Dr. Insanity - Police Hunt Down The Hard Rock Casino Shooter

Episode Date: October 12, 2024

Police hunt down the Hard Rock casino shooter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is the cold habitual and there is the froy of the mountains blue. The froy at its summit. Coors Light, t'en've been a fraud. Celebrate in a fashion responsible, you have to have the age legal for consuming of alcohol. This is Edgar Delgado.

And just seconds ago, he fatally shot an innocent man. Were you with what happened? I don't know who is the man who's shot. Can you tell me he had the name, so I know if it's him or not? I don't know. I was with Omar. And is Omar the one that was shooting? I don't know.

What is he? He has beard, his light skinned, he's Mexican. What was he wearing last night? I don't know his shirt, but he's wearing a hat. When we received reports of a shooting at Hard Rock Casino and at Lake Tahoe. One is reported to seize and the shooter is armed inside the building. 202.23. 201.

All right. He's at Ballet. Hey. Get on your knees. Get on your knees! County all unit. We just received an update. He got some information that the suspect possibly left in a while. white Toyota four-runner with a Hispanic female adult about Senegal.

Did you know that guy? I didn't know. I just remember we were talking for like a while, you know, and then that's it. At 2 a.m. on March 25th, 2003, Edgar Delgado enters Hard Rock Casino and meets 32-year-old Omar Garcia, where they spend the next six hours together, drinking and having a good time. But by 8 a.m., something begins to anger, Edgar. The tension rises, an argument bursts out, and Edgar grabs Garcia. Worst of all, he pulls out a pistol and points it directly at Garcia's head multiple times. But Garcia resists, knowing his life could end at any time, and physical altercations ensue.

Then for one last time, Edgar grabs Garcia by the neck and whispers something in his ear, to the extent that Garcia stops resisting. Desperately, Garcia tries to disengage, knowing that this fight is not worth his life. But Edgar sees his chance and pulls out his gun before Garcia even has a moment to react. And seconds later, A single gunshot rings throughout the Hard Rock Casino. Garcia had little to no chance of survival. He was shot directly in the temple, and every passing second meant a step closer to death.

Soon after, panic erupted in the hotel. Employees and residents scrambled to get a hold of authorities as dozens of 911 calls began pouring in. Immediately, a team of 100 officers was put together from multiple police departments and sent to the hard-rock casino and hotel. Okay, well, let's go. We gotta go to South Railway.

Let's go, Coach. Two or three were heading this off the airwerewell now. What are you on the Capitol? Salon Sarwell. Important to note is the fact that officers have almost no information on the situation itself. All they know is that there was a shooting, and now there is a man lying dead in front of the bar. They also know that the hard rock casino is a massive complex with over 670 rooms, and that gunmen could be hiding anywhere.

Yeah. Hey, Matt, Keenan. Brian's gonna take a second floor because the stairwell's on the outside. Brian's taking this right here, second floor, we'll hit our stairwells up. We're gonna move to floors. Hey. Oh, where we're going? Thank.

Brian! In an act of shooting, officers always need to establish control over the situation the moment they arrive on the scene. That's why this team immediately moves in to secure the stairwells, because they lack security and connect to several parts of the building, which provides an easy escape route for the shooter. With that said, the shooter's identity is still unknown, and the officers need to treat everyone they encounter as a potential threat until confirmed otherwise. Where's your room? Where's your room? Get back into where I'm insane there? Claire, go ahead.

She'll hold there, put your baton with you. Show your hands, right there! Stop, right there! Stop, right there! Don't move. Go f*** you. Go with... Come down here and on the corner. Who else are with you? Oh, whoa.

After quickly confirming that these are innocent civilians and not the shooter, officers can now move towards evacuating them. If I take the elevator down, not down. Grab her back. Grab your other stuff up there. And you got two coming down. Two coming down. Keep your hands up. All the way down, all the way down.

All the way down. That's up. Let's go, boys. Good call, sir. Thank you. You're good. You're good. Take a deep breath.

We've got access on every floor, so we'll call on that. While this team is clearing this part of the stairwells, another team on the casino floor works on securing the crime scene and providing life-saving assistance to the victim. No, I ended up with the victim. You guys have fun. Apparently, yeah, where the victim was. Although emergency services were quick to respond and Garcia was transported out quickly, it was far too late to save him.

