A Guatemalan illegal immigrant has received two life sentences for the murder of a Las Vegas showgirl and a Canadian tourist in 2022.
Yoni Barrios killed Brent Allan Hallett, 47, and Maris Mareen DiGiovanni, 30, during a series of stabbings on the Las Vegas Strip in October of that year. He also injured six other individuals in the attack.
Initially declared incompetent to face trial, Barrios spent nearly two years in a hospital before pleading guilty to the charges in January, according to local news reports. He was sentenced on Tuesday.
Yoni Barrios, the suspect in the Las Vegas Strip stabbing, makes his first court appearance at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. Sources indicated to Fox News that he was in the U.S. illegally and had a criminal history in California. (AP)
LAS VEGAS STABBING SUSPECT YONI BARRIOS IN COURT
Barrios reportedly became furious when a group of showgirls declined to take a photo with him, prompting him to draw a long kitchen knife to attack. He was apprehended just minutes later outside the Wynn Hotel.
Criminal records indicate that Barrios had prior legal issues in California but was not deported.
Maris Mareen DiGiovanni, one of the victims of the Las Vegas Strip stabbing on October 7, 2022. (Facebook)
In 2016, he faced charges in Riverside, California, for reckless driving and operating a vehicle without a license, according to reports following the stabbings. He paid a fine and was subsequently released.
ICE confirmed to Fox News Digital they were not notified of Barrios’ immigration status back in 2016.
This image depicts what appears to be a victim of the stabbing in Las Vegas on October 6, 2022. (Pierre Fandrich/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX| LVMPD)
In 2019, Barrios was charged with domestic violence, although he was never prosecuted, as reported by Fox News.
California operates as a “sanctuary state” for undocumented immigrants and generally does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
