Police note ‘pattern of criminal activity’ before Las Vegas bartender was shot, killed

A judge Tuesday rejected the attempt of an attorney to set bail for one of the suspects in the killing of an Atomic Liquors bartender, meaning both men will continue to be held with no bail.

Police have identified 18-year-old Phillip Strong and 20-year-old Charles Wright as suspects in the Feb. 15 slaying of Hope Ritter, 29, in the 400 block of 11th Street near the bar. She was found inside a vehicle, shot in the head.

They face charges of burglary, open murder and discharging a gun into an occupied vehicle.

Ritter drove a regular at the bar home after her shift around 2:20 a.m., and the two parked on the street outside of the witness’s home with the car running and headlights on, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.

The witness, who is not named in the report, saw two men walk past the car and then heard gunshots before seeing Ritter slump over in her seat.

Before calling 911, the witness “shook Ritter’s body to see if she was OK, but she did not respond,” the report said.

The shooting was captured on camera, as were the two men running from the scene, police said. No other people were seen on video near Ritter’s car before or after the scene, according to the report.

‘Pattern of criminal activity’

Police described an “apparent pattern of criminal activity” between Wright and Strong in the hours surrounding the slaying.

Cameras identified the men in one car burglary and several attempts to check other car doors in the hours leading up to the suspected murder, according to the arrest report.

Wright was booked into the Clark County Detention Center, accused of burglary of a motor vehicle on Feb. 19. He also has prior criminal history. In July 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of residential burglary and one count of battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in bodily harm.

Police said Strong was arrested in North Las Vegas on Friday. He was booked on suspicion of the same charges as Wright, court records show.

Both men appeared before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan for an initial hearing. The judge read the charges, then said she could appoint the public defender’s office to represent Wright. Strong’s attorney is Ryan Helmick.

“I’d like to address his custody status today if I could, please,” Helmick said.

But Sullivan shot down the request, saying he would need to file a motion to do so. The Nevada Supreme Court’s Valdez-Jimenez decision, which sets bail guidelines, does not apply to murder charges, she said.

Ritter left behind a 10-year-old daughter and many friends.

“Everything Hope did was for her daughter,” friend and colleague Maria Ledesma said previously. “She was a hard worker who just wanted to always become a better version of herself. She was just so sweet.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.