Two men charged in shooting death of Las Vegas teen

Jace Radke

Wednesday, March 29, 2000 | 10:22 a.m.

Two Las Vegas men were arrested Tuesday in connection with the fatal drive-by shooting of a 17-year-old Western High School student on Feb. 19.

The first arrest in the slaying of Sam Larios was made at about 11 a.m. when the Las Vegas Criminal Apprehension Team found Samuel Mejia Lopez, 17, hiding in the attic of his apartment in the 1900 block of North Jones Boulevard, Metro Police Sgt. Al Cervantes said.

"The attic is usually the last place we look, but once we got up there we saw that he had broken through three or four firewalls and could have gained access to any of the apartments in the building through the attics," Cervantes said. "We didn't hear him breaking through the walls, so I think he had broken through in the past to get into the other apartments."

Just before 5 p.m. Cervantes' team arrested Eulogio Bautista Santiago, 21, at his North Las Vegas home.

Lopez and Santiago have been charged with murder with a deadly weapon and booked into the Clark County Detention Center, Lt. Wayne Petersen said.

"We received information that Lopez was involved in the shooting, and witnesses were able to pick a picture of him out of a photo lineup," Petersen said. "We are still sorting out exactly who is responsible for what."

Witnesses said Larios was dropped off by friends near Carmen Boulevard and Yale Street -- which is near Decatur Boulevard and Washington Avenue -- at about 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 18. A sport utility vehicle had reportedly been following the car that Larios was riding in, and as Larios got out of the car he was shot once in the head by the passenger in the SUV, police said.

About 13 hours later Larios died at University Medical Center.

A 1994 Nissan Pathfinder fitting the description of the vehicle used in the homicide was found by police at Santiago's house, Petersen said.

When asked if detectives were looking for additional suspects in the homicide Petersen said only that "the investigation is continuing."

Larios was the first of three teenagers gunned down in drive-by style shootings in a 22-day period in February and early March. On Feb. 20 Christopher Gaitor, 15, was shot and killed while walking near his apartment complex on Arville Street as he and a friend returned home from playing video games.

On March 9 Antonio Ramos, 16, was shot and killed in front of his girlfriend's house in the 6400 block of Meadowlark Lane, near Torrey Pines Drive and Spring Mountain Road.

"We are still working on the (Gaitor) case, and we have received some information, but still not enough for a warrant," Petersen said.

Detectives have been seeking Erwin "Sleepy" Huerta, 17, in that death.

"The gang unit has been looking for Sleepy, but we haven't found him," Petersen said. "There is the possibility that he may have left town."

Anyone with information on the three killings is asked to contact detectives at 229-3521.