Four die in weekend killings

Jace Radke

Monday, April 2, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

Four people were killed over the weekend in unrelated homicides that Metro and North Las Vegas police continue to investigate.

One of the homicides was in North Las Vegas, while three were in Metro's jurisdiction, including that of a homeless man who was found dead Sunday morning behind a business near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Alta Drive.

The 50-year-old man, who was known to sleep in the area, was found about 8 a.m. and appears to have been beaten to death, Metro homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said. He had not been identified this morning, according to the coroner's office.

The victim had been beaten by three or four teenagers on March 12 and had to be hospitalized for his injuries. Shortly after midnight Sunday a resident in the area reported hearing yelling and saw three or four men walking from the area where the victim was found. Detectives are investigating to see if there is any connection between the two beatings, Petersen said.

One of the possible suspects in Sunday's attack was described as wearing a long white robe.

On Dec. 27, 72-year-old Arthur Cramer, another homeless man, was found severely beaten in the area of A Street and Owens Avenue, and police say that a group of teens was likely responsible. Cramer died on March 10 in a medical facility, possibly from injuries he sustained when he was beaten. Police are investigating his death as a homicide.

Metro is also investigating an early Saturday morning shooting at an apartment in the 4000 block of Pennwood Avenue, between Valley View Boulevard and Arville Street.

Police found a 30-year-old man, Cipriano Cabrera-Duran of Henderson, shot and killed in the doorway of an apartment about 12:15 a.m. Witnesses told detectives that two men with their faces covered entered the apartment, and at least one had a gun.

"They apparently came in the back window and started demanding money and people's wallets," Petersen said. "The victim saw what was happening and was shot as he was going out the front door."

The suspects are described as Hispanic, in their late teens or early 20s, with shaved heads. Both were wearing tan clothing.

About 24 hours later police responded to a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in the 3600 block of East Owens, near Nellis Boulevard.

Gunfire was reported in the complex about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, and police and paramedics arrived to find a 23-year-old man, Kenyatta Larry, in a parking lot suffering from numerous gunshot wounds. Larry was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Michelle Welch was found dead inside a home at 3739 Nairobi Lane, near Martin Luther King and Alexander Road about 10:30 a.m.

Detectives are looking for Glenford Edward Ennis, 33, in connection with the homicide. Ennis had a history of domestic violence, and police say the two got into an argument Friday, and Welch was stabbed.

Police say Ennis fled the house in a red, four-door Mitsubishi with an unknown license plate. Ennis is described as black, 6 feet 1 inches tall and 180 pounds.