Muckleshoot Casino Accused Murderer Is Held on $5M Bail After Random Stabbing

Posted on: April 23, 2024, 04:02h. 

Last updated on: April 23, 2024, 10:01h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The man who fatally stabbed a stranger early Sunday at Washington State’s Muckleshoot Casino chose his victim on the gaming floor after he couldn’t locate his intended target, authorities revealed.

The suspect, Ricky Fuentes, 31, appeared in court on Monday just hours after he admitted to police that he used a box cutter to slash the victim in the neck, according to news reports.

On Saturday night, Fuentes took a bus to the Auburn, Wash. gaming property. He had “the intent to kill an associate” at the tribal casino, according to police reports.

At about 10 p.m., he entered the casino and searched for his intended victim. That person couldn’t be found so Fuentes “began looking for someone else to kill in [his associate’s] stead,” according to police.

Appeared to Be ‘Bully’

Fuentes then noticed a man playing craps at a gaming table. He claimed that person appeared to be “a bully,” so he snuck up behind him and stabbed him in the neck, police said.

The victim died at the casino from his injuries.

Fuentes dropped the box cutter near the crime scene and was apprehended quickly by casino security guards at about 1:30 a.m.

He was handed over to Auburn Police Department officers and was booked at King County Jail. Authorities intend to charge him with first-degree murder, according to Seattle TV station KING.

King County District Court Judge Jill Klinge ruled there was probable cause for the charge and set bail at $5M.

It was random. It was violent. It occurred in front of a large group of people,” a prosecutor told Klinge in arguing for the high amount in bail.

During the court appearance, the prosecutor also told the judge that Fuentes has previously been charged for assault, reckless driving, and possession of dangerous weapons.

Victim ID

The victim was identified as Brandon Larson, 29, according to his girlfriend, Liyh Miller-Espinoza, Seattle TV station KOMO reported. She revealed that she had spoken to Larson in a phone call about a half hour before he was stabbed. A half-hour later, he called again but he could barely speak.

That’s not normal for him,” she told KING. “It was not normal for him to not respond to me.”

Later on Sunday, she discovered he had been stabbed and had been chosen at random.

“There was nothing possible between the two of them,” Miller-Espinoza told KOMO. “Brandon was not the type to start drama. He just loved me. He wanted to get home to me.”