Police: Las Vegas man shot in head, forced to ingest fentanyl

A Las Vegas man with a lengthy criminal history is accused of shooting an acquaintance in the head at a south Las Vegas home on Sunday, then forcing the victim to ingest fentanyl to make him die faster, police said.

Yet despite being shot in the head and having a large rock of fentanyl washed down his throat, police said the victim of the shooting, Von Cummins of Las Vegas, did not die. Cummins went through emergency surgery after the shooting at University Medical Center and ended up on life support, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Oliver Marshall, 36, of Las Vegas, is charged with attempted murder, assault, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and conspiracy, police said. Marshall’s girlfriend, Johana Garcia Valenzuela, 23, is accused of participating in the crime and faces the same charges.

Police said Marshall is an admitted member of the Bloods gang in Las Vegas with a street moniker of “Boohood.” Court and Nevada Department of Corrections records show Marshall has served time in state prison for burglary, robbery, grand larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle over the last 15 years.

Police said Marshall and Cummins knew each other from serving time in jail together.

Police said Marshall, Cummins, a yet-to-be-identified man, Garcia Valenzuela and Cummins’ girlfriend were in a home near East Pebble Road and Pollock Drive on Sunday when police received a 911 call from Cummins’ girlfriend. When police arrived, the woman told police her boyfriend was “dying inside.”

Police found Cummins unresponsive in a bedroom, suffering from gunshot wounds to the head, lip and chin. Police said Cummins’ girlfriend told investigators that Cummins and Marshall had gone out to purchase narcotics the night prior. After they returned, police said, they were smoking meth when Marshall brandished a firearm and pointed it at Cummins, saying “he would find out what he did, and could not hide it from him.”

Marshall then shot Cummins in the head, the girlfriend said. As Cummins was on the ground pleading for help and calling out to God, police said, Marshall shot him again, then ordered the unidentified man to “roll a fat foil,” which was a large dose of fentanyl, and have it placed on Cummins’ lips.

Cummins’ girlfriend said she was forced to put a large rock of fentanyl in Cummins’ mouth and wash it down with water. She complied out of fear of being shot, police said.

The woman said Marshall then ordered her to then clean up blood in the residence and robbed her at gunpoint. The woman said she was able to use her phone to secretly dial 911 during the episode, prompting police to respond to the home.

Police said Marshall and Garcia Valenzuela fled through the rear of the home upon officers’ arrival. They were later arrested in the back of an Uber.

Garcia Valenzuela denied to police that she was ever at the scene or involved in the crime. Police said when they interviewed Marshall, however, he confessed, saying he suspected Cummins of stealing from his grandmother and attempting to steal his girlfriend.

A preliminary hearing for both Marshall and Garcia Valenzuela is set for April 23. Court-appointed attorneys for both could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday morning.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.