Richard Portaro, father of 22-year-old Michael Portaro, addresses the media May 11 as he announces a reward being offered in the case.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 | 5:01 p.m.
Surveillance Footage in Tenaya Creek Brewery Shooting
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Surveillance footage taken on the night of March 30 at the Tenaya Creek Brewery.
Portaro reward
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KSNV coverage of family's efforts to bring killer of 22-year-old Michael Portaro to justice, May 11, 2011.
Sun archives
The family of a former Faith Lutheran High School quarterback shot to death outside a brewery in March announced today a $30,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.
Michael Portaro, a 22-year-old aspiring hip-hop artist, was found dead from multiple gunshots March 30 outside the Tenaya Creek Brewery, near Tenaya Way and Cheyenne Avenue. He had been in the area selling tickets to an upcoming concert.
Metro Police also released surveillance video today that shows the suspect walking in front of the brewery. In the video, the man is seen wearing dark clothing and white or light-colored shoes.
"It's just a short clip, but it does show the suspect approaching the area where the victim was found," said Sgt. Jon Scott of Metro's homicide section.
Scott labeled the murder likely "a random act of violence" with robbery as the motive, but he said police still are pursuing leads.
The $30,000 reward raised by family and friends is on top of a separate award through Crime Stoppers, the anonymous tip-reporting system. Officials said a $2,000 Crime Stoppers award is available to anyone whose tip directly leads to the arrest of the suspect.
Rob Portaro, the victim's uncle, said the $30,000 reward — which would be awarded after a conviction — could increase as more donations arrive.
Rob Portaro said a conviction would bring the family a sense of closure, but also satisfaction in "getting this guy off the streets."
Richard Portaro, Michael's father, urged anyone with information, however small it may seem, to contact police so his son's killer could be brought to justice.
"We're not playing games anymore," he said. "We're going to get this guy."
The Portaro family announced the reward at a park across from Faith Lutheran, where Michael Portaro graduated in 2006 and his two younger siblings attend school.
"Mike was one of the family favorites," Rob Portaro said. "He would just light up a room when he came in."
Donations to the Michael Portaro Reward fund can be made by visiting a website set up by the family.
Anyone with information about the case is being asked to call Metro's homicide section at (702) 828-3521 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555 or visit www.crimestoppersofnv.com.








wow, could that video be any more useless?
Pardon my ignorance on gun issues...but why are not barrels of guns registered for uniqueness? I mean they can match a gun using the rifling marks, right? so why not require a rifling sample of each gun sold? enter the information along with other identity information when a gun is sold into a National database.
Seems to me many crimes would be solved if we had rifling information. As it is now, some killer is out there with a gun waiting for their next hit.
Stephen,
All handguns are test fired several times by the manufacturer, and both the bullets and brass casings from each gun is in fact studied and entered into a data base for future comparison.
That said, if the gun was older than the regulations theat imposed the test firings, or if the gun had been reported stolen, then you cannot match the gun to the bullet.
Also for the match to take place, you need the bullet. If the bullet is not lodged in the body, or if the bullet is too distorted to compare, than you have no basis for compairson.
I have a suspicion, really only a gut feeling, that this case has much more going on than "ticket sales" or random violence.
Dad should've just given his son $30K so he wouldn't have to rap for nickles.
LasVegas2011
This kid is getting a lot of press because he's a white kid from a rich family and graduated from an expensive private school in Summerlin. Gangsters from poor minority families that come from North or East Las Vegas that dropped out of high school wouldn't get anywhere near as much press that this kid is getting. Heck, I don't think the press would even care enough to cover a story like that. That's just how it is when you've got money.
LasVegas2011 - when you speak of all you know, and you actually don't know anything, you shouldn't speak.
If you put it out there, anyone gets to comment on it. Didn't know that either huh?
@DevilDog I did a pretty decent search and found information saying there is no databases of rifling marks. I looked at ATF and there are no laws requiring this.
I have to conclude we are staring at a huge hole in the whole Gun-Crime issue. We register drivers, we register cars, we register boats, and even dogs. Why are firearms exempt? How many deadly crimes would be prevented if people understood their weapons left a big trail? I bet if we had actual weapon registration, this crime would have been solved inside a day.
Fired bullets must be traceable or what is the point of registering any weapon? May not directly implicate the owner, but it gives the Police a wonderful place to investigate.
I would think those who own weapons for personal protection and the like would be pushing for this requirement.