A judge has sentenced one of two men involved in a Las Vegas crime spree that left two people in 2021.
Jordan Ruby, 22, was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison on Thursday.
Ruby and Jesani Carter, 24, were charged with the deaths of Clarice Yamaguchi, 66, and Hyo Sup Um, 60, as well as an attempted murder and robbery between December 30 and December 31, 2021.
8 News Now investigators collected grand jury evidence, including DNA and a phone call from jail, in 2023. Evidence in the Las Vegas Strip crime spree, including DNA and a jail phone conversation.
That evidence included surveillance video from Fashion Show Mall’s parking garage, which showed a guy hitting Yamaguchi and attempting to steal her pocketbook. Her husband attempted to fight back, and a struggle ensued, resulting in Yamaguchi being shot and dying, according to authorities.
Other recordings, such as one taken the night before in a Wynn parking garage, show the automobile coming to a stop as a woman walks past. One of the suspects then exits and snatches her purse.
Later that night, Hyo Sup Um, 60, was slain in Palace Station’s parking garage, according to authorities. The murder was not seen on camera, but surveillance footage shows a security guy in the garage bicycling to the site after hearing gunshots. The same video also shows a silver BMW with Ruby and Carter.
According to authorities, the couple went to Bally’s for a meal around 30 minutes later. “I don’t have an excuse,” Ruby stated in court Thursday. “There is no excuse tangible enough for murder, no matter if it’s an accident or not.”
Ruby spoke with Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Tierra Jones, his defense attorney, the prosecution, and one victim’s family prior to his sentencing. I should never have gone there, and now I have to live with it for the rest of my life, and I’m sorry,” Ruby said. “I stole your loved one away from you and the rest of her family. I’m focusing on rehabilitating myself, learning, and improving; God gave me a second shot.”
Three members of Yamaguchi’s family, including her daughter and husband, addressed Judge Jones and the court. “In her final moments following the fatal gunshot that took her life,” her daughter, Cheryl Naomi Harimoto, stated. “The last thing my mom witnessed was my dad fighting with everything he had against her attacker to protect the love of his life.” “I’m just disappointed that he didn’t receive the death penalty,” her husband, Robert Yamaguchi, stated. “I am really disappointed.”
Harimoto revealed her family’s anguish and trauma following the shooting. Nothing about this resolution feels appropriate to the crime that occurred. “Harimoto stated, “A plea bargain may have been approved, but this does not make the outcome fair, nor does it absolve guilt for what was done. This was not a single bad mistake, but rather a series of reckless actions that ultimately lost someone their life.
Prosecutors claimed Hyo Sup Um did not have a family, so no one could speak on his behalf in court.
Judge Jones addressed the court before delivering her decision. “No matter what sentence I hand down today, the loss will remain,” Judge Jones stated. “The grief is still going to be there; I just hope that there is some closure.”
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo addressed the court and mentioned Ruby’s guilty plea from July. “He is a very different defendant than Mr. Carter,” DiGiacomo stated. “Who was the leader of this rampage that went on in our community?”
The prosecution recognized a considerable increase since Ruby’s arrest in 2021. “I also believe that Mr. Ruby has matured over time,” DiGiacomo stated. “And shown significant remorse.”
Ruby gained credit for more than 1,000 days spent at the Clark County Detention Center following his incarceration.
To avoid the death penalty, Ruby and Carter pled guilty to 13 crimes, including first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Carter is due to be sentenced by the same judge on October 8, according to court documents.
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