Airman recalled as ‘great man’

The family of a Nellis airman gunned down while leaving for work Wednesday night has been stunned by the news, describing the father of four as a caring family man who gave no one a reason to harm him.

"He was a great man overall," said Nathan Paet's niece, Tianie Nauta. "I don't see why anyone would want to do this to him, honestly."

Las Vegas police have not determined a motive for the 11:30 p.m. slaying, but they don't believe Paet, 28, was the random victim of a robbery gone wrong. Evidence indicates that someone was lying in wait for him to go to work, police said.

"It doesn't appear the guy had any enemies, work issues, et cetera," homicide section Lt. Lew Roberts said.

Authorities at Nellis Air Force Base on Friday said Paet, a staff sergeant, had been in the service since 2002 and had been stationed at the base since November 2007. He worked as an F-15 supply section technician assigned to the 757th aircraft maintenance squadron.

"Sergeant Paet was an exceptionally talented and dedicated professional airman," said Lt. Col. Shane Henderson, Paet's squadron commander. "He and his family are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."

Police have not arrested anyone in the slaying. Investigators said the incident occurred in the garage of Paet's house at 9263 Alta Monte Court, a two-story home near Fort Apache Road and Mountains Edge Parkway.

Paet had opened the garage door and was preparing to drive to work when he was shot. He stumbled back inside his home before collapsing, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at University Medical Center.

His wife was inside the home and heard four shots before seeing him stumble inside, according to police. Witnesses told police they saw a man in a tan or brown hooded sweatshirt running east on Alta Monte Court at the time of the shooting. He then entered a black car.

Paet is a native of Guam, where much of his family lives, according to the Pacific Daily News, a daily newspaper in Hagatna, Guam. He has four children between the ages of 2 and 9 years old who were asleep in the home when the shooting happened.

Paet moved from the island 10 years ago and hasn't been back since a wedding in 2005, according to the paper.

"He's been off island for almost 10 years, but he welcomes everyone to his house," Paet's sister-in-law told the paper. "Anywhere he goes, if he sees anyone wearing a shirt that says 'Guam' or 'Chamorro' (native of Guam), he gets their number. And the next thing you know, they're having a barbecue at his house."

The family told the newspaper that Paet lost a cousin, who was working as a private contractor in Iraq two years ago, to a traffic accident.

Anyone with information about the crime may call the Las Vegas police homicide section at 828-3521. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@review journal.com or 702-383-0440. Review-Journal reporter Mike Blasky contributed to this report.