He was pronounced dead within minutes. Worst of all, the killer was still on the loose and every second wasted meant that officers were further away from catching him and more innocent lives were in danger. That is why the team on the casino floor immediately starts gathering witnesses. statements to try and figure out exactly what happened. The first was someone who was able to get a closer look at the crime scene immediately after Garcia was shot. Was that the only showcasing you found that was spent? No, the span one's right here next to this. Here, hold on this. That's the only spent one you saw? Yeah, so the word was that they were struggling.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Holding the arm down and then I guess got free him. One shot. So one shot. Where was he hit in the stomach? Oh, it was in the head. Oh, you're right. The next witness was a girl that Omar was on a date with just hours before the murder. Hello. Were you with what happened? I don't know who is the man who's shot.

Can you tell me he had the name so I know if it's him or not? I don't know. Okay, I was with Omar. And is Omar the one that was shooting? I don't know. What happened was I came in here after my wife. after my work with a man named Omar as a date. What did he have a beer?

Did he have a beer? What's that? I just met him last week, or two weeks ago. I just met him, but I know he's, like, close contact with a lot of people in town. Okay. I know that he's very important in town as a person, you know what I mean? Like, everyone loves him. Does he have a beard?

He has beard, he's light skinned, he's Mexican. What was he wearing last night? I don't know his shirt, but he's wearing a hat. A backwards hat or black? Baseball hat. Okay. Even though this girl was praying that it wasn't who she thought, she does not know yet that it was, in fact, Omar, who was shot and has even passed away.

Although tragic, officers cannot spend any time on grievances. They have no clue what the killer looks like, what his escape plan is, and who he could possibly harm next. This is where they begin executing the last step of their response, chasing the shooter down, which begins with multiple SWAT teams initiating a wide search of the entire building, checking every hall and every corner. Okay, help it.

Keep pushing. Take these redos. Yep. Good job. 202. We will be out in 4.9. I've been crying. I've been crying.

I've been crying. Turn around. Hispanic guy, beard, gray shirt. They're right there. Down here. Down here. Down here. I call me down here.

Call me. Let me you step over here. Okay. Step behind us. Yes, good. Yes, sir. Okay. I'm playing where that happened.

Running, I ran into the part. I saw the guy on the floor. Okay. Okay. Hey, listen to me. Hey, both you. Take it. He's in a hotel somewhere.

One to the town. I know that's why we stayed. Okay. You guys need to get into the stairwell. Okay. Okay. Tarrants office. Come out now.

Now. Oh my God. This is your hands. Come out. We thought it was our kids. Our kids are in a couple of rooms down. Listen to me, you guys need to stay in this room. Don't come out for any reason, okay?

Okay. Keep going off. Do not come out, okay? There's an active shooter right now, stay in the room. At this point in time, officers do not have access to any of the CCTV footage, and it is difficult for them to find out who exactly the man is, let alone where he went. But getting their hands on this footage should only be a question of time. The security of casinos are often incredibly high, designed to quickly de-escalate dangerous situations like this, as we will come to see later in this video.

The reason for this is part because of a shooting that happened back in Las Vegas in 2017. Due to the failure of that casino hotel security, they were forced to pay out over 800 million to the victims of the shooting, ensuring that security would be increased on all casino hotels, much like this one. Actually, it's very common for hotels, casinos, or other companies to be forced to pay out settlements like this. That's why I partnered with Morgan and Morgan. The company that fought for many of the victims of the 2017 shooting, helping them win over $800 million. And they could help you too if you become their client. If you're seriously hurt, your injury could be worth millions.

With over 1,000 attorneys, Morgan and Morgan will fight to give you the best results. And unless you win, they do it all for free. In just the past few months, Morgan and Morgan has helped hundreds of people. One car crash victim in Florida won a verdict worth $12 million, and another in Philadelphia, $26 million. That was 40 times more than their insurance offered, so if you ever get seriously injured, your case could be worth millions. And it takes only a few minutes to see if you have a case. You can start your claim with Morgan and Morgan by visiting www.forthepeople.com slash insanity found in the description. With that said, police at Hard Rock Cafe received intel that the suspect likely fled into one of the five apartments nearby on the first and second floor.

