Police try to link rapes, slayings

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

Metro Police are trying to determine if a Las Vegas teen accused of a series of rapes is connected to the killing of a former monk in June and the slaying of an elderly woman 14 months ago.

The 17-year-old boy was apprehended and charged in Chicago over the weekend after Metro detectives questioned the teen in connection with a series of rapes in the downtown Las Vegas area.

"We're thankful he's in custody," Capt. Greg Jolley said. "The assaults were similar in that the door would be kicked in, the victim would then be robbed and raped."

Detectives are looking at the two homicide cases to see if the teen was involved in the slayings.

On June 10, 31-year-old former monk Gyaltso Lungtok was found dead in his apartment in the 400 block of South 10th Street. The front door had been kicked in, and Lungtok had been shot to death.

Details of the elderly woman's death were not available this morning.

Jolley said the homicides have some similarities to the attacks on the women, but would not indicate if any evidence links the boy to the slayings. However, Jolley said there was physical evidence connecting the teen to the six rapes in Las Vegas.

In one of the attacks, a woman was robbed and raped and then was locked in her bathroom before her apartment was set on fire. The woman was able to escape. In another attack, the woman was older than 65, police said.

The teen was charged with 12 counts of sexual assault and nearly 30 other felonies including two counts of attempted murder.

Although the 17-year-old will be booked into the Clark County Detention Center on the attempted murder charges as an adult, it is up to the Clark County district attorney to ask for the teen to be certified as an adult for the sexual assault and other charges.

"Given these types of charges and the quantity of charges that (asking to certify the teen as an adult) will likely occur," District Attorney Stewart Bell said.

A juvenile judge will then decide if the teen will face the charges as an adult.

The teen has waived extradition and will be brought back to Las Vegas, most likely in a couple of weeks. Once police identified the teen as a suspect, they learned he was in Chicago visiting a relative.

The attacks occurred Feb. 1 in the 2800 block of East Charleston Boulevard, March 7 in the 2900 block of East Charleston, March 25 in the 600 block of East Bonanza Road, April 4 in the 2300 block of Clifford Avenue, May 16 in the 100 block of North 21st Street and June 7 in the 600 block of North 13th Street.

Most of the attacks occurred between midnight and 4 a.m.

Lt. Tom Monahan of the sexual assault unit said the only way to stop a serial rapists is to "capture, prosecute, convict and separate that person from society."