Police ask for help in locating suspects

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 9:47 a.m.

A 20-year-old Las Vegas man was killed this morning in the parking lot outside of a bar as two groups of men in their early 20s confronted each other.

One of the men, Joseph E. Dela Cruz, apparently was trying to stop two of the men from fighting at about 2 a.m. outside Hurricane Harry's on Sahara Avenue at Decatur Boulevard when another man pulled out a gun and shot Dela Cruz, Metro Police said.

The shooter and two companions fled the area after the shooting. The shooter is described as a black man in his early 20s, 5-foot-10 and about 140 pounds. His hair was cropped extremely short, almost shaved. He was last seen wearing a dark polo shirt with white horizontal stripes.

Police are also trying to locate the two companions. One was described as a white man, possibly named Ronnie. He is in his early 20s and has a cast on his left arm that extends from his hand to just above his elbow. He has a shaved head.

The third man was described as white or Hispanic in his early 20s, 6 feet tall and about 170 pounds.

The suspects were last seen fleeing in a small, dark vehicle with a possible license plate of 971 KTV.