A man charged with the fatal shooting of a couple on a crowded Las Vegas Strip sidewalk claims he acted in self-defence, believing they were about to open fire on him, as detailed in an arrest report.
Authorities have confirmed that the individuals involved, named by the Clark County coroner as Rodney Finley, 44, and Tanisha Finley, 43, were unarmed. According to the report, both individuals sustained gunshot wounds to the head.
In a dramatic turn of events, 41-year-old Manuel Ruiz faced the Las Vegas Justice Court on Tuesday morning, where the judge issued a no-bail order. He is charged with two counts of murder.
Three YouTube streamers showed up at Ruiz’s hearing on Tuesday.
“It was childish, it was crazy. It didn’t make any sense,” Marquise Wiley, a YouTuber who goes by the Wiley Show, said. “It was all about who was the biggest Las Vegas YouTube content creator.”
Wiley has closely tracked the ongoing conflict between the two YouTubers for several months, particularly highlighting the violent events that unfolded on Sunday night.
“They was [sic] in competition, and when you watch YouTube, you see different creators competing for our viewers, and that’s what I thought it was about. I didn’t think it was going to end the violence,” Wiley said.
According to the arrest report, Ruiz fled the scene of the shooting, abandoning his shirt, hat, and weapon before catching a rideshare to New York, New York, as he lacked the funds to cover the fare. He made his way to a friend’s residence, where he was advised to surrender to authorities.
Following his arrest, Ruiz reported that Finley’s wife confronted him, engaging in a provocative display right in front of him. Witnesses reported that Finley reached for his waistband and asked, “What up cuz?” in an aggressive manner, leading to the belief that he was reaching for a firearm, prompting a self-defence shooting, according to documents.
He informed the authorities that he targeted Finley’s torso, but as Finley persisted in moving, he adjusted his aim upward. He confessed to shooting Finley’s wife after spotting a “shiny black object” that he thought was a firearm, as stated in the report.
A heated dispute on social media between Ruiz and Rodney Finley seems to have led to the shooting. A report indicated that a fellow YouTube content creator informed the police that the conflict began in 2023.
A fellow YouTuber reported to authorities that he witnessed the shooting unfold in real-time during a live stream. He reported witnessing Manny draw a firearm from his waistband and aim it in the direction he thought Finny was located… Witnesses reported seeing a flash and hearing multiple gunshots.
According to reports, he observed Finley’s wife seize the gimbal that held the phone for the live stream, followed by the sound of two additional shots, which resulted in the phone crashing to the ground, as stated in the documents.
During a routine patrol, two police officers heard gunfire and quickly responded, discovering Finley and his wife suffering from gunshot wounds, lying on the sidewalk near the Bellagio fountains. During that period, Ruiz’s wife, Juliana Pimentel, contacted law enforcement, expressing her suspicion that her husband had been involved in a shooting, according to the report. While walking ahead of her husband, she suddenly heard gunfire and quickly fled the scene.
Ruiz is set to make a court appearance on Thursday, where a criminal complaint is anticipated to be lodged.
