Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Man Goes on Random Vegas Stabbing Spree Killing a Showgirl

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Newly released video footage shows what the DA says is an undocumented immigrant on a stabbing spree on the Las Vegas Strip. I go through the disturbing details of the case of Yoni Berrios as he's accused of murder and an act of terrorism. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. If you've ever been to Las Vegas, you know how busy

Starting point is 00:00:31 the Las Vegas Strip is. There are people out and about at all hours of the day and night. So imagine being there and a man starts running around with a knife and stabbing people. A Las Vegas grand jury has indicted 34-year-old Yoni Berrios for going on a fatal stabbing rampage back in 2022. The brutal attack left two people dead and six injured. Now Berrios faces additional charges, including an act of terrorism and six counts of battery, along with his original two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. The Clark County Coroner's Office identified the people who were killed as 47-year-old Brent Hallett and 30-year-old Maris DiGiovanni. Police say that Barrios, before this happened, was in the Wynn Hotel looking for work

Starting point is 00:01:18 before asking a hotel janitor to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to return him to Guatemala. He was allegedly trying to sell his knives for money to travel back to his home country. Barrios, who was in the country illegally, identified himself as a chef and asked to take a photo with some performers. According to the police report, Barrios thought the showgirls were laughing at his clothes, and that's when he said he, quote, let the anger report. Barrios thought the showgirls were laughing at his clothes, and that's when he said he, quote, let the anger out. Video captured Barrios chasing after Maris DiGiovanni outside the Wynn Hotel, and he stabbed her straight in the heart. DiGiovanni died in the arms of another

Starting point is 00:01:59 showgirl, Anna Wetsby, who suffered a punctured lung from the attack. The CCTV footage, which we've frozen into still frames, continues to track the knife-wielding suspect as he ran down the sidewalk, stabbing four more people. Las Vegas Metro Police eventually detained Berrios at the Venetian Expo, and he was still wearing his blood-soaked chef's long-sleeved white jacket. Initially, he was charged with two counts of murder

Starting point is 00:02:24 and six counts of attempted murder. Officers found the footlong kitchen knife in some bushes nearby that they believe Barrios discarded while he was running away. Barrios told police that he came to Vegas just two days earlier to move in with a friend, but when that friend refused to let him stay, he packed his things and took a bus to the strip among the victims were a group of showgirls and bystanders walking outside the casino and all just seemed to be there minding their own business remember this is the las vegas strip there are a lot of people around with tourists and cops constantly patrolling the area, and these victims were not expecting anything

Starting point is 00:03:05 violent to happen. At one point, the police report mentions Barrios told one of the victims, sorry man, before stabbing him in the back. One of the two people killed was 47-year-old Brent Hallett. I mentioned him earlier. He was visiting Las Vegas with his wife from their home in Canada. The couple was traveling the world and their last stop was Vegas, which according to Brent's wife was his favorite place. His wife described him as quote, a great soul and loving spirit. He could make friends with anyone. He loved three things above all else. His wife, Carmelita, his friends and animals. She created a new welfare foundation in his honor. I want to tell you about Upside. It's a new welfare foundation in his honor.

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Starting point is 00:04:31 The showgirls were a part of the Best Showgirls in Vegas modeling and talent agency. And in the 12 years it's been around, they said they've not had any arrests or injuries to their performers. Maris DiGiovanni was described as an exceptional young woman by her boss at the agency, who was always looking out for the girls. DiGiovanni also traveled to Hong Kong to teach English to children there. Her brother released a statement saying Maris always saw the best in people, always gave them a chance, and always accepted people for who they were. Her huge capacity for love led her to have lasting friendships from all over the world. She was a beautiful spirit and we will miss her

