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Las Vegas Sun Staff
Wrecked cars are shown after a shooting and multi-car accident that left three people dead and three injured on the Las Vegas Strip early Thursday morning Feb. 21, 2013. EDITOR’S NOTE: This photo has been digitally altered to obscure an image of one of the victims.
Published Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 | 2 a.m.
Updated Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 | 12:49 p.m.
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Two days later, Kenny Cherry’s death after a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip appears less of a mystery than his life.
Cherry, who authorities said was originally from Oakland, Calif., lived in Newport Lofts, one of four high-rise residential buildings downtown. Several residents of the building contacted by the Sun said Cherry was a virtual unknown.
“No one is talking about it much because no one really knew him,” said one resident. Others said they knew him by his distinctive hair and his car but had little information about him, personally.
Some media outlets have suggested Cherry was a pimp, but Metro Police spokespeople say there is no evidence — either through an arrest record or current investigations — tying Cherry to any form of prostitution.
Cherry’s attorney, Vicki Greco, who also described herself as Cherry’s friend, described Cherry as a “quiet guy who kept to himself.”
She expressed anger at the characterizations of Cherry as some kind of criminal.
“He was the victim here,” she said, adding that Cherry’s family was not happy with media accounts, either; when she called the family, she said, they hung up on her the first time believing she was a reporter.
Through various sources, the Sun has learned the name of the passenger in Cherry’s vehicle. Greco said she had not heard that name and didn’t know him.
After he was shot, Cherry lost control, ran a red light at Flamingo and crashed into a taxi that erupted into flames. The driver, Michael Bolden, 62, and a passenger also died.
The Clark County Coroner’s office has identified the passenger as Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Wash. Sources told the Sun she was a tourist here for a convention. She had been at the Rio and was on her way to McCarran International Airport, cab company sources said.
Greco represented Cherry on several traffic violations; records show many of them were dismissed, such as a citation for driving without a wearing a seatbelt Dec. 30, 2009.
“I don’t know that he’s a bad driver,” Greco said, noting the dismissal. “But cops profile here and he’s a young black man driving a Maserati. He would get pulled over.”
She said Cherry was “a businessman” who was invested money to make money. In fact, Greco said, his investment in a Las Vegas car rental company led to him filing a breach of contract lawsuit against Boulevard Car Rentals in 2003.
The case was later settled, Greco said. One of the defendants in that case, Nicholas Ghafouria, has the same name as a man sentenced in January to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, drug and money laundering.
Ghafouria and several others initially were arrested in October 2010.
Greco said the fact that Cherry filed a civil lawsuit demonstrated the unlikelihood of him being involved in criminal operations.
“Criminals don’t handle things by filing civil lawsuits,” she said.
Cherry was an aspiring rapper whose music videos viewable on YouTube portray him living the “gangsta” lifestyle with his nom de plume, “Kenny Clutch.”
Video for the song, “Stay Schemin” features him and TEEJ on the Las Vegas Strip in a Maserati. The song appears to glorify the gangsta lifestyle, punctuated with explicit language. Video for another song, “Free,” shows someone sorting seeds from marijuana buds and other apparent drug use.
Greco said the video persona and the real Cherry were two entirely different people.
“If somebody does something for a living and that is for a career, they sometimes have a role to play and he chose to play the gangsta rapper,” she said. “I don’t know why.”
If Cherry really was a gangster, she added, would he broadcast himself as such?
“Once again, if you really are a gangster carrying guns for shootouts … well, most criminals wouldn’t make a video out of it.”
Angelica Chavez, a nightlife promoter who said she knew Cherry for more than a year, described him as an “honest and good person and supportive friend.”
Cherry leaves behind three young children, two daughters and a son.
“He wanted to be a good father and he was a loyal friend. No matter what it was, no matter what I needed,” Chavez added. “He was like a big brother to me.”
Interesting that the passenger in the Maserati hasn't been identified or given a statement as to what lead up to the shooting.
A rapper who raps about killing in the hood and pimping white women. What about the taxi driver and passenger ?
Questions that have not been answered yet;
Could Kenny Cherry, have walked away before this hostility took root, or at any point during this confrontation?
