Julio Cesar Montes was 33 when he died after an altercation on a van returning from a Special Olympics bowling outing in Las Vegas on November 22, 2015. Montes, a resident of the Desert Regional Center for people with developmental disabilities, had a known competitive rivalry with another resident; staff seated them near each other and the two fought while the van was on the freeway. Montes was struck in the head during the fight.

Staff did not take him for advanced medical care after the ride. That evening his condition worsened — he vomited repeatedly and grew sluggish — and was later found unresponsive in his room with blood and vomit around him. An ambulance took him to hospital; he had brain surgery but was moved to hospice and died on December 4, 2015. His death was ruled a homicide from blunt force trauma to the head.

A state investigation by the Aging and Disability Services Division found major failures by the facility’s staff to protect clients and to recognize the seriousness of Montes’s injuries; six staff were placed on administrative leave and the state agreed to a $600,000 wrongful death settlement with his family. It is not publicly known if criminal charges were filed against the other resident. If anyone knew Julio, the van ride, or the Desert Regional Center’s practices that night, please share what is known.