NLV man shot after witnessing homicide

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 | 11:24 a.m.

A North Las Vegas man is fighting for his life today following a bizarre series of events this week that included him witnessing a homicide, snubbing police investigators and later being shot and dumped on the side of a highway.

The 19-year-old man was in stable condition today at the University Medical Center from several gunshot wounds. The Tuesday night incident has left police with more questions than answers involving two crimes.

"This is a strange one," North Las Vegas Police Lt. Chris Larotonda said.

"We're not exactly sure why he was shot. He was uncooperative about Monday night's shooting, so we do not think this was a case of retaliation against a witness. His statement was not consistent with the physical evidence at the scene."

Larotonda was referring to a Monday incident about 6:45 p.m., where a 20-year-old man was found shot on a sidewalk in the 2400 block of McCarran Street near Carey Avenue and Pecos Road. He later died at UMC.

Following that incident police at the scene questioned the 19-year-old man who said that the 20-year-old was the victim of a drive-by shooting. Police said he became uncooperative when he was asked to go to the station for further questioning.

"When the man came to the station, we confronted him about his story not being consistent with the evidence, and he walked out," Larotonda said. "He was not a suspect so we didn't stop him. He was free to go."

Police believe the 19-year-old man knew the dead man, but that relationship remains unclear. The Sun does not identify crime victims when it could endanger them. The name of the dead man was not available today, the Clark County Coroner's office said.

The two men also may have known or had an association with the shooters, but Larotonda said a connection is too sketchy to establish yet. It is not clear whether they were attacked by the same assailants, he said.

What happened to the man after he stormed out of the police station is a mystery to authorities, who next found him wounded, sitting on the shoulder of the northbound lanes of Interstate-15 near Craig Road shortly after 8:30 p.m.

"We can only assume he was driven there because it is unlikely that he walked to that location," Larotonda said.

Police said they received a call from a pizza delivery man who saw the man sitting on the highway. About the same time police received a call from the Nevada Highway Patrol, which had been contacted by Nevada Power workers, who also were concerned for the injured man.

Police discovered that the man had been shot in the back through the upper torso. But he again declined to give full details to police.

"He was still uncooperative," Larotonda said. "He would not even tell us the basic details like a description of the people who shot him."

Anyone with information about either crime can contact North Las Vegas Police at 633-9111 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.