Or, was Kenny Cherry playing his portrayal of a gangster and came up against those who were not afraid to act out their "real life" gangster lifestyles?
I say, until the facts come out, Mr. Cherry deserves the benefit of the doubt.
May Mr. Cherry rest in peace, and please, afford his family left behind some respect.
You play with fire and you are sure to be burned. That's what happened here. The suits at major LV casinos only look at the bottom line when they allow "headliners" from the "gangsta" genre, Rap, to perform on their properties. Most of them, the so-called "rappers," are semi-illiterate druggies, thugs and criminals with a long history of violence and crime. To glorify these miscreants can only bring trouble in the long run. Who needs them? Another thing, with, the bodies of the victims in the cab still warm, LV politicans and news media seem more concerned with how the shooting and carnage will affect the image of LV than they are about the innocent life lost. What a bunch of low-life scumbags!
Lets see what the passenger in the Maserati has to say. Kind of hard to imagine a guy that has three children and concerned about caring for them driving down the strip at 4 in the morning having a shootout. But we'll see.
It was METRO that initially said that "there was a gun fight between the two vehicles" Remember? Then they changed there mind, and said: "no shots came from the Maserati"
All kinds of these high end cars in the area have NO PLATES. In fact I have asked a local DMV official about that fact on the Heidi Harris talk show on KDWN. The DMV official said: "well they may have a paper plate that is hard to see".,, which is bogus. These cars will have a plate that says: Ferrari, BMW, etc. but no plate in the windows etc. There have been a number of scams featuring luxury cars, straw buyers etc. Although no evidence is there in this case.
If there was a gun in the Maserati, then the people in the Land Rover could claim "self defence" maybe a stretch, but " they pointed a gun at or car and we thought we were going to be shot..so we protected ourselves, blah blah,. The other thing is, even if one person fired at another, that does not mean everyone in the car did. "Hey man I was in the car, but I was sleeping/passed out after a long night and I did not know so and so had a gun. So they might be trying to get one person to turn on another, to make a case. It might be very hard to prove anything otherwise. Has the Tupac case been solved? What about that race car driver or auto parts guy that was killed in a drive by a number of years ago? That is still unsolved.
Obviously there is surveillance video in the casino and in the parking ares, with facial recognition.
A number of Net bloggers have said another Vegas area rapper, who had a couple of DUIs in the area is involved. We shall see.
My concern is with the cab driver, I hope people appreciate the hard work drivers do in this town.
This kind of thing never happened when the Mob controlled the town. Oh wait...
So, Sun, if you know the name of the passenger in the Maserati, why not tell us who it is?
You don't get credit for a "scoop" on the name if you're going to say, "We know it, but we're not telling you. Ha ha ha!"
You are an alleged newspaper, not an arm of Metro. Stop toadying and be a font of information for your readers. If you know the name, either report it or stop gloating about knowing it.
By withholding the name, you make it clear that you care more about not getting on Metro's bad side more than you care about informing your readers.
Of course, we already knew that, but you'd think the Sun would be less brazen about exposing its agenda than to boast: "We know something, but that information's too valuable for the great unwashed to know."
Scuzzy journalism at its worst.
Fink, good points, the Casino industry embraced the club stuff big time, even though there have been problems. Look at the Palms fine to the gambling control. Look at the situation at the Sands properties, with Paris Hilton's boyfriend, etc. The Vegas family vacation stuff just lasted a few years. The Asian people are often in Macao or Singapore, Philippines, etc. So they target SOCAL and PHX for customers.
The IRS has been active, clubs, limos, luxury cars, women, yep where there is cash there can be crime. I wonder if the club thing will lose favor at the casinos? In fact the casinos helped put some of the stand alone clubs out of business, They wanted people in their clubs, so people would stay and gamble. Should we have sympathy for the ARIA. I might be concern about normal employees, but as you say, they bet on the club crap and it did not pay off.
