Wednesday, July 21, 2004 | 11 a.m.
Authorities in California have arrested an 18-year-old transvestite and charged him with the bludgeoning death last month of a house sitter in northwest Las Vegas.
Michael Paul Fierro is accused of beating 31-year-old Enrique Martinez-Salas with a toilet tank lid and stabbing him, according to the arrest warrant.
Police allege Fierro left a note at the scene saying Martinez-Salas tried to rape him and signed it "Jane."
But following his arrest Monday, Fierro told police he killed Martinez-Salas after a dispute over payment for sex and because "he was so angry with other things that had happened in his life, and he took it out on the wrong person," the warrant says.
"This will go into my annual analysis (of homicides) as a sexually motivated crime," Lt. Tom Monahan, head of the homicide section, said.
Martinez-Salas, who worked for Big O Tires, was taking care of his cousin's house in the 8200 block of Green Clover Avenue, near Durango Drive and Ann Road, while his relatives took a weekend trip to Disneyland.
The relatives returned home June 20 and found Martinez-Salas dead in an upstairs bedroom.
He had been bludgeoned with two toilet tank covers then stabbed repeatedly in the face and head. Bloody fingerprints were found at the scene as well as the note.
The family's white 1999 Acura, a stereo, X-Box game system and some DVDs were missing from the house.
In the days following the homicide, detectives spoke to people who knew the victim and discovered he frequented alternative lifestyle bars and clubs, and was specifically interested in transvestite and transsexual prostitutes, the warrant says.
On June 20 a man told police he saw Martinez-Salas talking to three transvestites named "Bianca," "Kiki" and "Montana" at the Las Vegas Lounge, a gay club at 900 E. Karen Ave.
The person known as Kiki left Las Vegas for California immediately after Martinez-Salas was found dead, the report says.
Friends said "Kiki" is Fierro, a female impersonator who could be found performing Thursday and Sunday nights at the Oasis club in Upland, Calif.
A witness in Upland had seen Fierro driving a white Acura and said that Fierro got the car from a "trick" in Las Vegas, according to the report.
Detectives contacted the Inland Criminal Apprehension Team in Riverside, Calif., on Sunday and asked them to check the area for the stolen Acura. Detectives found it in the parking lot of the Oasis club, according to the police report.
They conducted surveillance on the car and less than an hour later, "a blonde female impersonator in a white dress" got into the car, according to the report.
California detectives arrested Fierro on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, and Metro detectives drove to Upland, Calif., to interview him.
The police report says Fierro told detectives he met Martinez-Salas in the early morning hours of June 20 in front of the Las Vegas Lounge. The report says Fierro was working as a prostitute and was dressed in female clothing.
Fierro told police that they got into the Acura that Martinez-Salas was driving and went back to his cousin's home, where Martinez-Salas said he would give Fierro the Acura, the X-Box and DVDs in exchange for sex, according to the report.
Fierro told police that later in the night, Martinez-Salas became angry and hit Fierro when Fierro asked for the items, the report said.
When Martinez-Salas fell asleep, the police report alleges, "Fierro became so angry that the could not control himself. Fierro took a toilet tank cover from the bathroom and bludgeoned the victim on the head as he slept."
Fierro then went downstairs, the police report continues, got a knife and a knife sharpening tool and a plastic bag. He beat Martinez-Salas with another toilet tank lid and put the plastic bag over his head, hoping to suffocate him, the report alleges, then he stabbed him.
The report says Fierro told detectives he unplugged the phones, cleaned himself up, took some items from the home and drove to California.
Detectives charged Fierro with murder. He was being held in California pending extradition.
Last year about 4 percent of the homicides investigated by Metro were linked to sex, Monahan said.
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