Fortunately, this team you just saw cleared out the stairs and hallways, meaning more teams can rush into these apartments and look for the suspect. Sheriff's off, the door, show me your hands. Keep your hands up. We had a shooting downstairs, we need to make sure who's in here and who's not. Go ahead, step right here. Keep your hands up. Just you two? Clear.

We got this. Yes. Clear. Clear. You need to stay inside. Clear. Hello. I got this one.

Hi, the sheriff's office. Everybody good in here? Yeah. How many people? Four. Are you all here? Yeah. Okay.

Can we just check? Make sure everybody's okay. Awesome. Thank you, ladies. What a day, huh? That's all good? Yeah. All right.

I'm going to unlock it? Yeah, unlock the door, open it slowly with your hands up. There you go, put you no clothes on a floor. Okay, so we have anything to come on. Just coming out for a second. Remember here, we'll get you some pants, okay? Anybody else in the room? Go step over here.

Okay. Stand up there. All right, stand up there. Can I ask what's going on? We'll put to a second. Holy fuck. Holy fuck, it's hot, man. Clear, coming out.

Am I okay to check out? Just go in the room, hang tight. Although the Fourth Amendment bars officers from warrantless searches under most circumstances, this scenario is an exception, as it is classified as an exigent circumstance. Exigent circumstances exist in situations where people are in imminent danger, where evidence faces imminent destruction, or prior to a suspect's imminent escape, much like in this act of shooting. But even with this privilege, officers need to pick up their pace

because only two of the five apartments on this floor have been searched and the killer could be in any one of them. Sheriff's office. Let's go to the door. Can you see your hands? Anyone else in there with you? No, just you? Is anybody hurt in here?

No. Okay. Just go and stay in your room. Walk there. We just got to make sure. He's going to make sure. He's going to make sure. Nobody hurt.

All right. I believe it. No. I don't. They're going to shoot down next to the floor, so. Sorry. Thank you. Sheriff's office, open the door.

The door. Okay. Let me see your hands. Open the door. Let me see your hands. Thank you. Open the door. Who else is inside?

My son. All right. I'm clear? We had a shooting incident at the hotel. Make sure we go so quick for us. I'm okay. Keep your hands up. You guys all right?

Yeah, we're fine. How many are in here? Just two of you? Just me and my son, yes, sir. Okay, everybody's accounted for her? Yes, sir. Do that? Let's move it.

Even with such extensive manpower, SWAT is having a difficult time tracking down the killer. But they had one more apartment left, and the individual they came face-to-face with was someone who could very well be the killer. Sir, open the door. What's up? Sure's office, open the door.

Yeah, we're finishing this way. Open the door, I'm going to break the door down and come in. Okay, we're having a shooting, we're checking for people, so please open the door. Me and my son's in the shower right now. Okay, open the door. You're not doing in the shower. I understand that. Open the door, please.

What do you want to do? We're searching to make sure everyone is okay. Is that on? Yes. Can you just turn it off? Yes. Offer on. It's on.

It's on. So I need you to open the door, sir. But if you're coming in with swap gear, like, I've been sleeping. I just don't go. My gun's down and it's holster, okay? I just need to open the door so I can talk to you here and make sure everyone's okay that's inside of the room, okay? We had an active shooter on the casino floor. Everyone's okay in here.

Okay, I need you to open the door so we can make sure. Are you looking for somebody? Sir, I'm really trying to make it difficult. I'm not trying to make it difficult. You are making it difficult. All you need you to open. the door. You're not going to break down that door.

I'm not going to break down the door. I just need you to open this door. You're not going in there when he's naked in the shower? I'm not going in the shower. I just need you to open this door. Then why do you need to open this door? You're not telling me much. Do you have a reason?

We don't know. We had an active shooter on the floor, so we don't know. We're checking every single room, right? So far, out of all the casinos, out of every room gas that we've meant to, you're the only one that's not open the door. You have probable cause to come in here. Refusing to cooperate in an active shooter situation is one of the worst decisions this man could have taken. To make things worse, he mentions the presence of someone else in the apartment.

