Las Vegas man hid in Mexico after selling cousin fentanyl pills that killed him: police
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man allegedly provided the fentanyl pills that police say killed his cousin, and then fled to Mexico, before returning and facing arrest, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.
Last week, a Clark County grand jury indicted Alexander Ibarra-Bueno, 23, on charges of second-degree murder and the sale of a controlled substance, documents said.
Prosecutors allege Ibarra-Bueno sold Rigoberto Sanchez, 24, the pill that killed him on Sept 28. 2022, documents said. Sanchez died from the toxic effects of fentanyl with his manner of death listed as an accident, a spokesperson for the coroner’s office said.
Officers found several pills near Sanchez’s body, they said. Just a few grains of fentanyl are enough to kill a person, DEA agents said. Ingesting the so-called “M-30” pills can be even more dangerous because different pills can contain different chemicals and mixtures. The pills are branded on the street as medical grade, but they are counterfeit.
Witnesses told police Sanchez met with Ibarra-Bueno the night before his death. Police obtained video from a fast-food restaurant, which they said showed the two cousins exchanging an item in an alleged drug transaction. Sanchez never ordered any food in the restaurant and left afterward.
Detectives then determined Ibarra-Bueno was a suspect in Sanchez’s death, documents said. Police attempted to contact him, but his family members told police they believed he was “hiding from police in Mexico,” documents said.
In July 2023, police learned Ibarra-Bueno was back in the Las Vegas area. Over several months, detectives tracked Ibarra’s location, finding him at a home. Police then arrested Ibarra after he failed to completely come to a stop while driving downtown.
While speaking with police, Ibarra-Bueno said he believed Sanchez overdosed, adding “he feared having the blame of Sanchez’s death being placed on him,” according to officers. When asked who provided the pills to his cousin, Ibarra-Bueno reportedly responded, “He got it from me.”
Police suspect Ibarra-Bueno was buying hundreds of pills from a dealer, keeping some for himself and selling others, documents said.
Ibarra-Bueno remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center as of Wednesday where a judge ordered him held on $500,000 bail. He was due to return to court on Thursday.
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