Man killed by police was suspect in slaying

Monday, June 27, 2005 | 9:49 a.m.

The man shot dead by Metro Police on Friday after he killed a 19-year-old woman and pistol-whipped her 16-year-old sister in a rape attempt is believed to be the same person who raped and killed a woman two weeks ago, police said.

He also nearly killed a Metro officer, police said.

Police had been called about 9 a.m. Friday to the Silver Palms apartments, 1951 N. Jones Blvd., near Lake Mead Boulevard. The 16-year-old told the 911 calltaker that a man had attacked her and her sister.

Officer Michael Fletcher came to the apartment and was speaking to the sisters' brother on the breezeway outside their second-floor apartment when the suspect, 19-year-old Barrington Hall, came up behind them and fired at Fletcher's head, police said.

"Evidence shows that the bullet just barely grazed the head of the officer," Deputy Chief Greg McCurdy said.

Fletcher turned and fired four or five shots at Hall, who died a short time later at University Medical Center.

Fletcher, 35, has been with the department for five years and is a patrol officer out of the Bolden Area Command. He has been placed on paid leave pending a coroner's inquest, which has not yet been scheduled.

McCurdy said the dead man was "a bad person" with "no regard for human life."

The elder sister, Rinnah Esteban, died Friday afternoon at University Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Earlier Friday morning police had named Hall as a "person of interest" in a June 10 rape and murder of a 21-year-old woman in an apartment at Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard.

Shelby Ako's sister found her shot in the head, police said. A fingerprint found at the scene was identified as Hall's, McCurdy said.