This is why officers have to be incredibly careful in dealing with the situation, because for all they know, behind this door could be someone ready to shoot at them. I'll wait. If you only wait until your son gets out of the shower so I can talk to him. Thank you, sir. You're not coming in, though, the two. breaking down the door to give going to the shower. I'm not gonna break down the door to go into the shower, okay? It's my kid, he's in the shower, there's no reason for it. I've told you four times. We're just checking the

room to make sure no one's in there with a gun. Just let him through. This guy's got a gun. Yeah, in case there's another guy in the room with one. Please put the gun down. It's down, sir. Okay. It was pointed at me. It's not pointing at you. It's not. Okay. Do you have ID, sir? I do have ID. I don't. Okay. Who else, besides you and your son, who else is Nobody's here. Okay. Okay. Can I come in and look on the other side of that? That over there.

Yes, you can come in and look. All right. Thank you. Fortunately, the apartment seemed relatively safe for officers to enter. But the suspect's behavior causes them to think that he might have been in contact with the shooter and need to interview both him and his son. And you're the only two that are in the room? We are the only two that are in the room.

I want to wait right here. Can you ask your son to maybe soft shower, put on towel, stick his head out so you verify he's okay? Yep. How are you doing, sir? Good. Good. I'm starting to start with the sheriff's office. Sorry for the rude awakening.

We had an active shooter on the casino floor, so we're going room the room, making sure everyone's okay, no one's shot. There's no one that's tried to come in and get in your room. Okay? Obviously, just you and others, right? Have you apprehended the suspect? That I do not know yet. Am I?

So, no. So we're asking people to shelter in place right now. We're fairly pretty close to being done. So I say give about a half hour a call down to the front desk and ask if it's okay to come on out. A shelter in place is an emergency protocol deployed to protect citizens in case of an emergency. By staying put in safe places like their apartments, any threats are deterred from being able to harm individuals. For now, though, this man showed no proof of being affiliated with the shooting, so officers decide to move on. But even with the five apartments searched, there was no sign of the killer.

The only option officers had left was to begin searching even. even more rooms on the higher floors, but this would cost them precious time, time that they did not have. This is why they turned to the hotel CCTV footage in hopes of getting a lead on who the man is and, most importantly, where he ran off to. I'm making her upstairs to look at the camera. Fortunately, this proves to be a big breakthrough in the case, as officers soon find footage of the man running off from the crime scene. Officers had finally had an image of what the suspect looked like

and it was soon sent to every single team in the hotel. And not even minutes later, officers get a lead, a man in the lobby who matches the image exactly. Hey, come in! Hey, hands up! Point your hands up! Get on your knees! Get on your knees! Get on your knees!

Get on your knees! You too! You get the f*** out of the way! You out! Out! Let's get the wall! Up against the wall! Put him out and walk! You got him?

Hey. Where are you covered from? Uh, my hotel. What room? You got you, you guys? I don't know. Go, hey, get the f*** out of here! Cover down, look at this.

Look at this. Cross. Crossed him. I got it. Cross-referencing the image to the suspect, the two are almost an exact match. However, officers are still not entirely certain and need to have a closer look before taking the next step and arresting him. Hey, I'm taking off. He take his cap off.

He take his cap off. No. Do you have any tattoos, buddy? Where are your tattooing that? Behind my arm, five, my legs. Take off, yeah. Take up his, uh, glue his jack. Yeah.

You should take your time, too. Okay. Check the other side. He's got on. Yeah. He took his right, and let me see his runner. Here's clear. Have we come to Elvis at this late?

This is what we're looking for, buddy. The dude's got similar cells. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a dead end. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a dead end. This was not the man that the officers were looking for, and the frustration clearly began to grow. Did you, were you out in the casino for it? Before, we were at the restaurant and then went to take to the room.

Their surveillance guys did not know anything about this when I went up there. Zero. I gave them a picture when I went up there. Bally's south side with the gun. Right now. That's the last thing here. That was 10, 15 ago. Yeah.

Call 5 in. There's nobody have to eat. Thanks up. Yeah. Okay. All right, buddy. We go. Let's get you out of here.

