A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to murder nearly two years after his girlfriend was fatally shot inside his car and he led police on a chase before crashing. Julio Machado Vasquez admitted to first-degree murder and to failing to stop when signaled by a police officer, a charge tied to the bodily harm or death that resulted, according to court records.
Vasquez entered the plea on Nov. 10, as reported by FOX5 Vegas. He is accused of killing his 24-year-old on-and-off girlfriend, Gissell Selene Perez, according to 8 News Now.
A Shooting Report, Then a Chase Through Las Vegas
The case began on Jan. 19, 2025, when LVMPD Communications received a report of a shooting near Bonanza and Sandhill Road at approximately 8:13 a.m., according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department news release. Police said Vasquez drove around for nearly two hours with his girlfriend shot in the head before officers spotted his car and attempted to stop him, per the FOX5 account. An earlier report from 8 News Now, however, said Vasquez drove around with Perez's body for an hour and a half before a patrol officer spotted him — the two accounts differ on the exact duration.
When officers tried to pull the Mustang over, it fled, leading to a chase that ended in a crash. LVMPD's release states the car crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of East Charleston Boulevard and North Pecos Road, a location consistent with the department's earlier statement that Vasquez was arrested after running from police and crashing near Pecos Road and Charleston Boulevard. The FOX5 report, citing the arrest report, instead places the crash at Palm Street and Charleston. Two people in the other vehicle were injured in the collision.
What the Arrest Report Says Happened
According to the arrest report, as detailed by News 3 Las Vegas, a 911 caller told police that Vasquez admitted to shooting Perez during an argument, claiming he had been testing her and believed the gun's safety was on. The same account says Vasquez refused to take Perez to a hospital, telling the caller, “they will see me on camera.” A separate report from the same outlet noted that an acquaintance called 911 after Vasquez told her about the incident and asked her to come help him.
When officers reached the crashed Mustang, they found a woman inside suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, LVMPD's release states. Medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. Vasquez was arrested on suspicion of open murder with a deadly weapon and booked in absentia to the Clark County Detention Center, according to the department.
A Family Still Searching for Answers
In the days after the killing, Perez's uncle, Gabriel Lopez, spoke to 8 News Now about the family's disbelief. “The big question is why, that's about it,” Lopez, 28, said at the time. Nearly two years later, with Vasquez's guilty plea entered and his sentencing hearing set for early January, that question remains unanswered in the available record.