Starting point is 00:05:11 for the rest of our lives. When Berrios first appeared in court back in 2022, defense attorneys told the judge that stress could have induced a psychotic episode. Later that year, a judge declared Berrios unfit for trial and ordered him to stay in a state hospital. And last month, a judge deemed him competent to stand trial after receiving treatment. And now Clark County prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against Joni Berrios. Months before the attack, Berrios was posting on his Facebook page, giving the impression that he was living a very lavish lifestyle. His last post, which was one day before the attacks, condemned a notorious biker

Starting point is 00:05:53 gang allegedly involved with violent killings in New Zealand. He appeared in court Thursday, where his arraignment was continued from last month. Are you familiar with the 15 charges that you're facing? Do you understand those charges? Ask those charges, how do you plead, guilty or not guilty? In case you had trouble hearing that, Yoni Berrios pleaded not guilty. His lawyer named a medication he is taking that is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. His attorney also questioned his client facing an act of terrorism charge, and the assistant district attorney responded. When I got the notice of intent to seek death penalty, I was a little surprised, to be honest, at the way that it read.

Starting point is 00:06:42 It included acts of terrorism. My brief research this morning is that Nevada's terrorism statute is wide open. The reason I was surprised is because it doesn't appear to be any political motive for what happened in this case that we are aware of. But Nevada doesn't appear to require that. I think the feds do. I suspect it will be subject to litigation at some point down the line. I don't know that I need to attack it via a probable cause challenge or rent, but I want to make sure that I've got all my bases covered and to do the research given my logistic situation with closing down shop at the public defender's office. I would like the additional time. Any objection to the 45 days, Mr. Giordano?

Starting point is 00:07:27 No, I'll just note, unfortunately for Mr. Berrios, terrorism in Nevada is just an act of violence intended to cause death to the general population. I want to bring in Bridget Williams. She's an attorney who practices in Texas. Bridget, one of the things that I find interesting about this case is the fact that they've brought in this terrorism aspect of it. They filed a charge that these things were committed as an act of terrorism, these stabbings. So what are your thoughts on

Starting point is 00:07:56 that? Because I found that to be something interesting that has developed in this case as they've brought this new indictment. It is something interesting. I think it's a bit of a stretch in order to say that this is an act of terrorism. We don't know if it is or not based off of the current facts. We do know that this individual is from Guatemala, as it was laid out in some of the information that we have currently, but that still doesn't rise to the level of it being an act of terrorism. There has to be something else that caused it and influenced it to be an act of terrorism. However, these actions are clearly very heinous and disturbing and frightening. I completely get that, but I think an act of terrorism at this point with the information that we have is going to be a stretch. Yeah. The acts of terrorism, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:54 it's I'm looking at the statute right now, right now in Nevada. And it says, you know, it doesn't lay out exactly what they think that act of terrorism is. But, you know, there are all these things that discuss, you know discuss a person shall not knowingly or intentionally aid, further or conceal or attempt to aid, further or conceal an act of terrorism. I mean, the terrorism could have been that he's just, I guess, going around. I mean, he caused chaos and fear among a large group of people. So I don't I don't know if maybe that's where they're going with this. Plus, people died as a result. Two people were killed and others were injured. That that could be the direction that they're going in. But again, that's still in my mind as a criminal defense attorney, personal injury attorney right at this time.

Starting point is 00:09:43 That in my mind, that doesn't rise to an act of terrorism. That is first degree murder where those individuals die, attempted murder for the people who that he stabbed and did not die. So we have that there. We also have assault with a deadly weapon. So that's there as well. I just I think that there needs to be some more information for us to move to an act of terror. His attorneys have raised this whole issue about his mental health, and he was not found competent to stand trial when this first happened. He was in a mental health hospital for some time. I mean, a couple of years. So now he's been deemed to stand trial or he's been deemed competent, which means he can aid in his defense. So they didn't believe at the time that he was