It is around this time that officers make a crucial breakthrough in the case. By digging deeper into CCTV and tracking back the shooter's movements, they discover that their man is not a visitor, but a tenant named Edgar Julian Delgado, who checked into the hotel the day before with his girlfriend, Savannah Tautapale. Right after the murder, Edgar is seen rushing to his room and coming out with a handful of bags. Savannah soon joins him and they exit the hotel. Edgar, along with his girlfriend, were now on the room. run. Despite the fast response from police, Edgar was able to escape because no one had a description

of the suspect yet. And as we would later see, he even had a close call with an officer before he escaped. Immediately after finding out Edgar had escaped, all roads and highways in the state were placed under heavy monitoring. They were not going to let a murderer escape. And while they waited for Edgar to fall into their hands, they began interviewing hotel employees to understand the motives behind this murder. Starting with a security guard, who was present at the time of the murder, Robert Bells. And as he and I were finishing the cigarettes, we heard a loud, boom, like a shot.

Within 10 seconds, the dispatcher, who was Santos Nunez, said someone has been shot at Center Bar. Did he relay that information over the radio? I relayed that information over the radio. I heard the information. Okay. I stepped into the center hallway and proceeded down towards the center bar.

when I saw rather large man about six foot six one walking in my direction my thought was this is the guy who just shot someone at the bar because he seemed a little agitated walking

so I immediately turned around I stayed far away enough till he exited to the left going towards security podium that's when I walked out I had overheard earlier the traffic that a gunshot somebody had been shot at the bar, and that's when I walked over and I saw a man laying there in a pool of blood at the bar. From what Roberts says, the killing itself was quite a big scene at the center bar.

Yet the response was so slow that Edgar was not only given the time to escape, but pack his belongings before doing so. To make matters worse, Edgar actually walked in front of the security podium the point at which the entirety of the casino's security cameras were managed by guards. Security likely decided that pursuing an armed suspect, especially one responsible for a shooting, was not a wise decision to make and rather opted to keep tabs on his whereabouts. Regardless, it is unfortunate that Edgar was given enough time to escape comfortably. At this point, officers move on to the next employee, Noble,

who gives more insight into what the two were talking about before Edgar pulled a gun. Do we able to hear what kind of conversations they were having what they were talking about?

Not exactly. I wasn't really processing. It was still kind of early for me as kind of background noise to me but

okay they were you know now while the eyes are being loud was it a loud argument were they just being loud

laughing joking it seemed more like just kind of tough buddy stuff I guess more joking

I would think in what way would just describe that, that tough buddy stuff. Comments to each other? They did mention, they were starting, like, oh, joking, like, I could kick your ass, no, you know, you can't type thing. Okay.

Um, and that's when, yeah, they, you know, they started just scruffling up a little bit. Do you remember who told who, who initiated that type of conversation? Uh, no, I can say for sure. Friendly banter turning into a murder is something highly unusual. There is a crucial piece of the puzzle that detectives are missing out on and the only person who can give it to them is Edgar himself. But in order to catch him, officers have to be patient. They already know what his car looks like from the CCTV footage and checkpoints have been set up on all roads leading to the

Hard Rock Casino. This meant that it was only a matter of time before Edgar fell into their hands. And sure enough, hours later, Edgar's vehicle would approach one of these checkpoints near Highway 50. There was no escaping anymore. And officers could finally get the answers they've been so desperately searching for. Turn around for me, Edgar? No, towards me. Edgar, my name is Steve Schultz. It's nice to meet you.

What's your last name, Edgar? Delgado, Gallardo. Gallardo. Gallardo is my maiden name, so I don't go by Betamance. So you go by Edgar. Delgado. Delgado. Yeah.

Got it. Edgar, I'm going to want to talk to you. you back here in the town of South Lake. Okay? That's fine. So the sheriff's department here in California is going to bring you back so that we might be able to talk to you. I don't have my glasses, so I can't see that.

Where are your glasses? I have no idea. They're not being my girlfriend's car. That's your girlfriend's car? Yeah. Savannah. What's her name? Savannah.

Savannah. I understand. Okay, so I'd like to meet with you. I'm just going to have my partner take a couple of photographs of you. Where did? Burger. Griger. He is in Nevada?

