Tyler Johns’ Road Rage Shooting: Murder Charge and Trial

The Tyler Johns road rage shooting refers to the November 14, 2025 killing of 11-year-old Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria on the 215 Beltway in Henderson, Nevada. Johns, 23, is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly firing a single handgun round into an SUV during a morning-commute confrontation, striking Brandon in the head. He is held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center and has pleaded not guilty. Trial is scheduled for November 9, 2026.¹

What Happened on the 215 Beltway

Around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, November 14, 2025, a black Chevrolet Traverse driven by Brandon’s stepfather, Valente Ayala, and a blue Hyundai Elantra driven by Johns were merging from Interstate 11 onto the westbound 215 Beltway near Gibson Road. Traffic was congested. Both drivers rolled down their windows and exchanged words.² Ayala later testified that Johns swerved toward the SUV during the merge and that Ayala responded with an obscene gesture.³

The Traverse passed the Elantra and merged several cars ahead. Johns then sped up alongside the SUV. When Ayala turned to look, he testified, Johns was already pointing a handgun at him.⁴ Johns fired one shot. The bullet passed into the backseat and struck Brandon in the head. Ayala said he heard a pop, turned around, and saw blood on the passenger side and Brandon on the floor of the backseat.³

Ayala then rammed his SUV into the Elantra, stopping both cars in the middle of the freeway. The drivers got out and continued arguing until bystanders intervened and discovered Brandon in the backseat. A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer who happened to be driving past took Johns into custody at the scene, and the firearm was recovered.⁵ The Henderson Fire Department took Brandon to a hospital, where he died. The Clark County Coroner confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head.

What Johns Told the Arresting Officer

Body camera footage released after the incident recorded Johns making several admissions. On camera he said, “I shot at him bro,” and, “I didn’t know there was a kid in the back.” After being handcuffed, he added, “It’s 100% my fault. I shot at him, dude. I didn’t even know he had a kid in the car.”⁶ Those statements sit at the center of the case: Johns did not deny firing, and he did not deny that a child had been hit.

Why the Charge Is First-Degree Murder

Johns was initially booked on open murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Under Nevada practice, “open murder” leaves the degree of murder for the jury to decide at trial.⁷ He now faces first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, firing a gun into an occupied car, and firing a gun from inside a car.⁸

The prosecution’s theory is a felony murder theory built on child abuse. Under NRS 200.030, a killing committed during the perpetration of child abuse is automatically first-degree murder, and the statute defines child abuse as “physical injury of a nonaccidental nature to a child under the age of 18 years.”⁷ Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo summarized the position in court: “You shoot at somebody and you hit a child, it’s automatically first-degree murder in the state of Nevada.”⁹ Whether Johns knew a child was in the SUV does not, on the state’s reading, affect the charge. First-degree murder is a category A felony in Nevada carrying potential sentences of life without parole, life with parole eligibility after 20 years, or a definite 50-year term with parole eligibility after 20.

How the Case Has Moved Through Court

A Henderson Justice Court judge ordered Johns held without bail on November 15, 2025.¹⁰ Three days later, defense attorney Ryan Helmick asked for release on $50,000 bail with electronic monitoring, describing the shooting as an “accidental situation” and saying the gun was “raised in an effort to deter the other driver.” Helmick pointed to a witness who described Ayala as “angrier” and said Ayala had been brake-checking Johns.¹¹ The judge denied the request.

