Irate man who was ‘just having a bad day’ kills neighbor over petty squabble

A Las Vegas man who was ‘just having a bad day’ will now spend the next two decades behind bars for shooting and killing his neighbor over his parking job – and for attempting to kill another man in a similar situation the year before.

Robert Salone, now 43, arrived at his home on October 18, 2022 and became infuriated when he saw that his neighbor Christopher ‘Dice’ Allen’s vehicle was partially blocking his driveway, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. 

Allen, 33, had been working on the vehicle with another neighbor at the time – and when Salone yelled at Allen to move the vehicle, he replied that he would do so in a few minutes.

But Allen had been holding a tire iron at the time – which seemed to have set off Salone.

‘So you got a lug wrench? I’ll be right back,’ he said before he grabbed two handguns and shot and killed Allen, according to an arrest warrant.

Allen then rushed back to his house and called 911 at around 12.40pm, saying he was shot and ‘can’t feel my legs,’ Fox 5 reported at the time.

He added in a follow-up call that ‘he was dying,’ and Allen was pronounced dead by the time first responders arrived at the scene. 

‘He had no right because he was having a bad day and couldn’t control his damn temper to decide “Today I’ve had enough,”‘ Allen’s mother, Kathryn Carter, lamented as Salone was sentenced on Tuesday, according to KLAS.

Robert Salone, now 43, was sentenced Tuesday to 21 years to life behind bars for the murder of Christopher ‘Dice’ Allen and the attempted murder of another man the year before

Allen, 33, had left his car partially blocking Salone’s driveway on October 18, 2022

He and another neighbor were working on the vehicle at the time 

‘I can’t speak of justice, because for me justice would be getting my son back,’ she added.

Salone submitted an Alford plea in April to charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder relating to another parking-related shooting the year before, and was required to serve at least 21 years behind bars. 

An Alford plea does not afford guilt – and only means he admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

In the 2021 case, Salone allegedly shot at an unidentified young man who double parked at his apartment complex in Henderson.

The victim told police he took up two parking spots at the complex, and when he returned to his car about half an hour later he found another vehicle ‘within inches’ of his door, according to court documents obtained by KLAS.

He was then confronted by a man prosecutors now say was Salone, who began arguing with him about his parking job.

As the man left the complex, police said Salone fired three shots at the driver, striking him in the leg.

Authorities connected the two shootings following Salone’s November 2022 arrest for Allen’s murder after running cartridges from the scene of the fatal shooting and Salone’s house through a ballistics database, Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner explained in court on Tuesday.

Police say Salone grabbed two handguns and shot and killed Allen

Allen managed to make it back to his house to call 911, telling dispatchers he was dying

‘In my career, I’ve never seen something like this,’ he said. ‘I’ve never heard someone who became so enraged about a person, let alone two people, double parking that he would resort to gun violence.’

District Court Judge Carli Kierny agreed, saying she doesn’t ‘understand how… these interactions were even provocations.

‘They were slight irritations in the day and his response, twice, was to pull out a gun, harm someone and kill someone to take them from their family.

‘I just don’t know how Mr. Salone is safe for the world off of supervision,’ she said as she handed down her sentence of 21 years to life behind bars.

Should the Nevada Parole Board ever grant Salone parole after 21 years, he would remain under the supervision of a probation officer.

But at that point, even with credit for time served, Salone would be in his 60s by the time he is released.