Man charged in shooting of brother-in-law

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001 | 10:52 a.m.

An 18-year-old Las Vegas man is charged with shooting his brother-in-law to death Tuesday after finding the man, with whom he had a long-running feud, hiding under his sister's bed.

Police said Jason Weber disliked the 31-year-old husband of his sister and did not approve of their recent wedding, Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro Police's homicide unit said.

The name of the victim was not released.

"There had been some bad blood," Petersen said. "His sister was living at her grandmother's house and her husband was not living with her and was not allowed to be at the house."

She apparently sneaked her husband into the house, and he tried to hide when Weber came over to the house in the 4200 block of Hazelcrest Drive near Flamingo Road and Sandhill Drive about 2 p.m., Petersen said.

Weber is accused of fighting with the man, then pulling out a handgun and shooting him as the newlywed husband was running for the front door, Petersen said.

Weber, who surrendered to the first officer who arrived at the scene, was booked into the Clark County jail on one count of murder with a weapon.

The husband was found with a pipe in his hand, but police say it appeared the pipe was put there after he was shot.

The newlywed wife, who is also the suspect's sister, and another person who witnessed the shooting told police the man had nothing in his hand.

The slain man had apparently been recently released from jail, and his brushes with the law contributed to the animosity with his wife's family, police said.

The man's death was the sixth homicide so far this year in Metro's jurisdiction, compared with five at the same time last year. In 2000 there were eight homicides in January, but the year ended with 95 homicides -- the first time in a decade the area had fewer than 100 homicides.