Starting point is 00:10:32 able to aid in his defense. Like there was his mental state was not so that he could do that. So do you anticipate some sort of not guilty by, you know, reason of insanity? Do you anticipate that as the defense in this case? I anticipate that being the only defense, right? I mean, we don't have any other information for there to be any other defenses in this type of situation. Based off of the information that we have, he is one, he starts this off with carrying around a foot long kitchen knife. That's a butcher knife. And just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should be doing something. Right. And so as he's doing that, he, you know, has his interaction with these showgirls. And he believes that because they are laughing at him,

Starting point is 00:11:23 he decides that he's going to stab these people and then goes on this random stabbing spree. The only thing that could be a defense in this type of situation would be insanity. There's no there's no other defenses that are outlined are able to be made here in this, in my opinion. And so when he does, that is either that or they are just really trying to prevent him from getting the death penalty. Sometimes as defense attorneys, that's our job is to make sure the person doesn't get the death penalty. And so that could also be what the strategy is as well, because in a situation with multiple murders, that person then qualifies for the death penalty. And they are going to pursue the death penalty. They've said that, the prosecutors. So the district attorney plans to pursue the death

Starting point is 00:12:11 penalty. I mean, this is really, the allegations are really heinous. I mean, he's in the Wynn Hotel, you know, then he goes and talks to some showgirls. And according to the police report, he felt like they were laughing at him. And then he just let his anger out. So I don't know, I guess you could see that as a mental health thing. But it to me, though, says, you know, if that's what he said, that he's cognizant of what he's doing. That could be an interpretation that he does understand that he knows what he's doing, or clearly at the time when that first happened two years ago, that he was deemed not to understand right from wrong. And that's when he was deemed someone that was not competent to stand trial. And so he may or may not at this time now understand what that is. Clearly, the court now believes that he does understand

Starting point is 00:13:05 right from wrong. I think that he is going to, again, be for his defense counsel. And if I were defense counsel, the only defense in this situation would be insanity or just trying to make sure that he does not get the death penalty. That's going to be the only ways for the defense counsel to move forward with the strategy here. It's just such an awful, sad case. I mean, I've been to Las Vegas. You just walk down the street. I mean, there's so many people there, Bridget. I mean, it's just horrific.

Starting point is 00:13:40 And people should be able to walk down the street without a fear of being, you know, murdered, stabbed, no matter where they are in this country. You know, one of the things that's interesting, there's been some reporting about this, the fact that this guy, he went to Vegas from L.A. And apparently he had been charged back in 20. There was a 2018 incident and he had been charged in 2019 with the domestic violence incident. And if he had been convicted of that, he could have been sentenced to up to four years in prison. So could have, I say, because, you know, you don't know if he would have gotten that much time. But the case lagged in the system, and it wasn't prosecuted in time. So the case was dismissed. So there were a lot of questions about that.

Starting point is 00:14:29 Like, why did the DA's office out there kind of drop the ball on this case? Yeah, that happens more often than not. A lot of times whenever a case is presented to the district attorney's office, it's the DA's responsibility to either accept or reject that case from the police department. So the police department presents the case to the DA's office and then they accept it or reject it and then decide to move forward with prosecution. If they do not do that, they only have a set amount of time to do that. I know here in Texas on misdemeanor cases, that's two years. Felony cases, it can be five or 10. So it just depends. But if they do not do that, then that statute runs, then they no longer have an opportunity to bring that case.

Starting point is 00:15:16 And therefore, like you just said, it can be dismissed. And even after that, it can be expunged. So he didn't apply for that expungement clearly because you were able to see it. But if he had applied for an expungement, that may have even been something that could have not shown up at all and we would never known about it. So the DA's office dropping that ball and not prosecuting that case qualifies for him to even have that case be expunged from his record. Well, it's, you know, back to the Vegas case. It's just awful, a terrible, terrible thing. And we'll keep an eye on it to see where it goes as it moves through the system and how it progresses.

Starting point is 00:15:57 Bridget Williams, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Annette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Man Goes on Random Vegas Stabbing Spree Killing a Showgirl

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Man Goes on Random Vegas Stabbing Spree Killing a Showgirl

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