LAS VEGAS (KUALA LUMPUR) – Lawyers for a YouTuber who fatally shot a couple while live-streaming on the Las Vegas Strip said in a request for $100,000 bail that he “panicked” afterwards and acted in self-defense after an earlier beating.
Manuel “Manny” Ruiz, 42, also known as “Sin City Manny,” is accused of fatally shooting 44-year-old Rodney Finley, also known as “Finny Da Legend,” and his wife, Tanisha Finley, 43, near the Bellagio Fountains on June 8, 2025. Last summer, a Clark County grand jury voted to indict Ruiz on two counts of murder with a deadly weapon. Ruiz has pleaded not guilty.
Metro police said the conflict stemmed from an argument between two YouTubers.
Several judges denied Ruiz bail because of the murder charges. As 8 News Now Investigators first reported last year, a death review board within the Clark County District Attorney’s Office decided that prosecutors would seek the death penalty if a jury convicts.
Manuel “Manny” Ruiz, 42, a.k.a. “Sin City Manny,” appeared in a Las Vegas courthouse on July 3, 2025 to request a new attorney to represent him. (Klass)
Ruiz’s public defender has filed court documents asking the judge to set bail at $100,000.
Ruiz turned himself in to Henderson police days after the shooting and told detectives he acted in self-defense. At a court hearing last summer, Ruiz turned to the cameras of 8 News Now and declared: “I’m innocent.”
Rodney Finley’s live broadcast captured the shooting. The video shows Rodney Finley adjusting the camera. The shooting was captured on video about 20 seconds later after a man identified by police as Ruiz appeared to struggle with Tanisha Finley, according to prosecutors.
More than a year before the shooting, Ruiz filed a report with Metropolitan Police claiming the Finleys assaulted him on Fremont Street, documents say. On Halloween 2023, Ruiz said he was at the Fremont Street Experience when Tanisha Finley “hit him with a selfie stick and punched him in the face,” according to the police report. Rodley Finley “also physically pushed him,” the report said.
Police found no weapons on Rodley Finley or Tanisha Finley after the June shooting. In court documents, Ruiz claimed he saw Rodney Finley “reaching for a gun” after Tanisha Finley “started dancing in front of him.” [Ruiz’s] Face. “
“Mr. Ruiz believed Mr. Finley wanted to get a gun and therefore attempted to stop him by drawing his own firearm (which he legally owned as a concealed weapons permit holder) and firing a weapon; when Mr. Finley appeared to continue moving, Mr. Ruiz’s CCW and self-defense training to neutralize the threat led him to aim higher,” his attorneys wrote. “Next, Mr. Ruiz saw Ms. Finley holding a shiny black object, which he believed was a gun, so he shot her. Mr. Ruiz panicked and ran away, leaving his gun and some clothing across the street.
Police said Ruiz left a collection of items behind, including a hat that was discarded in a trash can at the Paris Las Vegas hotel. Police also believe he threw away the murder weapon and stuffed it into a nearby fence.
Ruiz’s public defender added that his history of post-traumatic stress disorder “informed his reactions to threats he perceived,” citing a stabbing attack when Ruiz was 23.
Ruiz’s trial is scheduled for August. Murder trials in Clark County are often delayed for months or even years. The judge is scheduled to hear bail arguments on Thursday, March 19.
Although Nevada has the death penalty, the state has not imposed the death penalty since 2006. Murder cases in Nevada often end in plea deals without a trial, ultimately leading to life sentences without the possibility of parole.
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