Police: Man sleeping in car outside Las Vegas Walmart dies after suspect steals that car, crashes

A man who was sleeping in a parked car outside a Las Vegas shopping center while was killed Saturday after another man jumped into the car and tried to steal it, but crashed, police said.

The victim, in his 30s, was sleeping in the passenger seat of a black Hyundai Sonata that was parked near a Walmart Supercenter store at 4505 W. Charleston Blvd., near Arville Street, late Saturday morning, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Monique Rodriguez said in a media briefing Saturday evening. While the man slept, another family member was inside the Walmart, Rodriguez said.

That’s when another man, in his 50s, jumped into the vehicle and attempted to drive away, Rodriguez said. Shortly after the car left the parking lot, however, it crashed into a minivan and later into a large rock and a light pole.

“An unknown subject entered the front driver’s seat and started to drive away at a high rate of speed,” Rodriguez said, adding that police received an initial call about the crash just before 11 a.m. “The vehicle then rammed into the back of the silver minivan, causing it to spin out and continue northbound into the intersection of Charleston and Essex (Drive). The man in the passenger seat woke up to another man essentially kidnapping him.”

While they will continue to investigate, police do not believe the driver and passenger knew each other and that it was likely a crime of opportunity, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the passenger inside the Sonata was taken to a local hospital, where he died. The suspect and the two people who were inside the minivan were also taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Rodriguez described the injuries suffered by the suspect as minor.

The names of the man who died and the carjacker had not been released as of Saturday night.

Police said the suspect would likely face murder charges.

“More than likely, this is going to end up in open murder charges,” Rodriguez said. “When the family member came out (of the Walmart), she noticed that the vehicle was missing and ultimately found that the car had been involved in this accident.”

Rodriguez said the suspect is known to Metro and that he has a lengthy criminal history.