Teen eludes charges, then gunned down

Keith Paul

Tuesday, July 24, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

In the span of eight months Vernon Craft was accused of a gang-related drive-by shooting and a gang-related murder. Both times the charges were dismissed after the evidence didn't pan out or a victim recanted.

But Sunday the 19-year-old was unable to escape the gang violence that has gripped the neighborhood around Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards. Craft was shot and killed in what North Las Vegas Police say is an apparent retaliation for a shooting the previous day.

"He had a troubled life," said Dayvid Figler, a deputy special public defender who represented Craft on murder and attempted murder charges. "His life certainly ended as violently as the things he was accused of."

Police suspect Craft's killing will spawn more shootings in retaliation.

"If it's tit for tat, there will probably be more to come," Lt. Art Redcay, a North Las Vegas Police spokesman, said. "It's two feuding gangs, and it really has turned into a blood feud."

Craft was found about 12:40 a.m. Sunday on the ground in the 2000 block of West Lake Mead Boulevard, shot several times. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

North Las Vegas Police suspect Craft's killing may be in retaliation for the death of Charles B. Fields, 25, in the Heritage Lounge on West Owens Avenue early Saturday. The lounge is in Metro Police's jurisdiction, and detectives have found no cooperating witnesses, even though the bar was packed.

Craft had found himself charged with some of the violence that has plagued the neighborhood that bridges North Las Vegas and Metro police jurisdictions. The area has had 13 gang-related killings and Fields' homicide, which has not been classified as gang related. North Las Vegas has investigated nine slayings they believe are gang related, with the others in Metro's territory.

Craft was arrested a few weeks after the July 7, 2000, slaying of 19-year-old Derrick Mitchell and charged with murder. In October he was released on his own recognizance. He was arrested again and charged in February with attempted murder in a drive-by shooting that injured a man.

In March the murder charge was dismissed in Clark County District Court.

"They didn't have really have good evidence against him," Figler said.

A few weeks later the attempted murder charge stemming from the drive-by shooting was dropped, when the victim couldn't identify Craft in court as the shooter. Craft was set free to go back to the neighborhood around Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards.

"The police are dealing with misinformation, the prosectors are dealing with misinformation and the people on the street are dealing with misinformation; and on the street innuendo is enough to get someone killed," Figler said.

"People start pointing fingers, and that becomes the truth, and that's not saying the police are doing anything wrong," he said. "They can only rely on the information they have. The police do the best they can to ferret out the good information from the bad information."

Police doubt Craft was killed in retaliation for either one of the previous shootings.

"If they wanted him for those, they would have done it before now," Redcay said.

Police have noted two gangs have been warring, and several innocent people have been caught in the crossfire, including 61-year-old church deacon Floyd Wilson, who was hit by a bullet while driving down Carey Avenue on Feb. 15.

The retaliation has become more and more violent, prompting North Las Vegas Police to open an office in the troubled area, staffed by officers dedicated to patrolling the neighborhood.

But when violence begets violence, the mere accusation on the street can lead to a shooting and then to another shooting, creating an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness.

"Vernon was an interesting guy. He was just a kid," Figler said. "He was 19 years old and was living in an area that he just didn't see there was a lot of hope."