Police seek suspect

Las Vegas police were searching late Friday for a 17-year-old suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in a morning home invasion.

Jonathan Romero disappeared shortly after the deadly confrontation about 6:45 a.m. at the northeast Las Vegas home of his former girlfriend, homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said.

Romero knocked on the door at 813 Bladensburg St., near Washington Avenue and Lamb Boulevard, and burst into the two-story house after the teenage girl answered the door, Roberts said.

Romero went upstairs and shot the victim, who tried to hide in a closet, Roberts said.

The victim had not been positively identified by the coroner's office.

Police found a trail of blood leading away from the house and believe Romero severely cut his arm on the mirrored closet door when it broke during a struggle with the victim, Roberts said.

The former girlfriend and Romero have a 7-month-old child together, but the infant was not in the house during the shooting, he said.

Roberts said he didn't know of any history of domestic violence between the couple, who broke up about four months ago.

Shortly after the shooting, officers surrounded Romero's home at 1315 Clark Ave. in hopes of finding him, but he wasn't inside when SWAT officers raided the house.

Police closed Maryland Parkway north of Charleston Boulevard for about three hours during the incident.

Police believed Romero was still in the valley, and homicide detectives were working with patrol officers from the Northeast Area Command to find him.

Romero is a gang member, Roberts said.

Romero was last seen wearing a black polo shirt, blue jeans and black baseball cap.

A neighbor on Bladensburg said a brother and sister, both in their late teens, lived by themselves in the house.

They had lived with their grandfather before he died about a year ago, said neighbor Angel Hernandez, 38.

The grandfather kept the landscaping immaculate, but since his death, the house has fallen into disarray under the grandchildren's care, he said.

Officers had been called to the house twice in the past year, both for minor incidents, according to Las Vegas police records.

Hernandez said the girl's name was Jessica.

"I feel bad for the girlfriend, Jessica. She didn't need this," he said.

Hernandez said he last saw her boyfriend three days ago hanging out in front of the house with friends.

"Me and my wife were saying earlier, 'OK, it's time to move,'" he said.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281. Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.