Man killed as revenge for girlfriend’s death in crash, report says

A couple in February fatally shot a man they blamed for his girlfriend’s death in a head-on crash the day before, police said.

Sheldon Johnson, 34, and Kenisha Rice, 36, were arrested in California last month in connection with the killing of 35-year-old Martin Loftis on Feb. 6. Loftis was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds inside an Las Vegas apartment at 8600 Starboard Drive around 2:50 p.m.

Witnesses told police that a man and woman were seen leaving the apartment complex in a vehicle after the shooting. Loftis’ girlfriend died in a head-on crash on the 215 Beltway the day before, and police believed that the people who killed Loftis knew Quinyana Edwards and blamed Loftis for her death in the crash, according to Metropolitan Police Department arrest warrant.

The coroner’s office identified the girlfriend killed in the crash as 39-year-old Quinyana Long.

Police determined that Rice was associated with Edwards’ sister and that Rice’s vehicle matched the vehicle seen leaving the apartment complex after the shooting.

Johnson was one of Edwards’ brothers and a police search of his Facebook page uncovered posts about Edwards’ death that included what police believed was Johnson alluding to him killing Loftis, according to the warrant.

Photos of Johnson on his social media matched descriptions of the man seen leaving the scene of the shooting. Their social media profiles were used to confirm that Rice and Johnson were in a relationship at the time of the shooting.

Court appearances have not been set in Las Vegas Justice Court for Johnson or Rice, court records show.

The Clark County district attorney’s office could not be immediately reached to confirm when Johnson and Rice would be extradited back to Nevada.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.