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A screenshot from the fatal shooting of Nicholas Davi (lawsuit) and Joe Junio (Clark County Detention Center)
The widow of a Nevada pastor is suing her former neighbor for allegedly gunning down her husband in front of her and their juvenile children in December last year — a deadly incident that one of the kids filmed on their cellphone. The lawsuit, filed by Sarah Davi, alleges that 36-year-old Joe Junio was responsible for the wrongful death of 46-year-old Nicholas Davi, a pastor at Grace Point Church in Las Vegas.
Junio was arrested after the deadly incident and charged with one count each of open murder with a deadly weapon, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, two charges of child abuse involving a deadly weapon, and discharging of a firearm where a person might be endangered, court records show. She remains jailed at the Clark County Detention Center as of Tuesday on $300,000 bond, records show.
The attempted murder charge is the result of Sarah Davi also being severely injured in the shooting.
The suit also lists the individual who owned the gun Junio used in the fatal shooting, though that person’s identity was not clear at the time the suit was filed. The suit claims there is “reason to believe Joe (Junio) was not the lawful owner of the firearm that had been used.”
According to a copy of the filed complaint obtained by Law&Crime, the fatal encounter between the neighbors stemmed from Nicholas Davi filing several complaints against Junio with the homeowners association.
Though not a named defendant in the action, the suit does state that the homeowners association “provided information” to Junio regarding complaints filed by Nicholas Davi and “should have known that (Junio) would likely perform violent actions against deceased and Plaintiff as a result of on-going association disputes.”
A police report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal provided additional details about the circumstances of the tumultuous relationship among the neighbors.
The report states that Nicholas and Sarah Davi had previously filed formal complaints claiming that Junio had committed several violations concerning chickens and dogs. However, just before the fatal shooting, the couple said that Junio had been “engaging in escalating threatening behavior” toward their family.
For example, they allegedly saw Junio throwing rocks into their yard before she “ran her finger across her throat in a cutting motion and told them they were next.” They also reportedly claimed Junio threw dog feces into their yard and managed to flood their home on one occasion.
The family reportedly called the police on Junio twice and then began staying at a different location due to their increasing fear of Junio.
The family was back at home and preparing to leave for the night on the day of the shooting when Junio parked her car in her driveway which was directly next to theirs. She and Nicholas Davi got into a verbal argument during which he asked her why she would not just leave the family alone, saying “What’s your problem with us?”
Per the complaint, Junio then “suddenly opened the door of her vehicle and approached Nicholas (Davi)” and then opened fire. She allegedly shot the pastor first and then shot his wife. The couple’s children, ages 12 and 15, recorded the incident.
Junio reportedly then ran away and was later arrested.
Sarah Davi is seeking punitive damages, general damages, and damages for “grief, sorrow, loss of probable support, companionship, society, comfort, consortium, and damages for pain, suffering or disfigurement” in excess of $15,000, which is the standard minimum for state civil suits.
