LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man police say was shot and killed by his Summerlin neighbor last week was in a mental crisis the night of the shooting, the victim’s family said.
Joe Moreno, 47, is remembered by his mother, Connie Moreno, and one of his 10 siblings, Lisa Moreno, who loved sports, the homeless community and his two children. It is remembered as a mass of energy that helped. They also reveal the inner conflict that has been stirring within him for decades.
“He was 25 years old when he was diagnosed,” Connie said Wednesday afternoon inside the 8 News Now studio, tears drying down her cheeks. “In the last six months his condition started to deteriorate.”
Mother and daughter said Joe had been in treatment for years after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which the National Institute of Mental Health says “causes extraordinary changes in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels and ability to concentrate” and “usually requires lifelong treatment.”
Joe had been on a treatment plan, but his family alleges that he had withdrawn from it in the days before the shooting.
“He’s a big sports fan and he would get so tired (taking the medication) that he didn’t want to go outside. He wasn’t that kind of person. But once he started taking the medication and feeling better, he was like, ‘I don’t need to take this anymore,'” Lisa said, clutching a tear-soaked tissue.
“He started breaking things,” Connie added, speaking about how he behaves during the episode.
Joe had recently moved to Summerlin with his girlfriend, who Connie said he was in frequent contact with, and who police say locked Joe out of the house the night of the shooting, Joe’s mother added, a common way to calm Joe down after he was having a seizure.
His two children, ages 8 and 10, from another relationship do not live in Las Vegas. Lisa said her mother broke the news to them nearly a week after the shooting.
“He’ll never see his daughters again. They’ll never see their father again. It’s not fair,” Lisa said, wiping away tears. “He shouldn’t have lost his life to mental illness.”
Eddie Moreno, 32, is accused of killing him the night of May 13. The two men share the same last name but have no relationship other than the boundary line that separates their Summerlin homes. Police said they were neighbors.
In a 911 call obtained by 8 News Now, Eddie’s wife told police that Joe had been acting strange outside their home while she was on her way home from a sports game. Her wife claimed that Joe was exposing his genitals in front of his five children, and Eddie opened fire because he already had a gun in his car on his way home.
Other police documents obtained by 8 News Now say Eddie did not corroborate his wife’s story and told officers he did not remember seeing Joe naked. But police said doorbell camera footage recorded Eddie telling Joe, “I’m going to kill you” before the shooting.
8 News Now has since learned Eddie has faced three separate battery charges in 2024 alone: one in April for assaulting a neighbor’s landscaper, and two more in January for punching a man at his child’s soccer game. He is currently charged with open murder in a May shooting and was released on bail last week.
A group of Eddie’s friends told 8News Now they have pooled together 15 percent of the $100,000 bail needed for Eddie’s release, and that he works as an instructor at a gym that specializes in MMA boxing.
“I’m so upset to hear that he missed the game. I’m so angry. Like, my brother’s life is only worth $100,000?” Lisa said. “You went too far. You shot my brother five times and he was no threat to you.”
“He killed my son and he needs to be charged with murder,” Connie added.
The Moreno family is just beginning the process of processing their grief before Eddie’s next trial takes place in August.
“He was the kind of guy who would walk into a room and you just couldn’t help but smile,” Connie said through tears. “I’m just angry and hurt that the justice system hasn’t given him justice.”
“I hope (the court) gets down to business with all the other cases and sees how violent (Eddie) was,” Lisa said. “We didn’t need to take away a piece of our heart.”
His family said they could not afford a funeral or “the services he deserved.” Lisa has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money for burial rather than cremation.
