A 36-year-old Las Vegas man, Christopher Rainey, has been accused of fatally shooting his landlord after he tried to evict him. Enraged by the notice, Rainey allegedly shot multiple times at Steven Lucchesi, which proved to be fatal.
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According to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) release, the incident took place on May 29 at around 4:46 p.m. The LVMPD received a report of a male victim having suffered gunshot wounds at a North Campbell Road residence.
Upon arrival, residents inside called out to the officers. One individual, Rainey, as per police, got out of the house while carrying a firearm. He was taken into custody. Once inside, officers located the male victim, later identified as Steven Lucchesi by the Daily Mail. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
As a result, Christopher Rainey was booked into the Clark County Detention Center for open murder with a deadly weapon and assault, as per the LVMPD.
Eviction Notice
During the police investigation, it was found that the fatal shooting stemmed from a heated argument. Lucchesi had served Rainey with an eviction notice. This caused the verbal altercation that escalated to Rainey allegedly shooting the landlord multiple times.
According to KSNV, four other people lived at the residence alongside Rainey. One of the roommates present at the time of the incident talked with the outlet and detailed what happened inside the residence. At the time, he was alongside the landlord, who was a lifelong friend, when they saw a crumpled piece of paper being tossed. It was the eviction notice.
“I stepped outside, light a cigarette,” the roommate said. “30 seconds later, I hear, ‘you put that [expletive] [expletive] on my door.’ Bang. Bang. Bang.”
According to the roommate, Rainey had lost his job, but kept the information to himself.
“He didn’t tell anybody about it,” the roommate told KLAS. “He was behind on the rent, and [Lucchesi] just asked what was going on and he snapped.”
While describing Rainey, the roommate said that he always “kept to himself,” and also added that he was “creepy” and “sneaky.” In addition, the roommate claimed that Rainey had been “stockpiling bullets in his room.”
Referring to Lucchesi, the grieving roommate said, “He was my friend, and he didn’t deserve to die like this.”
According to the Daily Mail, Christopher Rainey refused to show up for a scheduled Friday court appearance. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 3.