Deaths of 2 Las Vegas men seen as acts of self-defense

The Clark County coroner’s office this week identified two people killed in what Las Vegas police believe were self-defense shootings.

The first happened Aug. 30, when officers were called about 4 a.m. to the 3400 block of Procyon Street, near Desert Inn Road and Valley View Boulevard. When police arrived, they found a 26-year-old man who had been shot.

He was Kenyada Rah’Jee Williams of Las Vegas, the coroner’s office said. Williams died at University Medical Center from multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.

Detectives believe Williams broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and “started fighting” with the woman’s new boyfriend. The other man then shot and killed Williams, said Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer.

In the second incident, a 30-year-old man died on Nov. 1 from injuries in a shooting that happened about 1:35 a.m. Oct. 18 on the 3000 block of Key Largo Drive, near McLeod Drive and Tropicana Avenue, Spencer said.

The coroner’s office this week identified the deceased as Daniel Vesper IV of Las Vegas. His death was ruled a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.

Spencer said Vesper was shot during a fight but that detectives believe the shooting was in self-defense. He said he had no additional details on the dispute.

The cases involving Williams and Vesper’s deaths were both submitted to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office for review, which is routine in cases believed to be self-defense.

Self-defense shootings, classified by Metro as “justifiable homicides,” are on the rise this year, according to department records. As of Sunday, when Metro’s online logs were last updated, there have been 22 self-defense killings this year, an 83 percent increase from the 12 self-defense homicides seen during the same time frame last year.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.