"If there was a gun in the Maserati, then the people in the Land Rover could claim "self defence" maybe a stretch, but " they pointed a gun at or car and we thought we were going to be shot..so we protected ourselves, blah blah"
---------
People claiming "we protected ourselves" don't run from crime scenes and disappear altogether. If you're going to claim self defense you better stick around to tell your side of the story. This case is nothing more than a few thugs with no respect for life whatsoever.
Comment removed by moderator. - -
"Reject his portrayal as criminal" ? . He's the one with the rap video smoking pot , pimping girls, and who knows what else. Ya live it ya die by it, he is partially to blame for 2 innocent people losing thier lives, don't try to make him a pillar or the community.
i blame the nightclubs for this whole mess . there money grabbing pack anybody in at all cost while competing with other clubs for the almighty dollar . if you go to lasvegas weekly or spyonvegas and see the pictures they never use to let people in with jeans and t-shirts on . the haze promoting a hip hop rap concert that night and letting people get liquored up . the clubs just let them do whatever they want and when it is time to close they turn them lose to let metro and the hotel security deal with it . maybe there was an argument in the club and then people mouthed off to each other in the valet area which let to unnecessary deaths on the strip
Unless this was a target of opportuity( Hey, look! There dude is yo! ) ...Most Pro's would not use their personal vehicle to do a hit...Especially a fancy Rover with custom wheels. If this was truly a hit, that rover would have been stolen 2-3 days before and found torched in the desert by now...
the family can reject his portrayal as a criminal all they want.
Perhaps this thug and "rapper" was a victim of a family that felt the thug life was the path of contributing to the community...
but he certainly was no victim the night he died. he participated in a conflict and killed two innocent people. he deserves no candle light vigil, he deserves nothing.
He was a young African American. He was a rapper. He was driving a fancy car. Many in Las Vegas need little more "evidence" that he was a "criminal". Sad, but true.
"Criminals don't handle things by filing civil lawsuits," she said.
Yep, that's what the guy in the Range Rover was thinking...
It walks like a duck.
you keep inviting in the criminal elements, this is what happens. Anyone remember NBA all star weekend...I do.
Vegas appears to be having increasing amounts of violence happening on the strip. Which once was one of the safest places to be, even late night. I used to walk the strip with another girlfriend at all hours of the night, with never a worry ever. So sad that now its become a place of more and more violent crimes.
But if the talking heads running that city don't get their heads out of the sand, and start admitting there is a problem, it will get worse.
I agree with baldtony. Why would a cab going from Rio to Tropicana be going down flamingo crossing Las Vegas Blvd? Why not turn right on LVB, or better yet leave the Rio straight down Dean Martin Drive and Left on Trop. It sure sounds like a long haul unless they were going to swing by the Westin on the way to the Trop. Be a real shame for two people to lose their life so a cab can make a little extra dough.
i'm sure Kenny Cherry was totally innocent in all this and was just leaving the club to go to church
a few things just dont ad up as reported...the attorney said he was involved in a lawsuit with a rental car company in 2003...his age has been reported as 27, so at the tender age of 17 is was such a business mogul that he was involved in a lawsuit...
also if he was such a great business man who made a good deal money off his investments, then why couldnt he afford to have car tags, and why was he allowed to drive the strip without them...
also how could he afford to live in the newport lofts..either he has a trust fund or was a financial whizkid....
the police said there was no record of him being a pimp...
something doesnt ad up...i guess he could have been FBI undercover, they give him a car, a nice place to live and he always gets out of whatever trouble he gets into..would also explain why his passenger (partner) has not been named...think about it! this is about the only way this all adds up...
The media didn't have to portray him as a criminal....he portrayed HIMSELF as a criminal in his rap songs and videos.....
I don't like rap nor do I know Kenny Cherry or what he was into. From many news reports not many people do, including many of the people commenting here.
Sometimes reading posts from any source becomes nauseating due to all the speculation and best guesses from many who simply don't know what happened. They support their ideas pulled from thin air and without any foundation. For the most part its why I have stopped reading or posting much in many months. Some posts are so off the mark they're either hilarious or insulting to other readers.
