Weekend violence claims five lives

Jace Radke

Monday, July 9, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

Area police are investigating five slayings in the Las Vegas Valley in three days.

The latest slaying occurred in Metro jurisdiction about 10:40 p.m. Sunday when a man's body was found behind a Dumpster in the 4200 block of West Flamingo Road near Arville Street.

The motive and circumstances of his slaying were not known. The man appears to have been beaten in the head and upper body, police said. The slaying is the 82nd in Metro's jurisdiction, putting it 28 slayings ahead of last year at the same time. There were 95 homicides for all of 2000.

The man's name was not released this morning pending positive identification and notification of his family.

Metro Police have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the 7:45 p.m. shooting near Charleston Boulevard and Sloan Lane. Police found 27-year-old Moris Almendarez-Morataya shot to death in front of the suspect's house in the 1500 block of Teardrop Street.

A Metro Police helicopter spotted the suspect driving from the scene and was able to follow the car until officers took the suspect into custody a couple of miles away at Charleston and Christy Lane, Sgt. Rocky Alby said.

"The suspect has requested an attorney, and we're not sure yet what caused this," Alby said. "We have what we believe was the weapon used in this crime."

The suspect reportedly held a gun outside of his car window in a nonthreatening manner; he dropped the weapon when police stopped him, Alby said.

"It appears that the victim went over to the suspect's house for some reason, but we're not sure why that was," Alby said.

Detectives also are investigating a homicide that resulted from a gun battle in downtown Las Vegas Sunday morning.

Police say witnesses reported a fight between two women at the South Cove Apartments, 1525 E. Fremont St., that precipitated a gunfight between two men about 5:15 a.m.

The two men, who apparently were trying to defend the women's reputations, pulled guns and fired numerous shots, Sgt. Kevin Manning said.

One of the men, a 22-year-old, was found dead from a gunshot wound in the chest. Police found damage to several apartments, apparently from bullets, but no one else was hurt, Manning said.

Police are looking for the second gunman, who is described as black, in his late teens to early 20s with braided hair. He has been described as tall and was last seen wearing a blue and black striped shirt.

The slain man's name was not released this morning.

Homicide detectives also are working a case involving a married couple, who were shot outside a business near Industrial Road and Tropicana Avenue Friday night.

The shooting happened about 6:15 p.m. at 3175 Ali Baba Lane. Police found 22-year-old Berenice Holguin, who had been shot to death. Her husband also had been shot and was taken to University Medical Center, where he was recovering today, police said.

Witnesses told detectives that a red car was seen leaving the area after the shooting, but the number of people in the car is not known, police said.

Henderson homicide detectives have identified a suspect in connection with the slaying of a woman inside her apartment Friday night.

Police served a search warrant Sunday evening at the North Las Vegas home of James Jeff Turner Jr. They found clothing and a car that were consistent with what witnesses described seeing Friday at the Sienna Villas Apartments, where 21-year-old Miranda L. Johnson was found shot to death.

Johnson was found by a neighbor about 8 p.m. Friday at an apartment complex near Lake Mead Drive and Eastern Avenue, police said. The neighbor told police that he heard a gunshot and saw three men leaving Johnson's apartment.

Johnson's infant boy was in the apartment at the time of the shooting, but he was not harmed, police said.

Detectives say it is unclear whether anything was taken from the couple's apartment, and it is believed that the suspects knew the victim and her husband.

Turner is being sought as the primary suspect in the case and should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. The other two suspects have not been identified, police said.

The slaying is the sixth in Henderson this year; there were eight in 2000. North Las Vegas has already surpassed last year's total of 10 slayings. There have been 14 so far this year.

Anyone with information on the three homicides in Metro's jurisdiction is asked to call police at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555. Those with information on the Henderson homicide can call Secret Witness or the Henderson Crime Information Hotline at 565-2009.