Murder charge dismissed after man claims self-defense
Charges have been dropped against a man accused of killing his girlfriend’s neighbor after he claimed the shooting was in self-defense.
The Clark County district attorney’s office dismissed the murder charge against Hassan Phillips on Wednesday after Phillips said the shooting was in self-defense, according to Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Ray Spencer.
Phillips’ girlfriend, Mayisha Montgomery, had been charged with harboring or aiding a felony offender, but her charges also were dropped Wednesday.
Officers were initially called around 8:30 a.m. Jan. 10 to the 4500 block of Carriage Park Drive, near Mountain Vista Street and Vegas Valley Drive, after multiple neighbors called to report a fight and ShotSpotter detected gunshots in the area, Metro Lt. Richard Meyers said at the time.
Police found a 51-year-old man in the doorway of his apartment suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died at the scene, police said.
The Clark County coroner’s office identified the man as Shawn Swan.
In a report requesting an arrest warrant, police said the victim was Sean Ryan and alleged that Ryan was in a fight with his upstairs neighbor and former sister-in law, Montgomery, and her new boyfriend, Phillips.
A loaded handgun was found on the couch near the victim’s body, according to the report.
Investigators reviewed security footage and spoke to several neighbors, including one who told police Phillips had been in multiple arguments with the victim recently over rent payments, because he subleased the upstairs apartment to Montgomery and Phillips.
Phone records for Phillips and Montgomery showed the pair leaving Las Vegas on Jan. 14 and heading to Aurora, Colorado, according to the report. Montgomery’s cellphone information showed she returned to Las Vegas but that Phillips’ phone had not left Colorado as of Jan. 29.
“He was located and arrested on the warrant in Denver Colorado,” Spencer said in a message to the Review-Journal. “After his arrest we were able to interview him and he made a claim of self defense. As a result of his interview and details that he provided the district attorney decided to dismiss the charges based on the his self-defense claims that were consistent with evidence at the scene.”
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
