A deadly shooting inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Lake Tahoe triggered an intense multi-agency hunt after what investigators say began as a casual bar encounter and ended with a man dead and the suspected shooter captured miles away.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect — identified as Edgar Julian Delgado, 24 — met Omar Reyes Garcia, 32, at a casino bar around 2 a.m. on March 25, 2023. Officials said the two spent several hours together before an argument erupted later that morning.
Investigators say casino security video shows Delgado pulling a gun and shooting Garcia just after 8 a.m. at the property. Deputies and emergency crews responded, and Garcia was found with a gunshot wound and rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
Casino chaos: “Shelter in place” and a massive search
In the moments after the gunfire, the casino went into lockdown. Visitors were ordered to shelter in place while law enforcement flooded the area and searched the sprawling building, treating the incident like a possible active shooter situation at first.
Sheriff Dan Coverly said the response in casino settings is intentionally aggressive — including clearing areas like rooftops and checking for other victims or suspects — and noted that 50 to 100 officers responded. He later described the case as a homicide rather than an active shooter event, but emphasized that the “overwhelming” response is designed to prevent a second tragedy.
How police tracked him down
Authorities say Hard Rock surveillance footage helped identify the suspect and his associated vehicle. That information was pushed to nearby agencies, and the hunt quickly shifted from inside the casino to the roads outside of Stateline.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office stopped the vehicle on U.S. 50 near Sierra at Tahoe, roughly 20 miles from the casino. Delgado and Savannah Racquel Tautaupale, 26, were taken into custody. Delgado was booked on an open murder charge, while Tautaupale was booked on a DUI allegation, authorities said.
The case outcome: 55-year sentence
In June 2024, KOLO and News 4 reported that Delgado was sentenced to 55 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and admitting to using a deadly weapon. Reports said he would have minimum parole eligibility after 22 years.
Prosecutors also highlighted surveillance video and actions after the shooting as part of the case record, while friends and family described Garcia as outgoing and deeply devoted to the people he loved.