A Las Vegas man arrested last week in connection with the fatal shooting of his neighbor alleged that the victim was having an affair with his fiancee, according to a Metro Police arrest report.
Derick McGruder, 36, was arrested hours after David Baker, 60, was found dead at the Siegel Suites apartments at 600 E. Bonanza Road, near Las Vegas Boulevard, on Thursday. McGruder was taken into custody without incident and booked at the Clark County Detention Center for open murder.
Police received a call stating there may be a dead body at Baker’s apartment, and arriving officers found Baker’s body in a pool of blood, along with two 9 mm shell casings near his front door, according to the report.
Patrol officers assisting with the investigation were alerted to a man later identified as McGruder “hiding behind several dumpsters” inside the complex. McGruder had what appeared to be blood covering his shoes, as well as on several spots on his sweatshirt and pants, police said. He was transported to Metro headquarters for questioning.
Speaking with detectives, McGruder said he lived next door to Baker with his fiancee and his 8-month-old child. McGruder first denied being in any dispute with Baker, but later changed his story and said he and Baker were in an altercation over an “intimate relationship” Baker was believed to be having with McGruder’s fiancee, police said.
McGruder said the struggle may have crossed through the threshold of Baker’s apartment, but he denied shooting Baker, police said.
Detectives spoke with witnesses nearby who said they heard several gunshots in the area of the complex, with one telling police they saw the doors to Baker’s and McGruder’s apartments open; another told police a man wearing the same clothes as McGruder was seen exiting Baker’s apartment.
A review of surveillance footage showed a man fitting McGruder’s description reaching into a dumpster and fleeing the area upon officers' arrival, police said. Police were able to follow a garbage truck that had only gone through that complex that day and recovered a black Springfield handgun with bullets and cartridges matching the casings found at the scene.
McGruder was denied bail Tuesday, according to online records from the Las Vegas Justice Court. An attorney representing him was not listed on the case summary, and a status check is scheduled for Monday.