Hard Rock Lake Tahoe shooter sentenced to 55 years for 2023 death of local man

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The man who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a South Lake Tahoe man at the Hard Rock casino at Lake Tahoe in 2023 has been sentenced to the Nevada Department of Corrections for a maximum of 55 years and will be eligible for parole after a minimum of 22 years.

Edgar Julian Delgado was sentenced under a plea agreement made when he pleaded guilty to First Degree Murder and admitted the allegation he used a deadly weapon in the commission of the offense back in April.

The parties jointly recommended he receive 50 years for First Degree Murder with 5 years consecutive for the Use of a Deadly Weapon.

In the early morning hours of March 25, 2023, 32-year-old Omar Reyes Garcia of South Lake Tahoe had been at the bar of what was then known as the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe at Stateline, Nev. Edgar Julian Delgado and Savannah Racquel Tautaupale both from Santa Cruz, Calif. were also at the bar, and after a few hours, a fight broke out, and Delgado pulled out a gun and shot Garcia in the head. The pair left the casino in a white Toyota 4Runner, and they were later located driving on US50 near Sierra-at-Tahoe.

During the sentencing on June 13, 2024, Delgado claimed to have no memory of the incident, due to his level of intoxication from both alcohol and cannabis. The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office presented surveillance footage of the murder and Delgado’s actions after the shooting. The DA’s Office drew the court’s attention to a selfie Delgado took in the mirror of his hotel bathroom just hours before the shooting. The photo showed Delgado wearing a sweatshirt which bore the statement, “Strawberry Jams, But My Glock Don’t.”

Family and friends of Omar presented statements recalling Omar as an outgoing, funny, friendly, and caring person who always put family first. His sister-in-law presented a statement, reminding Delgado that, “Omar was young with so many hopes and dreams that you stole from him. You robbed him of his life, you robbed us of our lives with him in it.”

A presentence investigation conducted by the Division of Parole and Probation in preparation for the sentencing of Delgado noted that Delgado had no prior criminal history.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office commends the swift action of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the many allied agencies who responded to the early morning “active shooter” call from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino last March 2023.