Woman arrested after man found dead in burned car in North Las Vegas
A woman was arrested Thursday after a man was found dead inside a burned car in North Las Vegas last month.
Marcella Patterson, 42, was booked into the North Las Vegas jail on suspicion of open murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and third-degree arson.
Patterson’s arrest report states that phone records placed her near the 3200 block of Mary Dee Avenue, close to Civic Center Drive and Cheyenne Avenue, around the time that a white Lexus, containing a man in the passenger seat, was set on fire on Aug. 17.
Officers with the North Las Vegas Police Department responded to the scene and found 32-year-old David Weaver dead, “slumped over” the center console in the passenger seat of the burned vehicle.
During Weaver’s autopsy, a doctor ruled his death a homicide and noted that he had a single gunshot wound to the head, the report said. A cartridge case and a “wick,” or an incendiary device used to start the fire, were also recovered from the vehicle.
The report also indicated that Patterson acted with a man whose name was redacted in the report. When officers attempted to arrest them near Silver Sevens on Thursday, the man barricaded himself inside a vehicle for about two hours before he died by suicide.
Patterson, who, according to the report, is ineligible for bail, is due in court on Tuesday.
If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.