3 days ago
Bitter dispute between Las Vegas landlord and tenant takes a dramatic turn
A Las Vegas man is now in custody after police say he shot his landlord dead in a fit of rage.
Christopher Rainey, 36, allegedly fired multiple shots at his landlord on Thursday after he served Rainey with an eviction notice, said Lt. Robert Price of the Las Vegas Metro Police.
has learned that the landlord's name was Steven Lucchesi.
Lucchesi, 39, owned the house where the shooting took place, and he lived at the home with four other roommates, including Rainey.
Lucchesi was found at around 5pm with multiple gunshots wounds on the kitchen floor of his home, which is located on the 3600 block of North Campbell Road, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
Shortly after medical personnel arrived, Lucchesi was pronounced dead at the scene.
One of the roommates at the home spoke off-camera with KSNV-TV, telling the outlet that Lucchesi put a paper eviction notice on Rainey's bedroom door.
The roommate, who added that Rainey was at least two months behind on rent, said he saw the eviction notice crumpled up in the foyer. Suspecting there was an argument brewing, he decided to step outside.
Thirty seconds later, he said he heard shouting and then three shots.
A roommate also spoke with KLAS-TV, although its not clear if its the same roommate who talked to the other local outlet.
That roommate said he was longtime friend of Lucchesi's and used lived with him in New York.
'He was my friend, and he didn't deserve to die like this,' he said.
The roommate said Rainey was 'quiet' and 'kept to himself.'
'He was a creepy, sneaky son of b***h stockpiling bullets up in his room,' he said. 'He just lost his job and he didn't tell anybody about this s**t. He didn't tell anybody about it. He was behind on the rent, and [Lucchesi] just asked what was going on and he snapped.'
Lucchesi, who was originally from Staten Island, moved to Las Vegas at some point and started a vitamin and supplement store called Discount Nutrition Shop.
After the shooting, Rainey was arrested at the home without incident and remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center.
Rainey refused to show up for his scheduled court appearance on Friday. His next court date is on Tuesday.
