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Tourists look northbound from a pedestrian overpass near Harmon Avenue after a shooting and multi-car accident that left three people dead and three injured on the Las Vegas Strip at Flamingo Avenue early Thursday morning Feb. 21, 2013.
Published Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 | 4:31 p.m.
Updated Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 | 9:06 p.m.
Fatal crash
A day after a sensational early-morning shooting on the Las Vegas Strip left three people dead, the manhunt for suspects continued and police released few new details. Late Friday, the last of the deceased victims was identified as a Seattle-area woman.
The shooting — which followed a script more in line with a blockbuster Hollywood movie than set in reality — included two luxury vehicles, an argument at a high-end casino parking lot, a brazen, public use of firearms and the deaths of two innocent bystanders.
It all started about 4:30 a.m. Thursday in the valet area of the Aria, a hotel-casino near CityCenter, at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue. There, police say, an argument started. Two vehicles — a Maserati and a Range Rover Sport — left the valet area and turned north onto Las Vegas Boulevard, where someone in the Range Rover began firing at the Maserati.
Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie said after the Maserati driver was hit with gunfire, he lost control of the car, passed through a red light at Flamingo Road and hit a taxi cab, which went up in flames. A passenger in the Maserati was grazed by a bullet but survived, police said.
Metro Police Sgt. John Sheahan said the Range Rover was last seen near the Venetian resort as it headed north from the shooting scene. He said police have video from traffic cameras at the intersection and were checking hotel surveillance systems, but added that the video would not be made public.
The search for the Range Rover and its occupants extended past Las Vegas into other parts of Nevada plus California, Arizona and Utah.
"What happened will not be tolerated," Gillespie said at a Thursday news conference, adding the suspects would "found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Most people on Friday walked past the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road without noticing the remnants of the crash the previous day.
Orange cones sat next to scraps of concrete from busted columns on a retaining wall near Bally's. Yellow and white markings highlighted skid marks.
Metro provided few new details into their investigation Friday, but the Clark County Coroner's Office on Friday evening released details about the deceased.
"Detectives were working throughout the night and we no stone is being left unturned," Officer Marcus Martin said. "It takes a while to go through all of the footage from the cameras, and there may be some new information (but) we aren't quite ready to release."
The Clark County Coroner’s Office on Friday morning identified the Maserati driver as Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., 27. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest.
He was an aspiring rapper from Oakland who had moved to Las Vegas and lived in a downtown high rise. His twitter feed included links to videos identifying him as "Kenny Clutch" and with scenes featuring a Maserati on the Las Vegas Strip.
“I can tell you this ... the world has lost a good man," Cherry's 75-year-old aunt, Pat Sims of Oakland, told the Associated Press. "I'm not saying he didn't have his faults, but he was very kind, especially to older people.
“Whatever happened in Vegas, I don't know about, but he was a very kind soul."
A memorial for Cherry was being organized for 6 p.m. Friday at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, where his life came to a tragic end.
The two people in the taxi — the driver and a passenger — also died. The Coroner’s Office Friday night identified the driver as Michael Boldon, 62, and Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Wash., as the deceased taxi passenger. Both died of multiple blunt-force injuries, the coroner said.
Sutton's family released a statement to KING-TV: "On behalf of Sandi’s family, Sandi was a loving wife, mother, daughter and sister. Her innocent and tragic loss will be felt by all of those who knew and loved her and by the community at large. Her family appreciates the out pouring of love and support, and respect for privacy shown throughout this very difficult time."
Sutton was a business owner and worked for the Seattle-area Maple Valley Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce as a marketing and sales representative.
Boldon had moved to Las Vegas from Michigan.
"Sometimes when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, innocent folks get killed," his brother, Carl Bolden, told The Detroit News.
Michael Bolden, 62, graduated from Detroit Southwestern High School in 1968 and attended Ferris State University, where he studied business, his brother told the newspaper.
"He sold cars, but things fell apart here so he decided to move to Vegas," Bolden said. "He had been in Vegas just shy of a year; he'd been commuting back and forth for some time before he finally moved there."
