Underwear-clad man killed by Las Vegas police had been on drug binge, detective says

An underwear-clad man Las Vegas police fatally shot in July had been on a Molly binge for days, a detective said Monday, when he charged officers “ninja” style.

Southaly Ketmany had come to Las Vegas from Sacramento, Calif., on a “guys’ weekend,” with a friend police have only been able to identify as “T” on July 19. The pair were staying at the South Point, but “T” lost contact with Ketmany sometime the next day, Metro detective Terri Miller said during Clark County’s fact-finding review of the shooting.

By the time SWAT officers shot and killed Ketmany four days later, Metro had three run-ins with him. He was picked up on a California traffic warrant, he was accused of jaywalking, and he was involved in a fight at a Hard Rock night club. During at least one interview with police, he said he had taken several Molly pills, an Ecstasy-like drug that can cause hallucinations.

On July 23, police received several calls from the Cactus Flower neighborhood, near Pebble Road and Las Vegas Boulevard. Reports ranged from burglary to a prowler to one about a “suspicious situation.”

Police believe Ketmany prompted all the calls.

Around 5 p.m. that day, a man called police from the 9000 block of Crystal Rock Circle after he came home to find a man, later identified as Ketmany, 35, sitting on his couch holding a large knife and a hammer.

Ketmany was wearing only boxer briefs — and they belonged to the man who called police, Miller said. What appeared to be Ketmany’s clothes were found in a neighbor’s yard.

The homeowner told police Ketmany was acting suicidal. Ketmany even asked the homeowner to kill him.

Ketmany’s ex-wife drove to Las Vegas the day of the shooting and filed a missing person’s report just hours before the standoff with police started. She somehow found her way to the house Ketmany had broken into, Miller said.

Police attempted to talk Ketmany out of the house, and even let his ex-wife plead over a speaker system for him to come out, but to no avail. SWAT eventually took over the scene and entered the back door of the house just after 8 p.m.

SWAT officers tried tell Ketmany to put down the weapons, Miller said, but he didn’t respond. A police dog was sent to subdue Ketmany, but because he did not move the dog did not attack.

Officers then shot Ketmany with a rubber bullet in the torso, but he again did not respond.

It wasn’t until an officer attempted to shock him, only landing one of the two prongs and essentially rendering the Taser ineffective, that Ketmany responded, Miller said. He ran at officers, wildly swinging the weapons like a “ninja.”

Officers backed into a corner in the house’s small kitchen and fired at Ketmany when he was within three feet of them, Miller said. They struck him several times.

Ketmany continued to be combative even after being shot and punched a paramedic trying to care for him, Miller said. He was taken to University Medical Center where he died just before midnight.

An autopsy was performed on July 25 and found no traces of illegal drugs, but Miller said Mollies are often made of several chemical compounds that are difficult to detect.

Mark Bailus, a defense attorney who served as ombudsman during Monday’s hearing, asked why officers used the term “ninja” to describe Ketmany, who is Asian. Miller said she didn’t know and that the officer said Ketmany swung his arms like a windmill.

In a press conference last August, Undersheriff Jim Dixon said Metro was looking into how long SWAT should have waited before entering the house. Bailus questioned Miller on the SWAT team’s decision to enter after just an hour of being on scene. Miller said Monday she couldn’t speculate on the SWAT commander’s decision.

This was the ninth Police Fatality Public Fact-Finding Review, the process that replaced the coroner’s inquest in 2013. The reviews — of fatal officer-involved shootings in which police are not criminally charged — are meant to lay out the facts for the public.

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead