Rap music disagreement may have led to slaying

Keith Paul

Friday, July 13, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

When Edward Wiggins refused to sign on with a would-be local rap music producer last week, he didn't take the threats that followed seriously.

The calls to his cellular phone persisted on July 6 from James F. Turner Jr., who goes by the name of Creo, but Wiggins wasn't scared. He waited outside his apartment after Turner said he was coming there to "take care of business," according to a Henderson Police warrant.

When Turner never showed, Wiggins believed the threats were just talk.

Hours later, about 7:40 p.m., Turner called Wiggins' cell phone cussing and making more threats. Four minutes later, Wiggins' wife, who was at the apartment with their 3-week-old son, called.

Someone apparently was trying to enter the apartment.

"(They're) here. They are trying to come in. I can hear them trying the handle," Miranda Johnson told her husband, and then the phone went dead, according to court records.

Wiggins rushed to his Henderson home on Sienna Heights Drive. His wife called again.

"Wiggins heard a male say something like, 'Grab the baby. Where is he?' Wiggins then heard Miranda say, 'I don't know where he is' and the phone went dead again," according to a Henderson Police warrant filed in court.

Wiggins rushed from his car armed with two guns and ran into his home. He saw the front door had been kicked in. He found his 21-year-old wife shot in the head. He ran outside with the guns in his hands as Henderson Police officers showed up.

Wiggins put down his guns and told the officers his wife had been shot.

An officer went into the apartment and found Johnson "holding a cellular phone in her left hand and between her legs on the floor was a baby," the report said. The 3-week-old boy was not hurt.

Later two phone messages were found on Wiggins' cell phone. Wiggins said he recognized the voice. The first message was left about an hour before Johnson's frantic call to her husband. The message stated that Wiggins "can't hide and he is coming to get him." The next message, left about 40 minutes before Johnson was killed, stated, "He is standing in front of his house," according to the court records.

About 30 minutes before Johnson was killed, three men were seen around a car in the parking lot. They were seen heading toward her apartment. A gunshot was heard and the three men were seen running out of the apartment, according to the report.

One of the men was seen wearing a football jersey, possibly with the number 50. One of them was seen talking on a cell phone, the report said.

Wiggins had been introduced to Turner by a third person. Wiggins said he was a rapper and gave Turner his cell and home phone numbers to discuss signing with Turner's Creative Rap Entertainment Organization. The letters spell out Turner's street name Creo.

But from about 4 p.m. on July 6 Turner became more and more insistent Wiggins sign with him and became angered when Wiggins rebuffed him.

The next day Turner called Wiggins telling him to meet him, saying, "Let's finish this. See what happens when I go to your crib. So get here. I'll be waiting for you," according to court records.

Henderson Police talked with North Las Vegas Police gang detectives who said Turner lives on East Carey Avenue in North Las Vegas and goes by the name Creo. Henderson detectives checked the cell number Wiggins had for Turner and it is billed to Turner.

Police searched the home Turner shared with his cousin and found a football jersey with the number 05 on it. They also found a piece of paper in the apartment with Creative Rap Entertainment Organization on it, according to the report. Turner's cousin said Turner wasn't working but was trying to become a rap producer.

On Tuesday an arrest warrant was issued charging Turner with murder and burglary. Police went to the Carey Avenue home about 6:30 p.m. and surrounded the building with SWAT officers from Henderson and North Las Vegas. About 90 minutes later Turner surrendered and was arrested, police said.

Turner pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for later this month, said Drew Christensen, an attorney with the public defender's office appointed to represent Turner.

Christensen said he spoke with Turner Thursday, but has just started to look into the case.

Police have not apprehended the two other men seen outside of the apartment at the time of the slaying.