Las Vegas’ homicide-free streak ends at 29 days

The streak ended at 29 days.

During that period, Las Vegas police had not one investigation of a strangulation, stabbing or shooting that resulted in even one slaying making the agency's recorded books.

In the past five years, Las Vegas police have handled a fresh homicide every 2.8 days, on average.

But from Jan. 20 to Feb.18, the Metropolitan Police Department's homicide detectives saw no new cases. They did keep busy looking back on open files.

Police records show the agency enjoyed only two longer homicide-free streaks in recent memory -- 40 days from May, 14, 1990, to June 22, 1990; and 30 days between June 4, 1986, and July, 4, 1986.

Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts could offer no plausible explanation last month for why Sin City's worst criminals appeared to have gone on vacation.

"It was nice to have a lull for as long as we did," Roberts said Thursday afternoon. "But in this line of work, things always pick up."

The homicide that ended the streak went on the books on Feb. 18, when a homeless man, Alex Mouton, 68, died from injuries from a Feb. 3 robbery and beating. Police said Mouton was attacked by four men, near D Street and Owens Avenue, who pushed him to the ground, kicked him several times and stole his money.

Homicide Sgt. Stephen Naegele said Mouton didn't make it to a hospital until Feb. 8. Police didn't learn of the attack until the day he died.

"I don't think he understood how much damage they did to him," Naegele said. "It ate him up, literally."

Naegele said the reporting delay has hindered the investigation, which has turned up no leads and no suspects.

Detectives also worked on another slaying that threatened their streak.

On Saturday, Michael Benjamin Mills, 27, was arrested on a murder charge in connection with the death and disappearance of David Lee Christensen, a man in his early 60s.

Christensen was last seen alive, and shown on a surveillance video early on Feb. 12, with Mills at Gilligan's Hideaway Bar near Sahara and Eastern avenues. He was reported missing Feb. 15.

According Mills' arrest report, Mills told police he took Christensen home to sleep on his couch because Christensen was intoxicated. He said he later woke to find Christensen sexually assaulting him, and punched the man.

Mills didn't admit killing Christensen, who remains missing, but did tell police that -- hypothetically -- if he had, he would have wrapped the body in beach towels and put it in his apartment complex's trash.

Police found blood on a mattress and a carpet in Mills' apartment. Detectives declared Christensen to be a murder victim on Feb. 24, when they interviewed Mills a second time.

With things getting back to normal, by Las Vegas homicide standards, police are also handling the slaying of Justin Jones, 27, who died from multiple gunshots in a condominium complex garage near Maryland Parkway and Hacienda Avenue on Sunday. The shooting at 5115 Golden Lane was reported at about 3:40 p.m.; Jones died at the hospital 35 minutes later.

Roberts said the slaying might be gang- or narcotics-related.

While the slaying-free streak has ended, things remain a little slow for Roberts' unit. As of Thursday, there had been seven homicides in the Las Vegas Police jurisdiction this year. By this date last year there were 20.

Anyone with information about the unsolved homicides is asked to call the Las Vegas police Homicide Section at 828-3521, or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

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