LAS VEGAS, NV - A man in his thirties has reportedly admitted to fatally shooting his next-door neighbor outside their homes in Las Vegas during a verbal argument.
Eddi Moreno, 34, accepted a plea deal after being accused of killing his 47-year-old neighbor, Joe Moreno, in the 2200 block of Starline Meadows Place where they both lived, Law & Crime reported. The two men are not related to each other. On Tuesday, June 23, Eddi Moreno appeared in court and agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon.
"Did you understand the guilty plea agreement?" the judge overseeing Eddi Moreno's case reportedly asked. "Yes, your honor," he replied. The manslaughter charge carries a possible sentence of one to 10 years in prison, with a mandatory consecutive one to 10 years for the deadly weapon enhancement.
In a May 2024 press release, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said that officers responded just after 7:00 p.m. and found Joe Moreno suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
"The investigation by the LVMPD Homicide Section indicated the victim was involved in a verbal altercation with Moreno, who was the victim's neighbor," the LVMPD release said. Police arrested Eddi Moreno on an open murder charge. Court documents said that Eddi Moreno accused Joe Moreno of pulling out his genitals while outside his home.
The documents said that Joe Moreno had been locked out of his house after a fight earlier in the day. Eddi Moreno returned home to find his neighbor "pacing back and forth" outside.
"[Joe Moreno] begins making threats and Eddi tells his wife to grab his gun and call 911," according to the court documents. "Eddi advised [Joe] not to come towards him and warns [Joe] that he would shoot. The male came towards Eddi while reaching in his pants and Eddi shot [Joe]."
Joe Moreno stood on a boulder before being shot and "pulled his penis and scrotum out and began thrusting" toward Eddi Moreno, according to the court documents. A doorbell camera reportedly captured some of the argument between the two neighbors:
'You're going to get [expletive] up right here," Eddi Moreno said. "[Godd -], you're going to kill me," Joe Moreno said. "I don't give a [expletive], I am going to murder you, come right here. I'm a murder you blood," Eddi Moreno said. "Who are you going to murder?," Joe Moreno said. "You," Eddi Moreno said.
After the shooting, Eddi Moreno said "that's what he gets" in reference to Joe Moreno. "He's not going to do that in front of my kids," he stated, according to the court documents.
Joe Moreno's family came forward after his death and said he was bipolar and stopped taking his medications six months before he was killed. However, they believe that shouldn't excuse Eddi Moreno for what he did. "He straight-up murdered my son," Joe Moreno's mother, Connie Moreno said in May 2024. Eddi Moreno is scheduled to be sentenced on September 29.
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