Prosecutors say five people are being held on murder charges after an elderly couple in Las Vegas was attacked, resulting in one murder.
Reports show Denzale Lee, 28, Antonio Washington, 25, and Raven Queen, 28, were detained by Las Vegas Metro Police earlier this year and charged with several burglaries. Queen and Derrick Roberts, 26, were detained in January by police in Henderson for a house invasion and shooting in the same month.
Lamonte Butler, 25, and Howard Cavitt, 28, were also indicted for their roles in the conspiracy.
Prosecutors stated on Friday that the grand jury had indicted Butler, Queen, Lee, Cavitt, and Washington on murder charges. The victim’s advanced age constitutes aggravating circumstances.
Documents indicate that four armed males broke into the Queensridge home of Hong Shu Liu, aged 77, and his wife, duct-taped them, beat them, and forced them to open safes throughout the house. The prosecution claims Queen was the lookout.
A report shows that in February, Liu’s wife testified before a grand jury about an invasion of their home by four men who pistol-whipped them. The criminals threatened to kill her if Liu didn’t hand over cash. Throughout the robbery, her head was often forced underwater in her bathtub.
The men duct-taped the couple’s hands and feet and shut them inside a closet before fleeing the house.
A grand jury decided to accuse the defendants on murder charges after hearing that Liu had died from his wounds in September. Liu was 78.
Lee, Queen, and Washington were indicted on 22 counts, including murder and attempted murder, by a grand jury. Lee and Washington each had $600,000 bail. Queen had $750,000 bail. All remained in jail at the Clark County Detention Center.
Butler and Cavitt were indicted on 15 counts by the grand jury, the most serious of which were murder and attempting to commit murder. Butler was held on $500,000 bail, while Cavitt was held on $1,000,000 bail.
According to a previous report, Lamonte Butler, 24, and Howard Cavitt, 27, were arrested in southern California in April for allegedly taking part in the spree that began in October last year.
