Homicide linked to killing of dog

Jace Radke

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003 | 11:18 a.m.

Metro Police have linked a homicide to a man who went on a carjacking spree and exchanged gunfire with police before killing a police dog and himself on Oct. 24.

The bullet from the gun Daniel Nunez, 23, used to shoot a police dog in a stolen police car match a 9 mm shell casing found in the kitchen where police discovered a 57-year-old man shot to death on Oct. 25, Metro Police said.

Ralph Sheets' body was found in his kitchen near Washington Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, close to where Nunez began a series of five carjackings at Martin Luther King and Bonanza Road in the early morning hours of Oct. 24.

From there Nunez went on to carjack four other vehicles, before killing himself about 2 a.m. with a gunshot, according to police and the Clark County coroner's office.

Police say they have also linked Nunez to a hit-and-run accident on Oct. 23 that seriously injured two pedestrians.

On Oct. 24, as he led Metro officers on a chase along U.S. 95, Monahan said, the evidence shows Nunez shot himself in the head. The coroner's findings confirmed that

Police also found the muzzled police dog, Buddy, shot to death in the stolen SUV, Monahan said. The SUV crashed into the center median near the Jones Boulevard exit.