Teen dies in home invasion

A teenage girl was slain early Monday at a southwest valley home after two men kicked in the front door and shot her and a second victim, Las Vegas police said.

The Clark County coroner's office identified the girl as 15-year-old Alexus Postorino .

She was a sophomore at Southwest Career and Technical Academy, according to the Clark County School District.

The shootings at 9752 Villa Lorena Ave., near Tropicana Avenue and Grand Canyon Drive in Spring Valley, were reported at 3:43 a.m., Las Vegas police said.

Police are searching for two male suspects who also robbed the home before fleeing.

Police believe the home invasion was drug-related, but said the teen was an innocent victim and had nothing to do with the sale of narcotics. Officers detected the scent of marijuana in the house. Drug paraphernalia also was found, a police source said.

The second victim, an adult male, was in "extremely critical condition" after emergency surgery at University Medical Center, police said Monday.

A police source confirmed that the father of the slain teen is William Postorino and said the man has a conviction for drug trafficking. According to Clark County court records, Postorino pleaded guilty in 2004 to trafficking controlled substances and was sentenced to 12 to 30 months in prison.

A neighbor, Brenda, witnessed a man fleeing the scene in a white car that had been parked several houses away. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Police believe she saw one of the suspects.

Brenda, who declined to give her last name, said she was awakened by noise and saw a man dragging something large down the street.

"I don't know what he was dragging because it was so dark, but he couldn't get it all in the car," she said. "He pulled out, I mean he just took off so fast, and the left door was still open when he was driving. And then, all of a sudden, I heard helicopters."

Police said neighbors closer to the shooting reported hearing gunshots.

Brenda said she didn't hear the gunshots and did not call police because she wasn't sure a crime had taken place.

She said she tried to get the license plate number of the car, but it was dark and she was afraid to go outside.

"I wish I could have done something," she said. "It looked like they were stealing something, but I had no way of knowing."

Several hours after the shooting, Brenda, who had tried to shut her eyes after a restless night, heard a man screaming down the street.

"It was like someone had just came home and seen what happened," she said. "He was like, 'Oh, oh my God, who could do something like this?' "

Police said the sound was the father of the slain teen, who had arrived at the scene and learned of his daughter's death.

Neighbors contacted Monday night declined comment. At the crime scene, the damaged front door was held shut by a padlock. The door, slightly ajar, exposed the broken door frame.

After Alexus' death was reported, a Facebook page honoring her went up on the social networking website. It displayed a picture of Alexus with a friend. She sported blonde bangs, dark-rimmed glasses and was sticking her tongue out. The page's message was "Rest In Peace."

A second Facebook page, which listed Kelsey Gerdon as its creator, sent a personal message to Alexus.

"Your in good hands now beautiful, R.I.P.," the message read.

Friends and classmates of Alexus also began a Facebook campaign calling for those close to her to wear black in her honor at Southwest CTA today.

Brenda described the neighborhood where the shootings happened as an "OK place" without a lot of crime or noise problems. Most families rent the homes there, she said. Children of all ages play outside in the afternoon, including her own.

She said she has an alarm system on her home and will make sure it's active.

"I'm going to have nightmares about this."

Review-Journal reporter Antonio Planas contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@review journal.com or 702-383-0283.