Teen Charged With Murder in Deadly Las Vegas Tattoo Shop Shooting

Deven Mays put the car in drive the moment he realized something was wrong. The 30-year-old Henderson tattoo artist had arrived at an apartment complex in the 5800 block of Sky Pointe Drive in northwest Las Vegas on the night of March 30 with his wife, Brianna Benevedes, and their 3-year-old son, Asher. When Mays shouted "They have firearms" and tried to escape, gunshots tore through the black Kia Optima. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Benevedes, shot in the leg, survived and called 911.

The encounter had its roots in Instagram messages sent as early as March 4. Investigators say Mays had agreed through those messages to meet Miles Isaiah Spivey near the pool area of the complex to sell him a quarter pound of marijuana. The two men arrived dressed in dark clothing. When Mays produced the marijuana, Spivey climbed into the vehicle and immediately drew a gun, pointing it at Benevedes. A second man approached from outside, also armed. That's when Mays tried to run. The Clark County coroner later determined he died from a gunshot wound to the back.

Spivey, 18, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on April 3 and faces 13 felony counts, including open murder with use of a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, three counts of first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon, and firing into an occupied vehicle. Because Asher was in the car during the attack, prosecutors added child-abuse-related charges to the filing. Spivey appeared in court on April 8; the hearing was continued for negotiations, with his next scheduled appearance set for May 6.

A co-defendant, Daequan McGee, is named alongside Spivey in court records. A warrant for McGee's arrest was issued April 5, but he had not been taken into custody as of early this week.

Marcus Steffen, who organized a community response following the killing, described what those who knew Mays had lost: "If you knew Deven, you knew how deeply he loved his kids. He was the kind of father who showed up, who protected, and who loved hard and unconditionally."

For the tattoo community, the circumstances carry a specific weight. Mays built his client relationships the same way most working artists do: through direct social media outreach, the kind that starts with a DM and grows into a multi-session project. Those same channels brought Spivey into contact with him on March 4. The case is a stark reminder that the business of tattooing extends far beyond the shop walls, and that the risks artists navigate off the floor rarely appear on any booking calendar.