An Excalibur Hotel and Casino guest experienced a night of terror when a man staying in the room next door was shot and killed in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to the police report, on June 11 a housekeeper entered an 8th floor hotel room and discovered Martell Merrill, age 36, on the floor with a gunshot wound to the arm and chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The room was registered to Christopher Mason, 40, from Las Vegas, who had checked in with Merrill and his girlfriend six days prior. Police later found a “significant quantity of narcotics” inside the room, including a green leafy substance and a white powdery substance.
The victim’s girlfriend and other hotel guests told authorities of events leading up to the shooting. Over the phone, the girlfriend heard an argument between Mason and Merrill concerning a missing $20 gambling voucher that was supposed to be on the dresser. She heard Merrill plead with Mason “not to blast him,” followed by a thud, labored breathing, and then silence.
Video surveillance also showed Mason entering and leaving the hotel around the same time.
Mason was apprehended near the 6800 block of West Cheyenne Avenue and booked into the Clark County Detention Center. He is now facing a charge of open murder and his next court appearance is set for 8:30am on June 15.