At a preliminary hearing on December 4, 2025, Ayala testified through a translator and the bodycam footage was presented. The court found sufficient evidence to bind the case over to Clark County District Court.¹² Prosecutors initially submitted the death penalty for internal review by the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.¹³ On January 8, 2026, before Judge Tierra Jones, DiGiacomo notified the court that the office would not pursue it. Johns pleaded not guilty to all charges, and trial was set for November 9, 2026.¹⁴ Helmick told the court that Johns had no prior criminal record, had worked at Dunn-Edwards Paints for nearly two years, and was originally from California.¹

On January 30, 2026, Helmick filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing that prosecutors had not shown Johns intended to shoot a child and therefore could not use the child-abuse predicate to sustain a first-degree murder charge.¹⁵ Prosecutors responded that Nevada law does not require a defendant to know a victim’s age. At a hearing on March 24, 2026, Clark County District Judge Jacqueline Bluth denied the petition, ruling: “If you fire a weapon not knowing and not meaning to hit a child and the child dies from it, you are on the hook for first-degree murder.”¹⁶

The Courtroom Incident

Before Judge Bluth took the bench that same March 24 morning, a victim’s advocate reported that Johns had been smiling, laughing, and calling the victim’s family names. A marshal escorted him from the courtroom into a sally port. Helmick denied the account, saying, “It flat out did not happen,” and telling the court his client was “taking it very seriously.”¹⁷ Bluth addressed Johns directly, telling him that her courtroom runs calmly because she treats “every single person that walks in those doors with dignity and respect,” and warning, “If it did happen, it will never happen again.”¹⁶

Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria

Brandon was 11 and a student at Hannah Marie Brown Elementary School in Henderson. His stepfather was driving him to school when he was killed. Family members described him as “the light of our family” and “a happy, loving boy with the biggest heart” who played soccer and enjoyed Roblox.¹⁸ His mother, Rubi Chavarria, told an early court hearing that Johns “should not be out on the streets after what he did,” adding, “Road raging does not give you a right to shoot at anybody, even if you didn’t see a child in the back.”⁵ Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader told a press conference, “We lost a life today that we didn’t have to lose.”¹⁹

Where the Case Stands

Johns remains at the Clark County Detention Center without bail. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty but are pursuing a first-degree murder conviction under the child-abuse felony murder theory, which survived the defense’s habeas challenge in March 2026. Jury trial is set to begin November 9, 2026, in Clark County District Court.¹⁵ A first-degree murder conviction carries a potential sentence of life in prison.

1
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Trial Date Set for Man Accused in Henderson Road Rage Killing of 11-Year-Old
2
ABC News. 11-Year-Old Killed on Way to School in Nevada Road Rage Shooting
3
News3LV. Witnesses Testify in Deadly Road Rage Case That Left 11-Year-Old Boy Dead
4
Fox 5 Vegas. Stepfather of 11-Year-Old Killed in Alleged Road Rage Shooting Testifies in Court
5
ABC News. Suspect Fatally Shot 11-Year-Old in Road Rage Incident
6
ABC 7 Chicago. Police Bodycam Video Shows Aftermath of Nevada Road Rage Shooting
7
Nevada Legislature. NRS Chapter 200 – Crimes Against the Person
8
Fox 5 Vegas. Man Will Not Face Death Penalty for Road Rage Killing of 11-Year-Old
9
News3LV. Judge Rejects Petition to Reduce Murder Charge in Henderson Road Rage Shooting
10
News3LV. Police Response on Westbound 215 at Gibson Road
11
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Defense Attorney Calls Road Rage Killing of 11-Year-Old Accidental Situation
12
KTNV. Prosecutors Consider Death Penalty in Road Rage Killing of 11-Year-Old
13
Fox 5 Vegas. Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty in Las Vegas Valley Road Rage Shooting
14
News3LV. Death Penalty Not Sought for Man Charged in 11-Year-Old Boy’s Murder
15
Fox 5 Vegas. Murder Charge Stands for Man Accused of Deadly Road Rage Shooting That Killed Young Boy
16
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Judge Scolds Defendant in 215 Road Rage Shooting
17
New York Post. Nevada Judge Torched Road Rage Suspect in Court for Laughing at Family of 11-Year-Old He Allegedly Killed
18
Las Vegas Review-Journal. 11-Year-Old Victim in 215 Beltway Road Rage Shooting Identified
19
News3LV. Student Killed in Road Rage – Hannah Marie Brown Elementary Parents Speak Out