I'm a Nevada detective. So I'm from the state of Nevada where the casinos are. Yeah. You're being held right now by the California, by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. Even though Edgar was arrested in California, he'll still be charged under Nevada law because that's where the crime took place. In fact, California police will need to send Edgar back to Nevada through a process called extradition. This is required by the extradition clause in Article 4 of the U.S. Article 4 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that if someone commits a crime in one state

and flees to another, they must be returned to the state where the crime occurred to face trial. This ensures that Edgar is tried based on laws of the state where the crime happened. And in Nevada, first-degree murder results in either life without parole or 50 years with the possibility of parole after 20. Now, I understand that I can smell that you've had a little bit to drink, okay? Yeah, a little bit. So I'm going to give you... I've been drinking since, like...

We got into, over there, like, what, 1.30, and I'm going to drink until, like, 70 in? Okay. So what I want you to do is I just want you to have a seat in that car. We gave you, we did you a solid, right? Got you out, let you take a key. Right? You okay? I'm good.

All right. I'm good for now. It is chilling to see Edgar act so nonchalant after taking the life of someone who wished to be friends with him. But this explains several of Edgar's mannerisms. The slurred speech, the lack of understanding, his stumbling while escaping. from the casino, and most importantly, his sudden impulse to shoot Garcia. Although aggression to this extent stems from an individual's personal decisions, alcohol can often act as a catalyst. According to the NIH and WHO, alcohol is the most commonly associated drug with aggression compared to others that affect body function.

This means that Garcia was murdered at the whims of a twisted drunkard, and Edgar needs to give them answers. But before an interview proceeds with him, detectives decide to interrogate his girlfriend, Savannah, in order to understand Edgar as a person, possibly giving them invaluable evidence to charge him with murder. Hi, Savannah. Hi. My name is Nadine. Nice to meet you. Jenkins is my last name.

Nice to meet you as well. I'm a detective with Douglas County Sheriff's Office on the Nevada side. I'd like to talk to you about what happened over at the Hard Rock that kind of looks. led up to you being contacted by Elarado County Sheriff's Office. So from the time that you arrived in Tahoe, until the time you left Tahoe and tell me everything that happened from the beginning to the middle to the end, in as much detail as you can. So we got here, we went straight to the hard rock, we parked in the time, we walked in, checked in, moved... After we checked in, we went and we parked in the parking garage, and then we went to our hotel.

We went up to the hotel room, and then we went down to the hotel room. We went down to the casino area and we had a few drinks and then I was not feeling well. So we went back up to the room and I was peaking and then he left. He said he was going to be back in 30 minutes and then I fell asleep on the bathroom floor. Okay. And then I woke up to him calling me saying, let's go, we need to leave. And I kept asking him what happened and he just kept saying, let's go. I was getting frustrated

I was like why I'm like I'm hungover I'm honestly what's going on and he just kept saying over and over let's go let's go let's go and I assumed that he had like been gambling and he lost money and he was mad and so we grabbed our stuff and we walked to the car

and that's when we saw cops pulling up and the cops told us they said there's someone with a gun or someone got shot and then he turned around, faced them, put his hands up, and I looked at him, I was like, what are you doing? And then I just said, babe, let's go. They just said someone has a gun, let's go. And so we went to the car.

It is likely that Savannah genuinely did not know why she was being rushed to leave in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, due to Edgar's horrible decisions, she is now an accomplice in her boyfriend's escape. So either she tries to defend him and risk being charged as an accomplice in murder, Or fess up and answer every question honestly, especially the ones about his past. How did you meet Edgar? How do you know him? We went to high school together, but we were never really talked in high school, and then he's, I started working at a bar, and he is my boss. Okay, is your boss? Okay. What do you know about him and his history before meeting you?

Nothing. Okay, don't really know anything? I just know that we went to school together. Okay. Do you know anything about Edgar, his wife, things he may or may not have done in between when you knew him in high school and then when you knew him as your boss at the room? No. Okay. Have you guys had, you know, some couples don't really have the... This is my history talk. Some do.

