Las Vegas Valley records 8 homicides over Labor Day weekend
Homicide detectives across the valley investigated eight deaths over the Labor Day weekend, including five that occurred in North Las Vegas.
The North Las Vegas Police Department investigated four shootings and the death of a person who was found injured on Interstate 15, while the Metropolitan Police Department investigated two shootings and the discovery of human remains.
Four of the deaths that occurred from Friday to Monday happened on Labor Day in North Las Vegas, police said.
The four-day stretch began Friday, when 32-year-old Phillip Williams was found dead, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. His hometown was unknown.
Williams was found dead Friday afternoon inside a vehicle in a desert area near Englestad Street and Bursting Sun Avenue, just north of Cheyenne Avenue, the coroner’s office said.
Police were called to the scene at about noon after receiving a report of a shooting, North Las Vegas police spokesman Alexander Cuevas said.
Williams died at the scene from gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, the coroner’s office said.
Hours later, police found the suspected shooter and stopped his vehicle near Cheyenne Avenue and Commerce Street, less than a half-mile from the scene of the shooting. The man barricaded himself inside the car, then shot and killed himself, Cuevas said.
The coroner’s office had not identified the suspect as of Tuesday morning. It was not immediately clear if investigators had identified a motive.
Other North Las Vegas investigations
Just before 7 a.m. Monday, police were called to Interstate 15, south of Apex Crossing, after receiving a report of an “injured person,” Cuevas said. The person died at University Medical Center.
At about 7:40 p.m. Monday, homicide detectives were investigating after a body had been found on the 2100 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North, near East Lake Mead Boulevard. Cuevas said investigators later determined the man had been shot.
At 7:55 p.m., police received a report of a man who had been shot less than 2 miles away, on the 3300 block of Civic Center Drive, near East Cheyenne Avenue, Cuevas said. The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he died.
An hour later, and less than a half-mile away from the evening’s second shooting, police received a report of a man who was shot in the 3200 block of Mary Dee Avenue, off of Civic Center Drive, Cuevas said. The man died at the scene.
On Tuesday morning, Cuevas said the homicides did not appear to be related. Police have not released additional information about the killings, and the coroner’s office has only identified Williams.
While a few months remain in 2021, North Las Vegas police already have investigated the same number of homicides as the department investigated throughout last year, according to records maintained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
North Las Vegas police have investigated 26 homicides so far this year, compared with 18 homicides investigated by the department at this time last year. Three of the homicides investigated this year were 1996 gang-related killings that 43-year-old Willis Davis was charged with in February.
Las Vegas police investigations
The violent Labor Day weekend also included the two shootings investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.
At about 3:30 a.m. Friday, Las Vegas police were called to the 900 block of East Twain Avenue, near South University Drive, after receiving a report of a shooting.
Investigators believe a man was shot after another man asked him to step outside an apartment, police said. The man died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
Metro detectives investigated another homicide after receiving a report of a shooting at about 10:45 p.m. Sunday at Atwood Avenue and Winterhaven Street, near Cheyenne Avenue and U.S. Highway 95, the department said.
Police found a man in the street suffering from a gunshot wound, and the man died after he was taken to University Medical Center.
Metro homicide detectives also were investigating after 46-year-old Bernard Robledo’s remains were found in a trash can just before 10 p.m. Saturday on the 1500 block of Arville Street, south of Charleston Boulevard.
The coroner’s office had not released Robledo’s cause and manner of death as of Tuesday morning.
It was unclear Tuesday if Las Vegas police had identified suspects in the shootings or in the discovery of Robledo’s remains.
Over the last five years, dispatch logs show that Las Vegas officers have responded to more reports of fights and disturbances than any other police call for service each Labor Day.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