You forgot to add he was a pimp too...
You can view Cherry's rap videos on YouTube and easily conclude that he could not have afforded a Maserati on income from rap music. There must have been another source of income. His Maserati was in the videos with no license plate. Had he been stopped for this violation, the recent incident may not have occurred and innocent people would still be alive.
Tragic ending to 2 innocent lives who had nothing to do with altercation between 2 thugs. The poor cab driver just trying to make a living and the passenger that no one even knows who that person is. I wonder if the cab was a CNG powered cab to cause an explosion like that, I know it's green but is being green safe?.
Sad state when they focus more on the loss of a 27 year old "aspiring" rapper who drives a Maserati and gets into a gun fight, than the local family man, working for living he killed..
The video of this tragic incident was shown on national news this morning. I do not understand why local news cannot show it. One very large weapon was used judging by the the amount sustained muzzle flash coming from the black suv.
Why are people treating this ghetto piece of trash like he is some victim? His actions are one of the reasons two innocent people are dead. It is to bad this piece of crap wasn't the only one that was killed. I'm glad there is one less ghetto thug on the streets. It is so disgusting that people actually feel sorry for this loser or anyone like him. These savages are the problem in this country and most of you are to scared to admit it.
Gang violence. Short and simple.
I was watching the news this evening. 'Kenny Clutch's' lawyer said his 'gangsta' act was just that, an act. I don't think so. I learned decades ago; if it walks, talks, acts, and looks like a 'gangsta'? It sure as hell IS a 'gangsta'.
Mr. Kenny 'Clutch' Cherry was a 'gangsta' in-denial. He must have made some powerful gangstas (probably from his hometown of Oakland, I might add) pretty angry to go to all this trouble to lease (they're crazy to buy this vehicle if they did) a 2013 Range Rover, with windows tinted so dark nobody can see who is in the vehicle, and so equipped with vehicle bling that it stands out, to track this creep to Vegas, where they shot, and killed, not just him, but, a taxicab which exploded into flames, killing an innocent driver, and his passenger.
To date, Las Vegas has over 15,000 KNOWN gang members living here. It burns me up to hear that folks are surprised this stuff happens.
Wake up people. Take off your earbuds and headphones and get off your IPhones and pay attention to what goes on around you in REAL time. You might save a life....possibly your own.
Sad state when they focus more on the loss of a 27 year old "aspiring" rapper who drives a Maserati and gets into a gun fight, than the local family man, working for living he killed..
@askmrmark - You are right on with your statement. The media treats hard working victims in this town like they are criminals.
This had to do with a dispute at a valet in front of the Aria for crying out loud. NOT a ghetto drive by. We don't know what the fight was about. Just keep jumping to conclusions and look the fool. @askmrmark is right - the LOCAL family man is just a passing interest in the story.
The video of the incident wasn't shown on national news this morning, that was a computer animation. They could've made the muzzle flash as big as they wanted.
New York City was a living hell in the 80s, the whole island of Manhattan was a dangerous place, especially at night. But then a new mayor came and wiped all criminals off the ground and made NYC the safest city in this country. What Las Vegas needs, is a zero-tolerance-policy and massive investments in police force and security. We need 24-hour-video surveillance on the strip and downtown, and police officers on every street corner. We MUST declare the whole city of Las Vegas and the Strip as a gun free zone with harsh penalties for every thug, who gets caught by the gun. I sincerely hope, that the murderers of the mother and the taxi driver get caught and face their death penalty as fast as possible. This country has been to soft with gun owners and other criminals, this is about to change now.
All the T.V. shows that Gillespie has about the strip. About how he's keeping everyone safe. What a joke. Cops walking up and down the strip hassling the tourist. Where were they at on this night?
Sensationalising the violence comparing it to a movie is part of what our the issue in this country is today. The two innocent people get a bit of a mention, but not in comparison to what will 'sell the news'.
We can talk ourselves blue in the face about social issues and leave out our elephants in the room, firearms and thugs, but that will lead us nowhere and, like another poster above said, in a similar position as NYC once was in the 1980s. People have become immune and apathetic.
