2 men allegedly beat father of 7 to death in fight at Nevada casino, police say

Two men in Nevada are accused of fatally beating a father of seven during an early morning brawl at a casino last summer, authorities said.

On July 30 shortly after 1 a.m., a fight between two groups broke out at the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada. Responding officers found 44-year-old Alejo Jack Areyan of Los Angeles County, California, dead at the scene.

According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, Julio Arrezola-Rodriguez and David Cruz, 45, were at the casino with a group of people and got into a dispute with a second party that included Areyan, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

According to an arrest warrant, when the two groups approached each other near the casino’s exit, Cruz allegedly punched a man “without provocation” and a fight erupted.

At one point, the warrant states, Areyan allegedly hit Cruz. Arrezola-Rodriguez then came over to Areyan and allegedly began punching and kicking him.

Areyan fell to the ground and both Cruz and Arrezola-Rodriguez, the warrant claimed, allegedly punched, stomped, and kick Areyan in the head, including after he stopped moving.

In September, Rosemary Flores, the victim's sister-in-law, told the Mohave Valley Daily News she didn’t believe Areyan was originally involved in the brawl but video, she said, allegedly shows he came under attack after he tried to come to the aid of someone who was.

“Alejo went to help someone else,” she claimed. “Someone else was on the ground; he stepped in and went to help him get up .... And they just beat him.”

The Mohave County medical examiner determined Areyan died from homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Flores told the outlet the victim, his mother and other relatives were on vacation in Nevada when the incident occurred.

Arrezola-Rodriguez and Cruz were both eventually taken into custody, according to Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Ray Spencer.

Cruz’s preliminary hearing in the case has been set for Jan. 27. Further information on Arrezola-Rodriguez's case was unavailable.