Henderson man, 19, arrested in slaying

A 19-year-old Henderson resident was arrested Tuesday morning in connection with the slaying of a man whose body was found dumped in the desert, Henderson police said.

Russell Sean Hultgren was booked into the Henderson Detention Center on a charge of murder and is being held without bail, police said.

Authorities did not release the identity of the slain man.

Police said they found the body Tuesday morning with the help of a Las Vegas police helicopter. It was found in an area off east Horizon Ridge Parkway.

On Monday, two male witnesses, ages 17 and 18, contacted police and said they were with Hultgren late Thursday and into Friday morning. They went to a parking lot on College Avenue and Horizon Drive, where police said Hultgren made arrangements to buy drugs.

The identities of the witnesses were not released by police. They told investigators they waited in a car as Hultgren walked to another vehicle. Shortly after, the teens said, they heard three gunshots.

The two told police the driver of a pickup died in the shooting.

When contacted by police, Hultgren told investigators he was going to buy drugs, but the driver pulled a gun on him. He said the gun went off as they struggled.

Police said Hultgren had the two teens with him help move the body to the area where it was found. Police said Hultgren then drove the victim's pickup into the desert at Pahrump and set it on fire. The two with Hultgren had not been charged in the case as of Tuesday afternoon.

The slaying was the third in Henderson this year.