A Guatemalan native who stabbed two people to death and injured six others will spend the rest of his life in prison.
A Clark County judge sentenced Yoni Barrios, 34, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the stabbing death of 30-year-old Maris Mareen Digiovanni and 47-year-old Canadian Brent Allan Hallett, who was in Las Vegas on holiday. To avoid the death penalty, Barrios pleaded guilty to two counts of murder but mentally ill, attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, one count of an act of terrorism, and several other charges.
On the morning of Oct.6, 2022, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 3100 Block of South Las Vegas Boulevard near the Wynn Las Vegas casino after reports of several stabbings. Upon arrival, the defendant was arrested after a short chase.
According to prosecutors, the defendant approached a group of showgirls impersonators and asked if he could take a picture with them while dressed as a chef. When some of them backed away, Barrios thought the girls were laughing at him before he drew a knife and stabbed Digiovanni to death. Then, the defendant ran along the sidewalk, stabbing others, including Hallett, who was celebrating his early retirement, traveling around the world with his wife, and was just a few days away from returning to Alberta, Canada, reported Global News.
Barrios was a known entity to California and Las Vegas law enforcement agencies after he was charged with domestic violence in 2019 in Las Vegas. However, the case was dismissed in 2021. The stabbing spree and fatal incident caught the attention of the then Presidential Candidate Dold J. Trump, who derided the Democrats for allowing someone like Barrios, who was an unauthorized immigrant, to walk free in their sanctuary cities.
“You can’t walk down a street in a Democrat-run city without being shot, or mugged or knifed,” said Trump, reported The New York Times.
Barrios’ defense lawyer, Mr. Scott Coffee, described his client’s violent act as a result of his mental illness, which led to paranoia.
The defendant was initially declared unfit to stand trial and receiving treatment until six weeks before his sentencing.
Hallett’s wife set up an animal welfare charity that focuses on rabbits in his memory.
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