Alexian Rodriguez-Navar was legally barred from possessing a gun when police say he used a rifle in the fatal shooting of neighbor Rasham Sylvester.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A 25-year-old man with a prior voluntary manslaughter conviction was prohibited from possessing a firearm when police say he armed himself with a rifle and fatally shot his neighbor outside an east Las Vegas home. Alexian Rodriguez-Navar was arrested Sept. 22 in the death of 42-year-old Rasham Sylvester and was initially ordered held without bail.
The new case has drawn attention not only because of the circumstances described by homicide detectives, but also because of Rodriguez-Navar’s documented criminal history. Court records cited by the Las Vegas Review-Journal show that he pleaded guilty as a teenager to voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon in a 2016 case. He later had additional contacts with police involving firearms. None of those earlier matters proves the allegations in Sylvester’s death, but the old conviction is directly relevant to the separate accusation that Rodriguez-Navar illegally possessed a gun on the day of the 2026 shooting.
The earlier homicide case began when Rodriguez-Navar was 15. He was arrested in April 2016 after a violent confrontation near the Hollywood Recreation Center in Las Vegas that left 15-year-old Angelo Barboza dead and four other people injured, according to court records and archived reporting reviewed by the Review-Journal. Rodriguez-Navar initially faced 18 felony counts, including murder, attempted murder, assault and conspiracy. The case was later resolved through a plea agreement rather than a trial on those original allegations.
Under that agreement, Rodriguez-Navar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit battery, battery and voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon. A judge sentenced him in December 2016 to two years of incarceration followed by five years of probation. The Review-Journal reported that he could have faced a longer prison term if he failed to complete probation successfully. Court records cited by the newspaper show he received an honorable discharge from probation in 2020. The manslaughter conviction nevertheless left him prohibited from possessing firearms.
Police records show more firearm-related scrutiny followed. In September 2023, Rodriguez-Navar was arrested on suspicion of being a prohibited person in possession of a gun, discharging a firearm and possessing a gun with an altered serial number, according to the Review-Journal’s examination of Las Vegas Justice Court records. The Clark County district attorney’s office did not pursue charges stemming from that arrest. The following month, he was charged in another matter with possession of a gun by a prohibited person and possession of drug paraphernalia. The publicly available reporting reviewed for this story did not establish how that case was resolved. In January 2024, records show he pleaded no contest to a drug-possession charge and was sentenced to time served.
Against that background, investigators say another firearm was involved when Sylvester arrived home from work shortly before 5 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2026. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials said Sylvester and Rodriguez-Navar lived near one another on the 5700 block of Pavot Court and had been involved in a dispute for several weeks. Police have not publicly explained the precise source of the disagreement. Lt. Robert Price said in the initial briefing that Sylvester returned home and Rodriguez-Navar came from his residence with a rifle before shooting him multiple times.
Evidence described later in the arrest report gave investigators a more detailed chronology. Sylvester’s surveillance system recorded him walking in his driveway with a backpack and keys in his hands, police said. The recording showed him briefly looking across the street as gunfire began and then trying to reach his front door. He was struck and fell near the porch. According to the report, a man who appeared to be Rodriguez-Navar then came from around a parked vehicle and fired additional rounds toward Sylvester. The police description of the recording is an allegation in the pending case, not a court finding.
Inside the house, Sylvester’s sons, ages 14 and 17, were playing video games. They told investigators they saw their father arrive through a window and were waiting to hear him enter. Instead, they heard gunshots. When they looked outside, they said they saw the neighbor they knew as “Alex” holding a gun. One of the teenagers believed the armed man was moving toward their house, according to police. Both boys retreated to a rear bedroom, locked themselves inside and stayed there until officers entered the residence.
Police had reason to check the home because investigators saw evidence that gunfire had struck the occupied structure. Officers responding to multiple 911 calls found Sylvester near the front of the property with multiple gunshot wounds. They attempted to help him while assessing the danger at the scene. Medical personnel later pronounced him dead. The two teenagers were found uninjured inside. A witness separately told detectives she had seen Rodriguez-Navar carrying a rifle after hearing shots, providing another account that police incorporated into the arrest report.
Sylvester’s wife was away at work when she learned something had happened. During a 911 call made as she traveled toward home, she told a dispatcher that her sons were inside and were extremely frightened, according to recordings described in local reporting. She also indicated there had been previous problems involving the people living across the street. Police have not disclosed evidence establishing that those prior problems supplied a specific motive for the homicide. Investigators initially characterized the background only as an ongoing dispute between neighbors.
Rodriguez-Navar was taken into custody at the scene. Reports differ slightly in describing whether he emerged from his residence or approached officers, but they agree that police arrested him without a reported exchange of gunfire with officers. After his arrest, he requested an attorney and did not provide detectives with a statement about the shooting. That decision cannot be treated as evidence of guilt; a person in custody has a constitutional right to remain silent and seek counsel.
Police booked Rodriguez-Navar on a homicide allegation and on charges related to firing into an occupied structure or vehicle and possessing a gun as a prohibited person. Initial reports used both “open murder” and “first-degree murder” when describing the homicide count. Those terms reflect the developing charging process, and the formal allegations must ultimately be resolved in court. The available reporting does not show that Rodriguez-Navar has been convicted of any offense arising from Sylvester’s death.
The firearm-possession count is distinct from the homicide allegation. Prosecutors seeking to prove it would have to establish the elements required under Nevada law, including the defendant’s prohibited status and knowing possession of the weapon. The prior voluntary manslaughter conviction is therefore more than background biography, although the details of the 2016 killing cannot substitute for proof of what happened in 2026. Courts generally decide each criminal case on its own evidence, and Rodriguez-Navar retains the presumption of innocence on the new charges.
The strongest publicly described evidence in the current case comes from multiple sources rather than from his criminal record. Police have cited the home-surveillance footage, the statements of Sylvester’s children, at least one neighbor’s account, cartridge cases and the observations of responding officers. Authorities also said the victim’s residence had been struck by gunfire. Public reporting reviewed for this article has not disclosed a defense account explaining or disputing those pieces of evidence, nor has it established what investigators believe triggered the shooting at that specific moment.
Police officials said immediately after the killing that the incident appeared isolated and did not present an ongoing danger to the surrounding neighborhood. Price also urged residents involved in serious disputes with neighbors to contact police rather than attempt to settle confrontations themselves. Detectives were investigating whether officers had previously been called about tensions on Pavot Court, but the available reports did not establish a complete history of any earlier police involvement between Sylvester and Rodriguez-Navar.
The latest verified reporting located for this article said Rodriguez-Navar had been ordered held without bail and was facing the homicide and firearm allegations in Las Vegas Justice Court. Early coverage listed additional proceedings for late September, but no reliable publicly indexed report reviewed through Nov. 9 established a final disposition. The killing therefore remains a pending criminal case in the verified public record examined here.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 9, 2026.