With that said,...can we allow Metro to do their job and handle this case based on facts? Cherry was involved in this shooting that caused the deaths of himself and two others and injured three more. None of us yet knows what happened at the Aria or what cause the altercation. Perhaps Cherry initiated it, perhaps not, but reports indicate he never fired back and no gun was found in his Maserati. The same incident could have happened had Cherry been driving a rental car, so lets not focus on his heritage or his wheels until the facts come in.
The person or persons in the Range Rover caused this, regardless of what happened at the Aria. They did the shooting, that part of this is clear. They are responsible for the deaths and injuries of all involved, and will be caught at some point.
Anything Kenny Cherry had done in the past, said in the past may have something to do with this and got him killed but perhaps not. He fired no shots and ended up a victim at this point. Can we simply allow the facts to emerge before we convict this man of anything.
Those in the Range Rover play the biggest part in this so until they are found ease up on the black guy in a Maserati since neither are illegal. Lets stop giving this guy a "bad rap" until all the data is in.
@kevin boyer...
part of the fun of posting is speculation, its an outlet to contribute, no matter how far fetched it may sound. no one expects posters to solve the case or even have useful insight or information...its entertainment, nothing more or less...however many of the facts presented to the readers as truths do raise concern about how the elements of this crime all fit together...its is interesting as to how a 27 year old with no reported means of support has such a lavish lifestyle..do you drive a $200,000 car, did you at 27...this as well as other reported facts about his life seem to throw up a red flag, and posting is the only outlet we as readers have to talk about them...just my opinion, and thanks to the ability to post, i get to express it...james higgins
Funny how the Sun doesn't seem to care about the cabbie or hos passenger who were minding their own business.
From the article:
"Some media outlets have suggested Cherry was a pimp, but Metro Police spokespeople say there is no evidence -- either through an arrest record or current investigations -- tying Cherry to any form of prostitution."
Lazy, lazy police. I'm not sure they want to solve this crime; they probably think the killer(s) performed a public service. I believe the police term for criminals killing criminals is "NHI murder" ("no humans involved"). Well, what about the innocent bystanders? At least try to solve the case for them.
I have plenty of information as to Mr. Cherry's association with several pimps who were eventually evicted from a condo complex in which I sit on the HOA board. I asked our chief of security to give the information to Metro, but she was rebuffed. Metro was not interested, though detectives could easily find these pimps who were associates of the decedent. One of them stole the car of a resident, and was eventually arrested. Gee, they actually have to look in their own records, but they don't want to be bothered. Another of the pimps claimed to be a security officer at a Strip hotel. How hard can he be to find? Lazy, lazy police. Shame on Metro.
It does make one wonder how an 'aspiring' rapper can drive a Maserati,live in a luxury high-rise all out partying on a week night.
posted 2 day ago whe we knew the identity of the driver:
Kenny Clutch (aka Rapper Kenneth Cherry) luved his Maserati...
http://www.myspace.com/175794082/photos/...
But he also worshipped this lifestyle...
http://www.myspace.com/175794082/photos/...
Oakland Tribune reports Cherry had arrest record in Berkley and Oakland including gun charge in 2007.
TomS:
Also, "leaving the scene of a crime scene?" If people are shooting or waving guns around, you do not have the right to leave?? Besides leaving a crime scene is not murder and how does one know it is a crime scene? "Gee we were scared for are lives...blah blah..." This may not be an easy case to prosecute. This is probably why the secrecy. The Maserati passenger is being protected and shielded. The police said there was a "gun battle between two cars" then flip flopped. Why not just say: we are investigating the situation, till they have the facts. (Manor-Darling crash? Didn't Metro learn to not draw early conclusions.)
The Tupac case unsolved. Chris Trickle case unsolved.
Also, to the people trashing the victims, the woman in the cab was probably going to the airport to her family after attending a convention- magic? The brother of the cab driver is named "Tehran" first, 50 years ago Iran was our friend, when the guy was named, second it could have another meaning as well. People are named "Reno? and Phoenix" etc. Turn off the bigots Brand X newspaper.
Media used to be a watch dog when it came to the police, the government and businesses...now a lapdog?
