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<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b689da354924d01aaa68e3c4f702f313" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>Tyler Johns, 23, is charged with murder after shooting 11-year-old Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria during a road rage incident </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-50b17f469a19d1dc87a7547ce94bce17" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>Dominguez-Chavarria was riding with his stepfather, Valente Ayala, on the 215 Beltway in Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas around 7.30am on November 14 </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9c11aa83710b4e8d23ef36fd705af63a" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>Johns allegedly fired a handgun into Ayala&#8217;s SUV after the suspect and stepfather jockeyed for position, trying to pass each other on the bustling freeway </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e90a84cb15896dedf9d18933c9d88295" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>After the two men rolled their windows down and got into a verbal dispute, Johns pointed the gun toward the backseat and pulled the trigger, killing Dominguez-Chavarria while on his way to school </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-46a435a7e82f0507c8cc49791b6c1491" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>On Tuesday, presiding judge Jacqueline Bluth, admonished Johns after she was informed that he had smirked at the bereaved family and called them names, during his hearing </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2121c18391c829dac384b6b907f708f2" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>Johns remains in custody after he pled not guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of discharging a firearm </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c8abb0c9ee2edff3ff9ec8a72cd8cff0" style="color:#260707;font-size:14px"><strong>Judge Bluth rejected defense bid to have the murder charge reduced<strong>, with his trial scheduled to begin Nov. 9</strong> </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Brandon-Dominguez-Chavarria-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495547" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>11-year-old Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria [photo], was on his way to school when he was fatally shot in the back seat on Nov. 14, 2025, after his stepfather, Valente Ayala, and Johns got into a heated road rage dispute on the 215 Beltway in Henderson, Nevada</strong></p>



<p>A Las Vegas road rage suspect charged with murdering an 11-year-old boy smirked and laughed at the victim&#8217;s family during his hearing, according to an irate courtroom judge. <br>Tyler Johns, 23, is accused of fatally shooting Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria around 7.30am on November 14, while riding with his stepfather, Valente Ayala, on the 215 Beltway in Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas. <br>Johns allegedly fired a handgun into Ayala&#8217;s SUV after the suspect and stepfather jockeyed for position, trying to pass each other on the bustling freeway. <br>Shots rang out after the two men rolled their windows down and got into a verbal dispute just before Johns pointed the gun toward the backseat and fired, killing Dominguez-Chavarria who was on his way to school, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tyler-Johns-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495549" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Tyler Johns, 22, is charged with murder after shooting Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria during the road rage incident in November. In Las Vegas on Tuesday, the judge has accused him of smiling and laughing at Brandon&#8217;s family during court proceedings </strong></p>



<p>Judge Jacqueline Bluth sitting at the Clark County District court in Nevada on Tuesday, <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/las-vegas-judge-scolds-defendant-in-215-road-rage-shooting-3729033/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">admonished the defendant</a> the defendant after she said she had been informed that Tyler Johns had laughed at his alleged victim&#8217;s family and called them names.<br>&#8216;If it did happen, it will never happen again,&#8217; Bluth defiantly said as she took the bench. <br>According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo, a victim&#8217;s advocate who had been seated with the bereaved family reported to the marshal that Johns had been smirking at the family during court proceedings. <br>Prior to Judge Bluth&#8217;s comment, a marshal had escorted Johns out of the courtroom and into a sally port, a secure and controlled vehicle bay used to transport prisoners. <br>Ryan Helmick, John&#8217;s attorney, said his client didn&#8217;t do anything directed at the victim&#8217;s family, and that the suspect is taking the case &#8216;very seriously.&#8217; <br>&#8216;It flat out did not happen. This is a very tragic case, and Tyler is taking it very seriously. The tensions are high, but we don’t appreciate the allegations being made,&#8217; Helmick said, adding that Johns was upset after hearing what he was accused of doing. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Jacqueline-Bluth-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495551" style="aspect-ratio:0.9402966636285022;width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>After hearing that the defendant smirked at the victim&#8217;s family in court, District Judge Jacqueline Bluth [photo], admonished: &#8216;If it did happen, it will never happen again&#8217; </strong></p>



<p>Bluth also addressed the &#8216;high tensions&#8217; in the courtroom, but assured that her hearings are always &#8216;calm.&#8217; <br>&#8216;My courtroom is always very, very calm, even though emotions run very high in here,&#8217; the judge added.<br>&#8216;And the reason why it runs so calmly is that I treat every single person that walks in those doors with dignity and respect.&#8217; <br>Every seat in the courtroom was filled as nearly a dozen of the victim&#8217;s family members, including Ayala, attended the hearing, the outlet reported. <br>Approximately 10 of Johns&#8217; family members sat quietly on the opposite side of the gallery. <br>When Johns&#8217; case was called, his lawyer argued that his client should not be charged with first-degree murder because he was not aware the boy was in the backseat of the SUV when he fired the gun. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Valente-Ayala-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495566" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>&#8220;He came up alongside me. At that moment, I turned to look at him, and at that moment, he was already pointing a weapon at me.” At the preliminary hearing in December, Chavarria’s stepfather, Valente Ayala, [photo], claimed Johns was the aggressor in the Nov. 14 altercation. His version was supported by multiple eye witnesses</strong> </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tyler-Johns-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495556" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Johns remains in custody without bail after pleading not guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of discharging a firearm</strong> </p>