We have not. You have not had that talk. We have not. Okay. For now, the detective believes that Savannah isn't comfortable enough to reveal details and decides to take an alternative approach. By explaining the trouble she's in and mounting some pressure, there is a chance that crucial information can be squeezed out of her. You have to understand that when you know somebody has done something illegal or have a suspicion of it or they are giving you that hint

and then if you help them escape, that's a crime. So by driving him away from the scene, you put yourself in a really bad spot. Okay, help me help you, right? I need to know everything. I'm going to be blunt with you. He shot that guy. I have a video of it. I watched it with my own eye.

Okay, because you got yourself wrapped up into a mess. So let's go back. He calls you at some point. Take me from the time he called you and please Savannah be as detailed as you can about what he said to you because I can see him calling you on the surveillance video. I can see him on the phone.

So what did he say to you? He said, grab the bags, let's go. And he just kept saying repeating that all right over and other. Okay. Just grab the flags, let's go, let's go, let's go. Okay, so then he gets up to the room. Be super specific. What is everything that happened

from the time he walked into that room until the time you guys walked out of the room tell me everything he just said let's go we need to go and i kept asking of why what's going on and he seemed upset but he just kept saying let's go we need to go he also said um so he said we need to go to mexico we need to go to mexico okay so he said we need to go to mexico okay the time that he walked into the room all right so you guys get your stuff together boom he says we need to go to Mexico keeps telling you we gotta fucking go you guys leave you walk out to the parking structure and you're contacted by the police I heard you say that the police approached and he put his hands up and turned and you you started to tell

me what he said to you and then you stopped I because I don't remember exactly what he said to you I don't need verbatim give me the gist of what it was that he said to you I really looked I had just woken up everything was a blur I genuinely don't remember. So I'm picturing it in my head because I wasn't there, but I don't want to get it wrong. So when you say, like, can you give me a demonstration of what he did when the police approached? Like, what did he do body language-wise? What did he do?

Well, he, I'm pretty sure he dropped his hat on the ground and he just, like, put his hands up. What does his backpack look like? I think it's a Jordan backpack. It's black. The only other things in the car were my bag, which is green, and he had another black double bag. The bag that Savannah mentions contains several of Edgar's items, including the weapon he used to kill Garcia. Can you see it? The black. Okay.

Burles towards me. And then it looks like the mag and the gun are separate. Okay. And there's a magazine with it. Okay. So let's watch for trace seven if anything on the barrel. on the barrel and like that. It's a 26.

So it's a Glock 26? Yep. This information is what the detective uses to not only make sure that Savannah is telling the truth, but to find out whether this murder was premeditated or not. Do you know Edgar to carry a firearm on a regular basis? Did you know he was carrying a firearm? I knew that he had it with him.

Okay. I didn't know that he had it when we were, like, in the casino. Okay, so you were not aware of that? No. Does he generally carry it on his person when you guys go out? No. I guess I'm trying to wrap my mind around. You know, sometimes people, like, for me, for instance, law enforcement, I carry it everywhere I go.

Nature of the job, right? Some people only carry it sometimes if they feel like there might be a problem or they feel threatened or it's a bad environment or something like that. And other people carry it all the time just just in case. Right? I know for a fact he doesn't have it on him all the time. Okay, so he doesn't have it on him all the time? Do you have any idea what would have prompted him to carry it today? No.

When he came back to the room, did you see the gun in his possession? No. I saw it when we were leaving the hotel room about to go to the car. And where did you see that? He, I think he put it in his, like, box. I don't know if it's like a lot, a gun case or what it is. Okay. I'm sorry, say that for me one more time.

You saw it when you were leaving the room? Yeah, from the room to the car. Okay, so he stopped and he put it in a box of something? I think it's his gun case. Under normal circumstances, it would not have been odd for Edgar to carry a weapon. This is because he worked as a security guard in Santa Cruz, and due to the nature of his job, one would expect him to be safety-oriented. If this were the case, detectives likely would not think that the murder was premeditated.

