George Edward Lawson
Metro Police Lt. George Castro discusses details Tuesday surrounding a 1983 murder case that was solved after investigators found a fingerprint that linked a Las Vegas man to the scene.
On Dec. 20, 1983, 60-year-old Ismael Ceballos was shot and killed in the parking lot of a motel in the north Las Vegas Valley. His death has been unsolved for more than 25 years, leaving his wife and two daughters with unanswered questions.
Metro Police solved the cold case Sunday after finding a fingerprint that linked a Las Vegas man to the crime scene.
Lt. George Castro of Metro's Violent Crimes Section said today that officers found the fingerprint April 18, which indicated 51-year-old George Lawson was at the crime scene in the 100 block of North Ninth Street in 1983. Police interviewed Lawson and he confessed to the murder, Castro said.
“He showed by (use of) body language a sense of relief,” Castro said.
Lawson has been booked into the Clark County Detention Center without bail on one count of murder with a deadly weapon. Castro said Lawson allegedly robbed Ceballos after the shooting, but detention center records indicate he hasn’t been charged with any other crimes.
An arrest report indicated Lawson told officers he often went to the motel with a friend to buy marijuana. At first, Lawson said he didn’t shoot Ceballos and even offered to take a polygraph test, which he failed, police said. Lawson also voluntarily gave a sample of his DNA.
He then told officers his friend was robbing a drug dealer on the night of the shooting, and he was standing outside waiting when a man approached him. Lawson said the man became verbally abusive and called him derogatory names. He said the man also threatened to shoot him, so he punched the man and grabbed a gun from his friend’s car before firing blindly at Ceballos, the report said.
Lawson said he was under the influence of some type of substance during the shooting, the report said.
Authorities said Lawson has a violent criminal history, including a Las Vegas robbery conviction in 1979. Lawson lived in California for 10 years and has resided in Las Vegas for the past 17 to 20 years, police said. During that time he had only minor infractions, Castro said.
After Lawson was taken into custody, Castro said Ceballos’ former wife was notified that the murder had been solved.
“As we were leaving we could see the emotion taking over her body,” Castro said. “She was starting to cry because I think it finally did hit her that it was solved.”
Authorities said the date of the crime won't affect the charges Lawson will face.
Police said the shooting occurred after Ceballos and Lawson got into an argument about leaning on cars in the motel parking lot. Lawson allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Ceballos in the head behind his left ear, an arrest report said. Castro said the two men didn't know each other.
Fingerprints were taken from two 1974 Plymouth Roadrunners that were found next to Ceballos’ body. Castro said new technology helped officers to search for a fingerprint match and identify Lawson as a suspect. He said it was unlikely that detectives would have been able to find it with equipment available in 1983.
A 2009 grant of more than $1 million also helped to pay officers who worked overtime on the case, Castro said.
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