<p>Bluth also addressed the &#8216;high tensions&#8217; in the courtroom, but assured that her hearings are always &#8216;calm.&#8217; <br>&#8216;My courtroom is always very, very calm, even though emotions run very high in here,&#8217; the judge added.<br>&#8216;And the reason why it runs so calmly is that I treat every single person that walks in those doors with dignity and respect.&#8217; <br>Every seat in the courtroom was filled as nearly a dozen of the victim&#8217;s family members, including Ayala, attended the hearing, the outlet reported. <br>Approximately 10 of Johns&#8217; family members sat quietly on the opposite side of the gallery. <br>When Johns&#8217; case was called, his lawyer argued that his client should not be charged with first-degree murder because he was not aware the boy was in the backseat of the SUV when he fired the gun. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Brandon-Dominguez-Chavarria-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495553" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Brandon was on his way to school, riding in the back seat of his family car that November morning when he was killed by another motorist who shot indiscriminately at the vehicle during a road rage incident </strong></p>



<p>Harrowing bodycam footage showed Ayala in anguish after his son was fatally shot during the road rage incident. <br>The distraught stepfather was seen crying to a police officer and pleading: &#8216;My kid is dead.&#8217; <br>&#8216;He&#8217;s dead?&#8217; the incredulous officer replied. <br>Johns then walked up to the cop at the scene of the crime and offered his hands behind his back unprompted to be handcuffed.<br>&#8216;Officer, take me,&#8217; Johns said. &#8216;I shot at him, bro. I didn&#8217;t know it was a f***ing kid in the back.&#8217;<br>As Johns was cuffed and then moved into the police car, Ayala&#8217;s cries could still be heard in the background.<br>The suspect then attempted an explanation, telling the officer: &#8216;We were road raging. He came up around the side, like on the merge.&#8217;<br>The footage released by Las Vegas police also showed Johns commenting on the actual shooting.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tyler-Johns-left-and-Valente-Ayala-right-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495544" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Bodycam footage recorded by a police officer at the scene shows a distressed Ayala [right], repeatedly saying &#8216;my kid is dead!,&#8217; as Johns [left], says, &#8216;I just shot at him bro&#8230;. . . I didn&#8217;t know he had a kid in the back&#8217;</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tyler-Johns-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495554" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>&#8216;It&#8217;s 100 percent my fault. I shot at him, dude. I didn&#8217;t even know he had a kid in the car,&#8217; offering his hands to the officer. Johns was promptly handcuffed and taken into a police vehicle</strong></p>



<p>He said: &#8216;It&#8217;s 100 percent my fault. I shot at him, dude. I didn&#8217;t even know he had a kid in the car.&#8217;<br>The footage continued with Ayala sprawled out on the road, cursing and wailing at the tragic death of his stepson.<br>Later in the video, Johns asked the officer: &#8216;Is there any chance that the kid will be okay?&#8217;<br>&#8216;There&#8217;s always a chance. I don&#8217;t know. After 20 years, I&#8217;ve kinda seen everything happen,&#8217; the cop responded.<br>&#8216;If you&#8217;re a praying man, I would be praying a lot for him right now.&#8217;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Valente-Ayala-on-the-ground-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495559" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Valente Ayala is seen in the footage sprawled in the middle of the road swearing and lamenting the death of his stepson. Johns was arrested at the scene. His gun was also recovered. </strong></p>



<p>Ayala&#8217;s cries remained audible as Johns spoke to law enforcement.<br>Johns was arrested at the scene of the crime. His gun was also recovered. <br>The child was treated by the Henderson Fire Department and then rushed to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he died. <br>Authorities said they &#8216;explored the possibility of charging the stepfather with a crime&#8217;. Ayala ultimately, was not charged with any wrongdoing.<br>After defense attorney Ryan Helmick said his client should not be charged with first-degree murder, Judge Bluth rejected his argument. <br>Helmick filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to amend the murder charge. He argued that prosecutors did not demonstrate that Johns intended to shoot Brandon, and thus they could not use child abuse predicates to elevate the charge to first-degree murder.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tyler-Johns-in-court-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-495563"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>At Tuesday&#8217;s hearing the Judge rejected a defense push to lower the murder charge. His trial on first-degree murder<strong> is scheduled to begin November 9</strong> </strong></p>



<p>Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo countered that liability issues were not appropriate for a habeas petition, which typically alleges illegal detention. He also argued that under Nevada law, a suspect does not have to know the age of a victim for predicates to kick in, as he arguing, &#8220;You shoot at somebody and you hit a child, it&#8217;s automatically first-degree murder in the state of Nevada.&#8221; <br>Judge Bluth instead was in agreement with the prosecution argument that Nevada&#8217;s child abuse laws do not require that an act be committed knowingly. <br>&#8216;In the statute he&#8217;s charged under, you don&#8217;t have to know the age of your victim,&#8217; DiGiacomo explained.<br>Bluth agreed with him, stating: &#8216;If you fire a weapon not knowing and not meaning to hit a child and the child dies from it, you are on the hook for first-degree murder.&#8217; <br>Johns has pled not guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of discharging a firearm. <br>With his trial is set to begin on November 9, he remains in custody without bail. </p>

Judge will not reduce first-degree murder charge for smirking Vegas man, 23, who killed schoolboy, 11, when he shot at back seat of family SUV during road rage incident
