Las Vegas man killed in crash had ‘heart of gold,’ sister says

With frigid wintertime nights imminent, Jacob Stanley was plotting his mode retired of the unforgiving Las Vegas streets aft helium became stateless this year.

Stanley’s sister, Roxanne Harrell, said she spoke to him conscionable earlier helium died. He had had a hopeful tone, mentioning cause rehab and the imaginable of uncovering a location and a amended life.

“We were conscionable trying to fig things out,” Harrell said successful a telephone interrogation from Virginia, their location state.

Stanley told his sister that his telephone needed a complaint and that helium would telephone back, ending their speech similar helium ever did: “I emotion you.”

Minutes later, early connected Nov. 20, Stanley stepped onto Sahara Avenue, adjacent Commerce Center Drive, and was struck by a car and killed.

He was 36.

Court appearance

The Metropolitan Police Department said that Stanley was extracurricular of a crosswalk soon earlier 1 a.m. erstwhile a car driven by Juan Vazquez deed him.

Vazquez, who remained astatine the scene, was arrested connected a complaint of DUI causing decease aft helium declined a tract sobriety trial and told officers helium had smoked cookware earlier successful the day, not expounding connected a clip framework of the cause consumption.

The results of humor samples constabulary took from Vazquez person not been made public.

On Thursday morning, Vazquez, 31, appeared successful court, wherever Clark County prosecutors asked Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum to hold a preliminary proceeding until January due to the fact that a witness, who told constabulary she was driving adjacent to Vazquez and saw him accelerate past her earlier the crash, was “out of town.”

Defense lawyer Kelsey Bernstein, who questioned the timing of the witness’ absence, said that Vazquez “did the close thing” by calling 911, directing postulation astir the clang country and cooperating with police, adjacent making “statements against his champion interest.”

She said Vazquez declined the tract sobriety trial due to the fact that helium was approached portion sitting successful an ambulance “getting solid shards removed from his eyeballs.”

Baucum acknowledged the attorney’s “good arguments” and slashed bail successful half, mounting it astatine $50,000. If Vazquez posts bond, helium volition beryllium held nether high-monitoring location arrest.

He is adjacent owed successful tribunal connected Jan. 12.

“There is importantly much than meets the oculus to this case,” Bernstein wrote successful an email to the Review-Journal connected Thursday. “I judge determination are valid defenses to these charges, and the State and I volition enactment to guarantee that a just and conscionable result is reached that appropriately reflects the ineligible and evidentiary problems successful the case.”

Vazquez, who donned bluish jailhouse garb successful court, told Baucum helium was a 20-year Las Vegas nonmigratory who worked delivering food. He has 3 children and a 4th “on the way.”

Harrell is upset that bail was acceptable successful the archetypal place.

“I don’t recognize however this antheral mightiness person a accidental to enslaved out, beryllium astatine location with his children and his loved ones, and conscionable spell connected astir his regular beingness erstwhile my member can’t bash that. I don’t recognize that astatine all,” she said earlier Thursday’s hearing.

Reacting to the hearing, she added, “It’s sounds harsh, but I consciousness similar my member was conscionable murdered for the 2nd time. I person nary words for it.”

Family decimated

Stanley’s decease was the latest successful a drawstring of tragedies for Harrell: Their begetter died from crab 4 years ago; their parent died successful her slumber a twelvemonth ago; now, she had besides mislaid her “baby brother.”

“That’s what makes this calamity horrific for me,” Harrell said, explaining that the 4 were a tightknit household portion — a “wolf pack.”

“Jake was the past to go,” she said. “So present my small battalion is benignant of empty.”

Stanley was calved successful Dumfries, Virginia. He and Harrell maintained a adjacent enslaved aft their older sister moved retired of their home, sharing hobbies and person groups, and aboriginal successful life, keeping successful changeless interaction with each other. He and his parents moved to Arizona 7 years ago, and helium relocated with his parent to Las Vegas successful 2018.

Harrell fondly remembers their play household sportfishing trips, an enactment helium cherished.

Stanley was a instrumentality of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Orlando Magic, often wearing the jersey of his favourite hoops player, Shaquille O’Neal.

“He ever was the halfway of attention,” Harrell said. “He could marque friends with anybody — a implicit alien — and they would ne'er hide him.”

Music was important to his family, and Stanley was known to contort his sensation depending connected who helium was with: listening to 1970s tunes with his father, and dense metal, state oregon hip-hop with assorted person groups.

And contempt his struggles, helium ne'er mislaid his aura of forgiveness, compassion and kindness, ever consenting to springiness distant his past cigaret oregon assistance anyone successful request — a “heart of gold,” Harrell said.

The decease of their mother, which near him to fend for himself for the archetypal time, sent him into a downward spiral, Harrell said.

“I disquieted each time astir him, wherever helium was going to sleep, what helium was doing,” she said.

Still, the thought of losing him, particularly successful a crash, “never” crossed her mind.

The thought of radical judging her member gives her anguish.

“He was who helium was,” she said, adding that his decease has consumed her with grief, anxiousness and insomnia.

She past saw her member 3 years agone successful Virginia, erstwhile helium got to conscionable his niece successful person. Harrell’s younger lad did not get a accidental to conscionable his uncle.

Harrell and her household celebrated what would person been Stanley’s 37 day from her location successful Roanoke, Virginia, successful precocious November, she said. They released balloons successful his honor.

Recently, idiosyncratic talented her flat, circular ornaments with pictures of the siblings unneurotic that adorn her Christmas tree.

“This is each I person near of him,” she wrote successful a substance connection Wednesday.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez astatine rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him connected Twitter @rickytwrites.