“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Prosecutors believe a murder suspect accused of killing a man and dismembering his body, leaving it to decompose in a barrel, made jail phone calls and sent Facebook messages about purchasing of blades and a 55-gallon drum, documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Friday said.
Las Vegas Metro police arrested Ryan Bentley, 43, in November on one charge of open murder. Homicide detectives suspect Bentley killed the victim, Rene Enriquez Jr., 39, at a home near Washington Avenue and Jones Boulevard in late October.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, a person notified Clark County Public Works about an abandoned barrel near Quail Avenue and Palm Street. A public works contractor removed the barrel from the area and then opened it, finding suspected human remains and bleach inside, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported last year.
Inside the barrel, investigators said they found a torso missing its arms and head.
In court documents, prosecutors and detectives allege Bentley shot Enriquez for snitching on him and his friend group. Enriquez is described as Bentley’s “friend of a friend” and was planning to move into Bentley’s home, documents said.
Police had investigated Enriquez’s home the week of Oct. 20, documents said.
Unrelated to the homicide, Las Vegas Metro police arrested Bentley on a drug charge on Oct. 28. Transcripts indicate prosecutors suspect Enriquez was already deceased at the time.
Bentley made several phone calls from the Clark County Detention Center while awaiting his friends to pay bail.
“Has the house been cleaned up?” Bentley said in one call, which was entered into evidence.
“Yes,” the woman on the other end of the call said.
“Ah, cool,” Bentley said.
In another call, Bentley asks about a woman named Angelica. On Dec. 7, Metro police arrested Angelica Hudson, 30, on a charge of murder with the use of a deadly weapon in connection with Enriquez’s death.
“Has Angelica called you?” Bentley asked the caller.
“Yea, yea,” she said.
Prosecutors dismissed all charges against Hudson later that month.
Other evidence in the case includes Facebook messages Bentley reportedly sent after his release from custody on the drug charge. Prosecutors received the messages from Meta, Facebook’s parent company, through a search warrant.
“I either need new Sawzall blades or cash app so I can ride bike to buy some,” Bentley reportedly said in a message on Oct. 29, records showed.
Before that worker discovered Enriquez’s body in late November, Bentley sent more messages, prosecutors said.
“Bro the [expletive] me and her had to do compared with cartel videos,” Bentley said, according to prosecutors.
“I was in real situation I still can’t talk about and all I needed was few gallons of hot water,” another message said. “I just needed [hot] water to activate the lye.” Lye is a chemical compound used in decomposition.
The coroner’s office identified Enriquez’s remains from his tattoos, documents said.
A district court arraignment was scheduled for Jan. 26. A judge denied setting bail due to the murder charge
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Metro’s Homicide Section at (702) 828-3521, or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. You can remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555 or by visiting crimestoppersofnv.com.
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