However, the reality was that carrying a weapon was unlike him, as his girlfriend testifies. If anything, this has dug an even deeper grave for Edgar, since there are grounds to charge him with first-degree murder. But Edgar somehow makes this situation even worse for himself with the interview he gives one of the officers who arrests him. This would also be where we finally see Edgar's mental state during and after the murder. It's important for you to be able to tell your side of the story about what happened back there, and I want to listen to it. I didn't necessarily want to do it here in the back of a police car, but since you mentioned that you have a gun and that it's in the car, I think it's important that we have the conversation. So, I know that is like, you know, why don't you tell the kind of what to me because you didn't tell me that before, you know, but all they got to tell you is like, why don't you tell me your side of this? How did this happen? In the long run, I, and she knows too, like, I know that she's been one.

wanted to do it for a while. She's going to want it to become like a police officer, you know? Okay. So we're okay talking? Yes, you're willing to talk to me? A little bit. Okay, a little bit. And like I said, anytime you want, Edgar...

If I don't want to talk to you, that's it. You can say, any time during this conversation, you can say, hey, Steve... Like, I've had... I've had family members that are gay members, you know, and like, I know the way it is. I get it. In the streets. So, and I understand that you've had a life, right? I get that.

And it's important for you to get your side of this out, what happened, why it happened, and I'm willing to listen to that. Immediately, the detective sets up a safe space for Edgar to talk. Considering the facts that he is drunk, these sort of questioning tactics have an instant effect on him as he begins to open up. Did you know that guy? I didn't know him. What happened? I just remember we were talking for like a while. while you know and then like that's it like I just remember we met up he was like oh like I'll teach

you how to like fucking snowboard I'll teach you how to skate and like I know the way she is too you know like I was like oh like yeah like it's fine you know did you do something that make you shoot him I don't know I I I can't agree to that I can't escape that I just know about one thing let's go next and he was trying to get out of a fucking lot real quick And I realized she was asleep the whole night. I was going to sleep the whole night. And I wish I was in sleep that night, too. Are you an armed security guard when you're a bouncer or no?

No? So why did you have a gun on you to do? You don't know? I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me. And I think it's important to just get it out. Tell me the whole thing about what happened, what was said, why it happened. Slowly but surely, Edgar begins to crack. The tears begin to flow, and his consciousness starts to catch up to his actions.

This seems like, from what he's described, it's kind of spur of the moment thing. So if something happened, I'd like to know what. I'll raise the whole oven. I wish I did. I'm not one to yours like, react, wait for you. react like what? I don't know. How many times in your shoes do you remember?

You don't remember? I don't know. I don't remember any of that. I just remember talking to someone about snowboarding. I remember talking to something about skiing. And I just remember leaving, like, you know, tone and rush. And I just remember a bunch of ARs put it everywhere. And I remember, like, earlier, like, in...

In the night, like, once we got here, because, like, we hit out of Sykes, like, pretty late. We had out, like, probably, like, a night. You know? Mm-hmm. Shackery was, like, four hours away. Mm-hmm. And my girlfriend was the one driving, like, should... Look at the miles in the car, you know?

Okay. We were just breaking in that car and we got out at a good time. Okay. And I fucked it up against. How did you meet this guy? Just talking about something different? She's there. She's there. Like, I had taken my girlfriend up to her room, to our room. I had taken her up to our room. And she was like, you want to stay down there? And I was like, I don't know. Like, it's Nevada. Like, they don't have, like, California, you know? You can't serve alcohol after two of you.

Yeah, I'm aware of that. And I was like, all right? Like, I mean, it's Nevada. Like, I never experienced that. I've never experienced Vegas. I've never experienced anything like. It would be nice to experience that. Like, for one. okay so then she was like I was hoping you're out there because she was like coming up she was like like out of it being on and like because like she was driving the whole nine and I was like I'll take care of you you know I decided to go back down and I don't know what happened I just remember it being like fucking this up there like now like like I remember I was just leaving. I don't know. You always threw your gun with you?

I don't. You don't? My dad hates it. My mom hates it. My mom hates if I own a gun. My dad hates the fact that like there's a gun in the household. I've never been raised with the fire off like that. With no plausible reason for his actions, there was no escape for Edgar.

His actions were downright horrible and nothing more than him doing whatever he felt in the spur of the moment. Edgar's girlfriend Savannah went on to admit to the destruction of evidence as she lied about the presence of a gun when the two were arrested. She was granted a suspended 364-day jail sentence. As for Edgar, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and faced additional charges for the use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to a maximum of 55 years.