Metro Police investigating pair of Halloween homicides

Angela Soo and Jace Radke

Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

Metro Police are investigating a pair of Wednesday homicides -- one of which was something out of a Halloween nightmare.

One man was killed and a man and a woman were wounded after a gunman posing as a trick-or-treater fired shots into a home in the 200 block of Van Buren Avenue, police said.

The slain man, who was in his 40s, died at the scene, Metro Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said. Another man, who later was found along Blankenship Avenue with gunshot wounds in his legs, was determined to have been shot in the house. The man initially claimed he was shot in a drive-by on Blankenship, Petersen said.

"We found the man's truck in the (Van Buren) apartment complex and blood in the apartment that could not have come from the (dead) victim," Petersen said, noting that the man was treated at University Medical Center.

The woman, who was outside the apartment and apparently not a target of the gunman, was wounded in the foot by a ricocheting pellet. She went to Lake Mead Hospital Medical Center in North Las Vegas for treatment.

The Clark County coroner's office said today the release of the dead man's name is being withheld pending positive identification.

Police say they do not know whether the incident is gang related, but Petersen said it could be drug related because the dead man had a history of drug use and drug sales.

"We don't know what motivated the shooting," Petersen said.

Police responded to a 911 call about 10:30 p.m., Petersen said. The gunman drove to a residence that belonged to the victim and knocked on the door.

"When the door opened, he said, 'trick-or-treat,' and then started shooting," Petersen said. "Witnesses saw the man in a costume and rifle and thought it was a Halloween prank."

The shooter wore a bright green mask with wild dark hair, Petersen said. The gunman is believed to have gotten into a dark colored four-door sedan to flee the area, Petersen said.

Anyone with information can call Metro homicide at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

On Wednesday morning a Las Vegas man was arrested and charged in a slaying that involved a stabbing, shooting and chase over several blocks downtown.

Petersen said the men argued over a drug deal, one of the men was stabbed and then chased his attacker with a gun.

Police responded to the area of Fremont and 21st streets about 10 a.m. after reports that a man with a gun had chased another man north on 21st Street. The men made their way to Sunrise Avenue into an apartment building courtyard, which is where witnesses say the victim was shot, Petersen said.

Thomas Williams, 31, was arrested in an apartment in the 1900 block of Fremont Street shortly after 10 a.m., police said. A handgun, which police suspect was used in the homicide, was found in the apartment. Police recovered a knife under the body of the victim, Petersen said.

Williams was treated for his stab wound at University Medical Center.

The coroner's office today said it has only a tentative identification of the dead man and declined to release his name until a positive ID is made.

Police know the dead man only as "Shorty." A woman claiming to be the man's widow was at the scene and said they had married two days ago, but she did not know her husband's full name.

Sun reporter Ed Koch contributed to this story.