Door doesn’t protect resident from gunman

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, May 12, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

When an armed, masked man approached James Greene outside his condominium in southwest Las Vegas and demanded money, the 50-year-old man ducked inside and slammed the door, according to Metro Police.

But the man then fired three shots from a handgun through the door, hitting Greene in the chest and killing him.

Greene's death went undiscovered for three days. A neighbor noticed the bullet holes May 7, discovered the door unlocked and peeked inside, the police report said. He saw what appeared to be blood on the floor and detected a foul odor. He then called 911.

Detectives spoke to neighbors who said they heard the sound of gunfire about 9:30 p.m. May 4 in the area of the 3600 block of Gaylord Drive, where Greene lived, but didn't call police.

A day after Greene's body was discovered, police received an anonymous tip saying the person responsible for the slaying was a young man named Branden who lived in an apartment in the 3600 block of Valley View Boulevard, according to the police report.

Branden Tabile, 17, and Greene lived just a few hundred yards from each other near the intersection of Twain Avenue and Valley View Boulevard, down the street from the Rio. Only a concrete block wall separates the apartment buildings where Tabile lived from the gated-condominium complex where Greene lived.

Detectives obtained a warrant to search Tabile's apartment May 8 and took Tabile into custody for a parole violation, the report says. One of Tabile's roommates was also arrested on a warrant.

Police reported finding two handguns in the apartment and both had been reported stolen.

Tabile's friends told detectives that before he left the apartment May 4 he said he was going out to "do a lick," and his roomate said he knew that meant a robbery, the arrest report notes.

"When Tabile returned he told (his friends) that he had tried to rob a guy, and the guy shut his door so he shot through the door three times," according to the report.

Detectives interviewed Tabile, who allegedly told them he left his apartment that day carrying two handguns and wore a mask on his face and a hood over his head. He walked around the neighborhood looking for someone to rob, the report says.

Tabile told police he approached "a large man" outside his condo, pointed a gun at him and asked him for money, according to the report. Tabile said he walked the man to his door, and the man went inside and slammed the door behind him. The report says Tabile told police he shot three times and ran.

Heather Ortiz, Tabile's 18-year-old girlfriend who lived with him and another young couple, said Tabile was depressed the day of the shooting. It happened the day after he turned 17, and he had no job and "just couldn't live with his parents," although he called his mother daily, she said.

"It's very out of character for him," Ortiz said. "It hasn't really hit me yet, because of the seriousness of it. It's hard for me to believe it happened. ... He didn't do it because of need."

While the two boyfriends were out of work, the two women have jobs that pay enough to support the household, the women said.

Jamie Dorling, who also lives in the apartment, said: "Branden doesn't even know why he did it."

"He doesn't need jail; he needs help," Dorling said.

Dorling and Ortiz said they think Tabile should be held accountable for his actions, but they think he's too young to face the death penalty of life or prison.

Authorities said that is yet to be decided, however.

Sun reporter

Dan Kulin contributed to this story.