Video shows a man, released on bail two days prior, allegedly stabbing another man multiple times inside an RTC bus in Las Vegas on February 26.
Authorities charged 59-year-old Aaron Cole with murder in the death of 30-year-old Dominique Lucas, 8 News Now reported Wednesday.
While the pair were riding the bus, they apparently began arguing and Cole allegedly lunged at the younger man.
Lucas ran toward the front, but Cole is accused of stabbing him several times near the vehicle’s entrance before taking his seat again.
Cole allegedly continued stabbing the victim before Lucas got to his feet and asked the bus driver for help.
The driver apparently kept going, but hit a panic button to speak with a dispatcher. The driver then asked Lucas if he wanted to exit the bus, which later came to a halt near the intersection of Paradise Road and Desert Inn Road.
The driver reportedly said he kept the doors shut for everyone’s safety, telling a grand juror, “I’ve got to make sure I’m safe enough to operate that bus for the other passengers also.”
The incident unfolded at 4:50 p.m., but the bus did not stop and open the doors until four minutes later when the driver got off, per the Daily Mail.
“Lucas crawled out of the bus and onto the sidewalk without any help and a passerby was seen holding a towel to his chest to suppress the bleeding at around 4.57pm before Metro police officers arrived at the scene a minute later,” the outlet said.
According to the Clark County coroner’s office, the victim died from the 33 stab wounds.
Video footage shows Cole’s first appearance in court:
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported February 26 the suspect was released on bail a few days before the incident on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon:
Cole was arrested and charged on Feb. 18 with assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of carrying or concealing a dangerous weapon without a permit, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records.
…
Court records showed he was released on Friday by Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joseph Sciscento following a hearing Wednesday about his bail conditions, which prohibited him from having contact with the unnamed victim in the case. He was required to work with the Pretrial Compliance Unit upon his release, but specific terms were not laid out in the court record.
Cole was in prison for over 20 years regarding an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the early 1990s after he apparently shot a man.
Texas officials confirmed that he was released in 2017, the Mail report said.
Meanwhile, “A judge denied setting bail due to Cole’s murder charge. A future court date had not been scheduled as of Wednesday,” the News 8 Now article concluded.
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