2 arrested in fatal shooting of Las Vegas man in parked SUV

Two men were arrested Thursday on murder and robbery charges in the death of a man found dead in an SUV last month in an apartment complex parking lot in the east Las Vegas Valley.

Matthew Johnson, 21, and Brandon L. Webb, 20, are being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Matthew Johnson and the victim were related.

Jail records show that both suspects face charges of murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Yaphette Johnson, the 24-year-old victim, was found slumped behind the wheel of a gold Ford Expedition on Feb. 19 in the parking lot of the Devonshire Apartments, 4640 Vegas Valley Drive. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, and the Clark County coroner ruled his death a homicide.

At the time, police said they believed Johnson parked outside the apartment complex office at around 6:20 p.m., about 10 minutes before a man walked up to the passenger side window and shot multiple times. They also said the shooting appeared to be drug-related.

Matthew Johnson and Webb were scheduled to make their first court appearance Friday morning.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.