Before killing at city of Las Vegas lot, co-workers tried to restrain suspect

Co-workers said they tried to restrain a Las Vegas city worker before police say he killed another colleague.

Brysen Kim, 31, is accused of fatally shooting Joey McLean, 41, last month at a city maintenance yard in the 400 block of North Seventh Street, near East Mesquite Avenue.

The two men had been locked in a monthslong workplace conflict. Kim told police he complained repeatedly about McLean harassing him. McLean’s wife has disputed claims her husband harassed Kim.

Kim, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday, has been placed on leave without pay.

Metropolitan Police Department homicide Detective Thomas O’Connell testified to grand jurors that Kim told him that days before the killing, McLean had threatened him by saying, “I’m going to kill you or something to that effect,” pointing his hand in the form of a finger gun and pretending to shoot.

O’Connell indicated that he was unaware of McLean having any weapons on him at the time of the shooting.

Melvin Segovia, a city worker who supervised McLean and Kim, told grand jurors on June 25 that he was aware of the tension between the two men.

On June 12, the day of the shooting, Segovia arrived at the maintenance yard around 5:50 a.m. McLean was already in the office. Kim arrived and came into the building too.

“Immediately when he saw me he just had a smile on his face, said good morning, Mr. Mel, gave me a high five, a hug,” said Segovia.

Then Kim noticed McLean and said, “you think this is funny,” and used expletives, according to Segovia, who said he started approaching McLean.

Segovia did not hear McLean reply or see McLean do anything to Kim that day, but said he tried to hold Kim back.

“I turned around grabbing Brysen’s arm(,) trying to pull him towards me instead of having him go towards Joey,” he said.

Kim punched McLean while McLean’s back was turned, according to Segovia. McLean fell to the ground and went unconscious, he said. While he was on the ground, Kim kicked him, the supervisor testified.

Segovia said he again tried to contain Kim. He testified that Kim was gesturing with his hand like a pistol and was trying to shrug the supervisor off.

He told Segovia and others that he loved them, Segovia said. McLean was still on the ground and had started to moan, the supervisor said.

Segovia said he and Skyler Winquist, another city crew leader, were holding and pushing Kim when Kim reached around Segovia and over Winquist to shoot McLean.

Winquist said Kim was cursing at others and at management, saying, “they had six months to fix this, this is their fault, they could have handled this,” he said. “He was blaming other people.”

Winquist said he was trying to “take him down” when Kim “reached over us and you hear pop, pop, pop.”

McLean was on the ground during the whole altercation, he said.