A tragic life ends on streets of Las Vegas

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.

By all accounts, Ricky Hamm had a hard life.

The Arkansas native had been in Las Vegas almost a year and worked as a day laborer. But he had a heart attack recently, and he lost his apartment and his ability to work.

He was living on the streets when he was struck by a pickup truck and killed Thursday on Sahara Avenue by Interstate 15. The Nevada Highway Patrol said the driver never stopped.

A cabdriver told troopers where to find the driver. They arrested Stephen Maupin in the nearby Crazy Horse Too strip club where, they said, he tried to hide. Troopers said Maupin was drunk.

"The nerve of that guy," Kenneth Hamm, the deceased's father, said from his home in Morrilton, Ark. "This character has the guts not even to stop."

Hamm, 45, had been released from jail recently, where he served time for stealing, his stepmother, Wanda Hamm, said. With a criminal record, he had no luck finding employment in Morrilton, a town of less than 7,000 residents about 50 miles from Little Rock.

After a brief stay in California he came to Las Vegas and was getting by, but the heart attack about two months ago was a major setback, his family said. He got a pacemaker and tried to figure out what to do next with no place to live.

Kenneth Hamm said he spoke to his son two or three weeks ago and he sounded good.

"The last words that were said were 'I love you,' " the retired police officer said.

Hamm was crossing Sahara Avenue when he was hit by the vehicle Thursday. He died on impact, troopers said.

Maupin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence, hit and run, possession of marijuana and other offenses.

After being away from Arkansas for 11 months Hamm is finally going home; his family expects to bury him in Morillton.