The fact that Assemblyman Steven Brooks still has a pending background check for any "disqualifying factors" in buying a rifle speaks volumes and should be a massive wake up call for just how lax we've become to gun and violence control.
here is the deal,see.Vegas decided to abandon the people that funded all the megacasinos,the gambler.Now we are offered 6/5 blackjack and the machines are so tight you can lose 100 bucks in 20 minutes on a penny machine.Vegas has been transformed from a gambling mecca to a 365 day a year Mardi Gras. Every hotel strives to have the newest hip nightclub.These clubs attract the rap savages that don't spend a dime in the casino.15 years ago you could walk the Strip at 4:00 AM.and feel safe. Now it has an ugly dangerous vibe at that hour.Shootings and stabbings happening regularly.You made your bed Vegas now lie in it.
There are so many cameras at casinos and businesses along the strip, for someone to shoot up anyone on the strip is stupid. All the police have to do is look at the license plate of that SUV and look up who it's registered to. They can also see who got in and out of the SUV and trace their whereabouts at the casinos they were in and out of.
I dont know if anyone that was a victim of this senseless crime and accident was a good or bad person, but I can say that no one who died that day pulled a gun and started shooting at a moving vehicle. And for all three that died and the others who were victims of a crime that day they deserve justice, and that will happen when the person or persons who committed this crime are brought to justice, tried, and given a just punishment.
Dear Metro - let's make this happen!
"All the T.V. shows that Gillespie has about the strip. About how he's keeping everyone safe. What a joke. Cops walking up and down the strip hassling the tourist. Where were they at on this night?"
----
Give me a break. I've seen those TV shows. The scum that the police have to deal with on an everyday basis is enormous. Drunken fools acting like complete dumbasses who think they can do anything with no repercussions. There's not much a cop can do when some thug starts blasting away from a car. Start enforcing a zero tolerance policy on drunken, rowdy, obnoxious behavior is a start. Start small with public nuisance behavior and work your way up. That's what cleaned up NYC.
Why did this cab erupt in flames so quickly? Is anyone looking into that? I know a lot of cabs run on CNG , is it really that safe. Helloooo, is the fire department or CSI looking at this? We all know the events that lead up to this , but why did this cab burn so quickly? The surivivors of the 2 victims in the cab deserve to know. Because a bunch of thugs act stupid a cab blows up? hmmm
It's time to shut the Aria down, along with all the other Casinos, music industry and gun owners, especially gun owners that draw and cater to the dregs of society. Every day it's another mugging, murder, rape, suicide or any number unconscionable criminal acts of human behavior that these establishments create. Avoid the truth of the situation at all costs, the people can't handle the truth, right MSM?
Clubs at hotels/casinos attract these kinds of people. A guest's safety is improved if they can stay at a hotel that does not have a club that caters to 'gangstas' and thugs.
I know someone that works at Wynn's "club"...as long as you have the money..anything goes.
lets recap...
no visible means of support
$200,000 car, with no tags
lives in newport lofts
male passenger in car not identified
police have nothing on him, not a known pimp or drug dealer
always gets out of tickets
has a lawyer on speed dial
shoot out on las vegas blvd
initial reports of him shooting back changed
if all of this is true then he is a DEA or FBI agent...
Just a question:
The reports say that an argument started in the valet area of the hotel.
When I park my car with a valet, the first thing they do when I pull in is to ask my name and take the plate number of the vehicle. So, even if the Range Rover had paper plates, wouldn't that be written down?
FOIA the video.
IT
SHOULD
BE
EPIC!
I just wonder how long it will take before this is inducted into the MOB Museum as another attaction?
Yeah the city can promote it as a living Museum and tourist can become interactive members.
The city should rethink this Mob Museum thing by sensationalizing it as something great.
The poor lady came from her home town to patronize this city for a vacation and the Taxi driver just trying to eek out a living are just shoved to the way side as if they were a news paperstand that just happened to sustain some damage in a minor accident. It leaves me DISCOMBOBULATED!