2 dead in domestic dispute

Cathy Scott

Thursday, March 21, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

An ongoing domestic argument ended today with two people shot to death and a mobile home destroyed by fire.

An estranged boyfriend of a woman who lived in the Sunrise Oaks Mobile Home Park at 1200 N. Lamb Blvd., north of Washington Avenue, arrived at her home about 7 a.m. today, witnesses said.

"She was taking out the garbage and getting ready to go to work when he got her," said Michelle Fonseca, a friend of the woman who lives next door.

Armondo Revea, 12, was on a patio next door when he saw the couple arguing on the front porch.

"He had a gun in his hand," Armondo said. "She went inside, he went inside, she screamed, then 'pow,' I heard the gun go off."

Sandy Johnson, 35, was shot multiple times in the chest, while Jeff Switzer, 34, was shot once in the head.

Fonseca also heard the couple arguing. She said Johnson, a secretary at Kaccel Communication Services who lived in the park for four years, had been living with Switzer in space No. 157 until about four months ago.

"She kicked him out," Fonseca said, fighting back tears. "He was threatening to kill her. She got a restraining order. She had a new boyfriend and a new life. She was so sweet."

Fonseca said Switzer had moved back to California after Johnson kicked him out. He recently had been stalking her and harassing her, she said. Johnson's parents, who live in Mesquite, had stayed with her for about a month so she wouldn't be alone, Fonseca said.

"I'm so sorry for her parents," Fonseca said.

Metro homicide Sgt. Bill Keeton said Switzer, who worked at Green Valley Electric on Sunset Road in Henderson, had been arrested on a felony stalking charge about two months ago. He was to appear in court next month.

Johnson's boss, Kathy Fortin, said she had met Switzer several times and described him as a "survivalist."

"It was his pastime," she said. "He was into the militia."

Fonseca said she awoke this morning "to shouting and screaming." Then, she said, "the kitchen exploded."

"I tried to save her by calling 911, but she was already dead," Fonseca said.

Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Evert Wilson said, "The fire ripped through the entire house," destroying it.

"It was hot," a firefighter said. "When we arrived, it was pop, pop, popping."

Keeton said an assault rifle with a fully loaded magazine and three or four other handguns were inside. The fire caused them to discharge, he said.

A small handgun in Johnson's fanny-pack was partially out, and investigators believe she had tried to grab the gun to protect herself, Keeton said.

The handgun was given to her by her boyfriend "to protect herself," Fortin said.

"That's too bad she didn't get it out in time," she said.

When police arrived they were not sure if anyone was alive inside. They busted out windows and entered the home carrying guns and rifles, said Chris Girlie, who also lives in the park. Wilson said the fire also blew out some windows.

When firefighters went inside the home after putting out the fire, they found the woman and man dead from gunshot wounds.

It wasn't clear how the fire started, Wilson said, but witnesses indicated that Switzer shot Johnson, then poured a flammable liquid in the mobile home, set fire to it and shot himself.

A gasoline can was found in the kitchen, along with a gun next to Switzer's body, also in the kitchen, Keeton said.

Switzer moved into a Winnebago motor home after he moved out of Johnson's home, Fonseca said.

Fortin said Johnson had not heard from Switzer in about two months.

"A receptionist called and said Sandy hadn't shown up for work this morning," Fortin said. "This is what flashed through my mind, that he killed her. I wasn't surprised.

"We talked about it many times," she said. "She was feeling too comfortable, in my opinion. I told her to be careful, not to be too comfortable."