Murder suspect on run for 11 years found in LV

Keith Paul

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 10:01 a.m.

So much time had passed, Jerry Newell apparently thought no one was looking for him anymore.

But several detectives greeted him at his front door Wednesday when he answered a knock.

"From the photograph we knew it was him," said Sgt. Ted Lee of the Criminal Apprehension Team. "We told him we knew who he was and then he admitted who he was."

For 11 years Newell, 30, has been using different names. He is accused of shooting a man 12 times, killing him, during a fight in Chicago in 1991.

An alleged accomplice in the crime was arrested and convicted of murdering the victim, Jimmy Chamberlain. The accomplice is serving time in an Illinois prison.

Detectives were led to the fugitive after a tip received by Chicago Police. The Criminal Apprehension Team, composed of investigators from Metro Police, Henderson Police, the FBI and the U.S. Marshal Service, tracked Newell to a home in Las Vegas near Michael Way and Smoke Ranch Road.

Newell was using the name of Troy Damon, and lived in Portland, Ore., and Redwood City, Calif., before moving to Las Vegas in July 2001. He didn't appear to have a job while he was in Las Vegas, Lee said.

Police saw him drive up in a car, and even though the picture they had was more than a decade old, they recognized him.

"You pretty much keep the same characteristics over the years. We knew it was him," Lee said. "He thought it was all behind him. He didn't think he was going to be caught after all this time, but this kind of thing never goes away."

Police did arrest Newell in 1993 in Redwood City, Calif., on an assault charge, but he used the name Romane Smith and was released before a fingerprint comparison was completed revealing his true identity.

Newell is currently being held in the Clark County jail pending extradition to Chicago.