Neighbors stunned by young man’s slaying

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 10:54 a.m.

Friends said Justin Meece was four moves into a chess game when someone knocked on his apartment door just after midnight Tuesday.

He opened the door, and seconds later he was shot dead.

"He was aware enough to close the door and lock it," said Harold, his friend and neighbor, who would only give his first name.

Harold and another neighbor, Tom, sat outside Tuesday on the steps of the Sierra Park apartment building on Sierra Vista Drive remembering Meece, whom they described as a well-dressed young father.

Meece turned 19 on April 19.

"He had a good arm for football, I'll tell you that. We used to play over there," Tom said, gesturing toward the courtyard. "That dude sure could throw."

Harold and Tom said crime occurs frequently in their area, but they still said they were surprised that Meece had been a victim.

Sierra Park has just one building consisting of 62 apartments, so everyone knows each other, the men said.

Meece's girlfriend and their 9-month-old daughter lived together in the apartment until recently, when she and the baby moved out because the couple was fighting, neighbors said.

Meece worked in the food court at the Boulevard mall and was scheduled to start a new job Tuesday, Tom said.

According to a Clark County School District spokesman, the last school he attended was Bonanza High School, where he signed up for summer school in 2000.

"He was a typical 19-year-old kid," Harold said. "He was a good dresser. He always wore a nice necklace with a cross on it."

Sgt. Mike Thompson of Metro's homicide section said no arrests have been made. People in the area reported seeing a man in dark clothing running from the scene.

One of the witnesses to the homicide told Harold that Meece put his hand up when he saw the gun. The witness ran to the bathroom and lay in the tub.

Tom and Harold said they think the slaying is connected to a woman who was among the group of people in his apartment.

"She was acting real weird -- she went into the kitchen and made a sandwich and left, then came back," Harold said. "That's what everyone is talking about, that she had a real jealous boyfriend."

Sierra Vista Drive is a primarily residential street with dozens of small apartment complexes, many known for blight and crime.

Last summer, the Willson Square complex was the scene of a bizarre crime where a naked man broke into a pregnant woman's apartment.

The media attention led county health officials to inspect the property, where they found squalid conditions such as hypodermic needles outside, garbage floating in brown water in a swimming pool, food and personal belongings strewn about and smoke detectors that didn't work.

Murder and robbery suspects have been tracked down in apartments on Sierra Vista, and drug activity and prostitution are ongoing problems in that area, police said.

A police shootout on the street in January 2004 led to the conviction of a man for attempted murder of a police officer. Last year a non-fatal police shooting occurred there.