Casino shooting suspect held without bail

Video of a March 25 fatal shooting that occurred at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was played as part of a bail hearing in Stateline on Tuesday afternoon.

The California man accused of shooting South Lake Tahoe resident Omar Reyes Garcia was ordered held without bail by Tahoe Township Justice of the Peace Richard Glasson on Tuesday afternoon.

More than a dozen of Garcia’s friends and family attended the hearing where the video and a 911 tape of casino security reporting the shooting were presented by prosecutor James Sibley.

It could be months before Edgar Delgado, 24, appears at a two-day preliminary hearing, according to defense attorney Thomas Villoria.

Glasson set a June 12 hearing to work on a schedule.

Sibley read letters from Reyes Garcia’s older brother and cousins asking that Delgado not be released.

Brother Cesar Garcia said that the pair were raised by their single mother and that Omar took over caring for her when he moved.

“He was a kind, generous and outstanding young man,” he said. “Delgado has proven to be dangerous and already attempted to flee.”

Reyes Garcia was shot in the head at 8 a.m. at the Center Bar in the Hard Rock. According to law enforcement the two men had been drinking in the bar before then.

Sibley said Delgado pointed the Glock 26 alleged to be the murder weapon at Reyes Garcia’s neck and face three times before he pulled the trigger. There were at least eight other casino patrons in the immediate vicinity and the bartender when the shooting took place.

Villoria argued that the shooting was an isolated incident that would not have occurred if his client had been sober.

No blood draw or other test had been conducted after California authorities stopped the vehicle being driven by Delgado’s girlfriend where he was arrested, and the 9 mm Glock 26 was recovered.

The weapon was registered to Delgado.

Investigator Steve Schultz testified he spoke with Delgado an hour after the shooting, where he said he didn’t recall what happened.

Schultz said that Delgado smelled of alcohol, but that he didn’t seek a blood test.

Investigator Nadine Jenkins testified that she spoke with Savannah Raquel Tautaupele, 26, who was driving the getaway car.

Tautaupele said that Delgado told her they had to pack up and head for Mexico.

Villoria said that he had Delgado’s passport and that the man’s parents would ensure he complied with bail conditions. He said that Delgado’s previous criminal history was limited to an intoxicated person misdemeanor.

“This was an isolated incident,” Villoria said. “Had he not been intoxicated this would never have occurred.”

While Nevada law has changed regarding bail, there is still an exception to bail in the case of a first-degree murder.

“By law, he is not entitled to bail under these circumstances,” Sibley said.

Glasson said that to protect the community and ensure Delgado is available for court hearings he was denying bail.

An estimated 100 law enforcement officers responded to the Hard Rock that Saturday morning for a report of an active shooter.

Delgado and Tautaupele left the casino in a 2023 white Toyota 4Runner.

A fundraiser for Reyes Garcia raised $41,191 of the $35,000 goal on gofundme.com.