooting occurred on April 1, 2023, near Sunrise Mountain Drive and Tamara Costa Court as members of the YNIC gang planned to target rivals of a gang called Spazzout.
Jamario Lofton, Ishad Livingston, Terrell Shelton and Lynalion Washington all face charges including murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder and firearms-related crimes, all involving the enhancement of a criminal gang.
According to 8 News NOW, police found 70 shell casings at the scene and eight parked vehicles were hit by gunfire.
The group had been tracking the location of its intended targets, Knowledge Rodriguez and Marion Wiley, who were traveling in a white BMW. Smith, Lofton and others were in a stolen Kia Sportage when they opened fire, but the situation quickly turned chaotic.
What was unusual about this case was the way detectives solved it. In October 2023, a few months after the shooting, Lofton released a music video in which he rapped, “Take my brother away, how the hell did I turn around, okay.”
The confession, combined with location data and forensic evidence, including DNA found on Smith’s clothing, gave investigators the information they needed.
Gang members also testified before the grand jury about what happened at a meeting the day of the shooting.
Livingston’s DNA was also found on the victim, and detectives discovered he and Smith had live-streamed on Facebook earlier that day, both armed at the time.
Hospital video showed four men wearing hoodies and masks dragging Smith’s body from the back seat of a Kia before abandoning him outside the emergency entrance of Centennial Hills Hospital.
Livingston was wearing the same sweatshirt he wore during the Facebook Live broadcast.
Police also discovered that Washington searched online for “Charleston shootings” around the same time, although that information has not yet been made public.
Gang violence in Las Vegas continues to plague the community, and this case shows how quickly things can turn tragic.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the four are scheduled to appear in District Court on April 2, with bail set at $300,000, with conditions including high-level electronic monitoring and no contact with gang members.
