Extradition delayed for Las Vegas Strip shooting suspect

LOS ANGELES — A self-proclaimed pimp who Las Vegas police suspect is behind a deadly shooting and fiery car crash that killed three people on the Strip in February will remain behind bars in Los Angeles County until Nevada law enforcement proves his identity, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba granted a request for an identification hearing for Ammar Harris, 26. The request was made by Harris’ Los Angeles County public defender, Mearl Lottman.

Harris, who didn’t speak during Monday’s court appearance, faces extradition to Nevada, where he is charged with three counts of murder. But the extradition process is delayed until after the March 14 hearing.

Bail was not set.

Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said someone from Nevada, most likely a Las Vegas police detective, would need to travel to Los Angeles or submit paperwork to identify Harris.

“They have to prove his identity,’’ Robison said.

Once the suspect in custody is identified as Harris, the court will proceed with the extradition hearing, court officials said.

Deputy District Attorney Javan J. Wygal, who is managing the Harris case, said identification hearings happen quite often in extradition cases.

“They will submit the information to me. I will then provide it to defense counsel, and they can decide on how they’d like to proceed,’’ he said.

In this case, Wygal said identification probably will come by way of pictures.

When asked whether he expects any other delays in the case, Wygal said, “I really can’t anticipate what the defense is going to do, but there are other avenues they could pursue.”

For a week, multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, held a nationwide search for Harris after he was identified by witnesses and video surveillance as the Feb. 21 shooter.

Las Vegas police say Harris, driving a Range Rover, shot Kenneth Cherry Jr., who was driving a Maserati, on Las Vegas Boulevard near Flamingo Road.

Cherry’s Maserati then struck a taxi, which exploded killing the driver, Michael Boldon, 62, and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Wash.

Freddy Walters, 26, the passenger in Cherry’s Maserati, was grazed by a bullet and treated at University Medical Center. He cooperated with police. Three other people were injured in the crash.

Harris was arrested Thursday in Studio City in Los Angeles.

During his arrest, he was at an apartment with a woman believed to be a prostitute, a source said. He was taken into custody peacefully at the Archview luxury apartment complex near the Hollywood Freeway and the Los Angeles River, at 4150 Arch Drive.

Harris was arrested by a team of FBI agents and police.

After Monday’s court proceeding, which lasted only a minute, the brother of Boldon said he wanted to represent the innocent victims of this “senseless act.”

“I just wanted to get his attention and show him the obit he helped create,’’ Tehran Boldon said while holding a picture of Michael. “Now I have to come back here on his birthday. … It is because of guys like him (Harris) in society, families are destroyed. I should not have to be here, but I will follow this case until the end.’’

Michael Boldon’s birthday is March 14, the same day as the identification hearing.

Tehran Boldon, who lives in Los Angeles, said he is confident Harris will stand trial in Clark County. And, Tehran Boldon said, he doesn’t care if they throw the book at Harris.

“Whatever they can give him, I say give it to him,’’ he said. “He was reckless on the streets so I can be reckless in what I say he deserves. I have no love for this man.”