Even in Vegas, death takes a holiday

As of Wednesday night, it has been 20 days since a homicide has been reported in the far-flung jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department — the longest streak of consecutive homicide-free days in more than 20 years.

The last known slaying was Jan. 20, when Las Vegan Edward Wernicke was shot dead near Alta Drive and Jones Boulevard. There has been no arrest, yet.

Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts can’t offer a plausible explanation for the sudden paucity of violent death.

“My speculation is that all is well in the world and people are keeping their New Year’s resolutions,” he joked Wednesday afternoon.

According to available police records, the department has had only two longer homicide-free streaks — 40 days between May 14, 1990 and June 23, 1990, and 30 days between June 4, 1986 and July 4, 1986. Roberts called the current streak “beyond weird.”

Not only has it been a quiet 20 days, the entire year has been abnormally slow for the department, which has averaged 128 killings each year, or a homicide report every 2.8 days, over the past five years. But in the first 40 days of 2011, there have been only four slayings. At this point in 2010, there were already 19 on the books.

In North Las Vegas, police said there’s been one homicide so far this year as of Wednesday night. In 2010, between Jan. 1 and Feb. 9, North Las Vegas reported four homicides.

Henderson has not had a homicide this year, police said. The same was true last year for the same time frame.

Roberts said the pause in mayhem has been much-appreciated by his 24 detectives, who have solved about 74 percent of all murders since 2006.

“They are working on old cases,” Roberts said. “Getting caught up. Catching up on their sleep. … It’s been pleasant.”

But Roberts knows it won’t last — late Wednesday night, police were investigating a suspicious death at Turnberry Towers, a luxury high-rise community near Sahara Avenue and Paradise Road.

“When things go really well, I expect things to go horribly wrong,” Roberts said. “I hope not. I don’t want anybody to die.”

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@review journal.com or 702-383-4638.