LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man watched the murder of a friend on a live video feed and then deleted video footage of the murder occurring, according to Las Vegas Metro police.
Stefan Jakubov, 29, faces charges including murder after police said he was complicit in the Aug. 12 killing of Aaron Chavez and “goaded” a friend, Gino Julian, to harm Chavez, an arrest report stated.
Jakubov was arrested on March 15, one day after the NewsNation affiliate KLAS Investigators reported there was an arrest warrant for him. He is a trader for Mortgage Capital Trading, according to the arrest report.
Jakubov told Julian where to find chemicals in the home where the alleged murder occurred to clean up the crime scene, instructed Julian to delete text conversations about the incident, and lied to Chavez’s mother about Chavez’s whereabouts while he knew about the alleged murder, police stated.
When police confronted Jakubov about text messages with Julian, he said, “Well, you read them,” according to police.
Jakubov agreed to speak about his role in the alleged murder and told detectives he watched Julian punch Chavez at least five times, police said.
Julian, 30, was taken into custody by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department on Aug. 13. Investigators discovered the alleged murder occurred at a home in Las Vegas.
The NewsNation affiliate KLAS Investigators obtained copies of text messages that prosecutors said Jakubov sent to Julian about the alleged killing.
“Break his face,” and “Delete our convos,” Jakubov texted, according to police. “I’ll delete cameras.”
Police said Julian texted Jakubov “Where should I put on the show?” and “Is there bleach or chlorine?”
Two tow truck drivers found Julian sleeping in his car in a desert area near Baker, California with Chavez’s partially burned body approximately 10 feet away, according to police. Julian had called for a tow truck and sent a GPS pin of his location after his Mercedes Benz sedan became stuck in the soft desert sand, police said.
A grand jury in Clark County later indicted Julian for charges including open murder.
The San Bernardino County coroner’s office concluded Chavez, 30, died of blunt force trauma to the head.
A San Bernardino Sheriff Department detective interviewed Jakubov, who was in Slovakia, by phone on Aug. 16, according to police. He said he moved to Las Vegas in 2020 and met Chavez approximately three years ago, according to a report. Jakubov described Chavez as extremely rich, and said he made a lot of money through “e-commerce.” Chavez owed a lot of people large amounts of money to people who gave him money for investments, Jakubov told the detective.
Julian told police Chavez had a lot of money that he gained through Ponzi schemes and there was a bunch of people mad at him, according to grand jury transcripts.
Detectives said they found a group chat which started on Aug. 2 where Jakubov and Chavez appeared to be in a feud.
Several people told the NewsNation affiliate KLAS Investigators that they had been scammed by Chavez. They claimed they had given Chavez money to invest. Chavez made several posts on social media such as Instagram in which he appeared to live a life of luxury.
A warrant was issued on March 6 for Jakubov for two felony charges including destroying or concealing evidence and harboring, concealing, or aiding a felony offender, along with a gross misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit battery resulting in substantial bodily harm, according to Las Vegas Justice court records.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office added two felony charges of open murder and robbery on March 18.
Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Amy Chelini set bail at $500,000 with high-level electronic monitoring on March 21 for the murder and robbery charges. Chelini set bail at $10,000 in connection with the previous three charges and ordered Jakubov to surrender his passport.
Jakubov is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on April 25.
Attorneys Robert Draskovich and William Brown are representing Jakubov.
“We anticipate him posting bail in the very near future,” Draskovich told the KLAS Investigators. “He is looking forward to his preliminary hearing in this case. He is confident he will be exonerated of the murder and robbery charges that he is currently facing.”
A jury trial for Julian is scheduled for May. He remains in custody in the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas. He declined the KLAS Investigators’ requests for an interview.