Clues sought in killing of house sitter

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

A house sitter found stabbed to death Sunday in a home in northwest Las Vegas was last seen with friends at a hotel bar, and Metro Police are investigating whether someone he encountered there is connected to his death.

Sgt. Rocky Alby of Metro's homicide section said clues are scarce and detectives are investigating every angle.

"We don't want to exclude anything." Alby said. "We're looking at everything."

The man, whose name has not yet been released, was house sitting for his cousin while the family spent the weekend in Disneyland. The victim is in his mid-30s and worked at Big O Tires, Alby said.

Alberto Gomez-Salas and his family discovered the dead man in an upstairs bedroom in their home in the 8200 block of Green Clover Avenue, near Durango Drive and Ann Road, about 6:45 p.m. Sunday.

The house sitter's vehicle was still inside the garage, but the family's 1999 white Acura was missing, Lt. Tom Monahan said. It bears the Nevada commemorative plates for the Missing and Exploited Children's Fund, number MX1666.

Police had not found the car as of this morning. They believe whoever is driving it has information about the homicide.

There was no sign of forced entry to the house, police said, but they declined to say whether money was missing from the victim or if anything else was missing besides the car.

Detectives determined the victim was seen last about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Alby declined to say which hotel-casino the victim visited before his death.

It's not clear if the victim knew his killer, Alby said. The homicide doesn't appear to be gang related and Alby said it's probably not drug related.

Anyone with information about the case can call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or Metro at 229-3521.