DEA agent ? now theres an angle nobody thought of. We'll see how this folds out, if this story suddenly becomes hush you'll know something was up.
OK, for a moment let's assume Kenny was not involved in criminal activities (although, at least one of his videos suggests otherwise).
Now I'm guessing Mr. Cherry didn't have significant income from his rap career, so did he have a legitimate source of income? Especially a legitimatete source of income that would support what appears to be a fairly lavish lifestyle?
If he did, good for him. If he didn't, and if his assets did come from criminal activities, his family and friends should not be surprised his life ended this way.
But ultimately the blame for this tragedy should be directed at the shooter or shooters.
Once again, Sun, if you claim you've got the name of the injured passenger in the Maserati, why are you keeping it a secret?
Yes, that person is going to be the key witness when/if this case goes to trial, but that's not a newspaper's concern. A newspaper reports what it knows, not what Metro thinks the people ought to know. Regardless of where the passenger's name came from -- a cop source, independent sources -- why is the Sun taking its marching orders from the cops? Whose side are you on?
Stop sitting on this information, or are you just blowing smoke about the name?
so the truth is out, don't understand why its so hush hush. Vegas is the adult disneyland, prostitutes and pimps are part of that culture.
so why all the secrecy? isn't this the place so many people defend, the anti-family vacation destination?
come on where are all the loud mouths that scream on here "we don't want vegas to be a family destination!" isn't this what you asked for?
defend the actions of the culture you so strongly want to protect.
this is your paradise, enjoy it!
He was not a victim. He was a co-perpetrator of a horrific incident and is partially responsible for the deaths of 2 truly innocent victims.
further more, i don't see people that ask questions as "blaming the victims" so stop trying to shame people from asking honest questions about them, or how they were where they were at that time of the morning.
a middle aged mother of three is out at 4am in a cab alone is a not a normal occurance, i said the same thing. the media just changed the story to "she was going to the airport" that's not what they said previously. its a shame that mr. bolden didn't take i15 to the airport instead.
no visable means of support, no recording contract, driving a $120K car? Maybe he was clean but it doesn't look good. No arrest record? Neither did Bernie Madoff.
Some rap is actually quite good and displays a positive message! This one may explain Michelle's couturier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJva...
Some rap is actually quite good and displays a positive message! This one may explain Michelle's couturier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJva...
So your sayung, the passenger in the Maserati was an undercover cop??? DEA agent? or an informant? That could make this interesting
Arrested multiple times in Oakland including a gun charge in 2005 per local newspaper. The only true victims worthy of sympathy are the two innocent people in the taxi. They did nothing to deseve their fate.
For exactly the same reasons (usually to obtain some sort of perceived gain but sometimes out of ignorance), police reports/media reports are very often about as complete/honest/factual/true as are "based on a true story" TV movies about bigfoot/alien abductions/paranormal activities.
<<By withholding the name, you make it clear that you care more about not getting on Metro's bad side more than you care about informing your readers>>
And why do you care so much the passenger's name has not been released?? Sheesh. The passenger is a witness in a high profile crime. For the passenger's protection, Metro is keeping his identity under wraps for now. The Sun most likely does NOT know who the passenger is. The less is known about the passenger, the better the investigation will go.
<<The IRS has been active, clubs, limos, luxury cars, women, yep where there is cash there can be crime. I wonder if the club thing will lose favor at the casinos? In fact the casinos helped put some of the stand alone clubs out of business, They wanted people in their clubs, so people would stay and gamble>>
Brings to my mind the article the other day that 7 out of 10 top grossing clubs are in Las Vegas.
@jaymes4u..."part of the fun of posting is speculation.."
There you have it. Three people are dead, but at least you can have a little "fun" posting about it. Aren't you just lucky this tragedy came along to amuse you.
@bghs...yes, posting on the las vegas suns website about a story is %100 entertainment, its not like our opinion or speculation has any value...if it were not fun or entertaining to post, there would be no reason to do this...seems you had a little fun posting your moral opinion....and you cant even put your name on your post...what are you afraid of....james higgins
ive noticed that people who hide behind initials really like to attack other peoples post...james higgins