Motive elusive in man’s slaying

Jen Lawson

Thursday, July 24, 2003 | 11:13 a.m.

Jimmie Brown moved to Las Vegas eight years ago to escape the crime that had taken over his Los Angeles neighborhood, his friends and relatives said.

But crime ended up finding Brown. The school janitor, who police said has no criminal record, was shot and killed Sunday night as he drove his newly purchased Camaro along the Lone Mountain Road overpass to U.S. 95.

No arrests have been made, and Metro Police haven't been able to pinpoint a motive for the slaying.

"He's been my friend for 20 years, and we're just looking for some answers," Michelle Vazquez, 31, of Los Angeles, said.

Police are also looking for answers.

An hour before his death Brown, 36, received two calls, one at home and one on his cell phone, from someone using a pay phone at the Santa Fe Station, 4949 N. Rancho Drive, Sgt. Kevin Manning said.

On Wednesday homicide detectives released a Santa Fe Station surveillance video showing a unknown woman who investigators think is the person who called Brown. They believe she may be able to help with the investigation, and they are asking her to call detectives.

The shooting occurred sometime before 11:45 p.m. Sunday. A citizen called 911 reporting that a car had crashed into the barrier on the south side of the Lone Mountain overpass to U.S. 95. When patrol officers arrived they saw the driver had been shot.

Homicide investigators spoke to witnesses who said they saw the victim's Camaro and a late model silver Suzuki sport utility vehicle driving side by side through the parking lot of the Santa Fe Station.

The vehicles pulled out of the parking lot and turned east on Lone Mountain Road, then the passenger of the Suzuki fired several times at the Camaro. The bullets hit Brown in the upper body, police said. Brown made a U-turn, lost control of his car and crashed into the barrier. He died as a result of the gunshot wounds, police said.

Witnesses told police the driver of the Suzuki was a black woman with braids and the passenger who police believe fired the shots was a black man, police said.

After investigators discovered that Brown received two calls from the Santa Fe Station, they obtained casino surveillance tapes from security officials and spotted the woman believed to have called Brown.

The tape shows a white woman appearing to be in her mid- to late 20s, 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-7 and 150 to 160 pounds. She has brown hair that might be in a bun and was wearing a white tank top and pink skirt and carrying a brown purse.

Manning said detectives believe Brown went to the Santa Fe Station because the woman called him, but it's not clear if he ever met up with her.

Detectives also aren't certain if there is any connection between the woman on the surveillance tape and Brown's death, but they want to talk to her about it.

"There are so many unknowns," Manning said.

Surveillance video of the parking lot doesn't show who was in the Suzuki, he said.

The shooting doesn't appear to be drug-related, police said.

Brown was unmarried and didn't have a girlfriend.

Brown's death has baffled his family and friends. He led a quiet life, they said. He enjoyed shooting pool and bowling, and he was taking classes to learn how to repair air conditioners.

"His father passed away in 1994 and he chose to move to Las Vegas to start a new life," said his sister, Shari Brown of Los Angeles. "I am deeply saddened by the fact that the very place he ran to in order to start over his life was the very place that killed him."

Brown was first hired as a substitute custodian for the Clark County School District in March 1996, spokeswoman Mary Stanley-Larsen said. Later that year he became a full-time custodian at Helen C. Cannon Middle School. He transferred to Palo Verde High School in July 1997, where he worked until his death.

He had recently bought a new car, and Vazquez said that "was a big deal for him." Brown loved his family, his sister said, and adored children.

"My mother is 77 years old and she's a broken woman right now," Shari Brown said. "I want to let people know Jimmie had a family and people who loved him. We need to know how and why this happened."

Detectives are asking anyone with information as to the motive and/or the identity of the suspects or woman in the video to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or the homicide offices at 229-3521.