Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.
After allegedly running over his wife at a car wash Saturday morning, a 54-year-old Las Vegas man abandoned his bloodied sport utility vehicle in North Las Vegas with the keys inside, Metro Police said.
Albert Cota then went to meet his ex-wife at Starbucks, leaving his wife of five years dead in a stall of the Sparkles self-serve car wash on South Buffalo Drive near Flamingo Road, a police report alleges.
Detectives arrested Cota a short time later on a murder charge. He was being held without bail this morning at the Clark County Detention Center.
The police report says about 6:45 a.m. Saturday, a witness at a nearby business saw a blue Toyota 4-Runner abruptly back out of a stall at the car wash, then saw it lurch forward.
The witness heard tires squealing and saw the vehicle back up again then leave the parking lot, heading north on Buffalo, according to police. He wrote down the license plate number and called 911.
When officers arrived at the car wash, they found the body of a woman later identified as Hiroko Cota in the car wash stall, police said.
After finding the license plate number registered to Albert Cota, according to the police report, detectives went to his home in the 8000 block of Arcadian Lane, in a neighborhood near the car wash.
Detectives said Cota asked if his wife had been in an accident. He told detectives she was a bad driver and had hit a tree recently, the police report says.
Cota told detectives he left his house to meet his ex-wife for coffee about 7 a.m. His wife remained at home and was to meet him later, he told them.
After Cota rambled about his ex-wife and their daughter, police said, detectives stopped him and said they wanted to speak to him "about the accident."
The police report says Cota asked, "What accident?" The detective said, "The one involving you and your wife this morning."
"Cota had a blank stare and appeared extremely nervous," the arrest report says. The detective said it was important for him to tell the truth and police wanted to hear his side.
"Cota replied, 'It was an accident,' " the arrest report says. " 'I didn't see her this morning. I was moving my car to vacuum it. I didn't see her.' "
The detective asked Cota if he got out to check on his wife and he said he didn't. " 'I panicked. I didn't know what to do, if I should leave, call the police or what,' " the report says.
Police found the SUV at the Hidden Canyon shopping center at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Alexander Road, unlocked with the keys inside and Hiroko Cota's purse in the front seat, according to the report. Blood was found on the muffler, passenger side running board, wheel well and several other spots, the police report alleges.
Cota told detectives after he left the SUV there he walked about a mile to a house he owned on the 2000 block of Broken Twig Court, got his Lexus, and went to meet his ex-wife at Starbucks at Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue, the arrest report says. They then went to the Omelet House for breakfast, the report says.
As the detective took Cota to the homicide office, Cota asked the detective how his wife was, and the detective said she had died. Cota began sobbing, the report says.
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