Carjacker tied to homicide eludes Las Vegas police
With Las Vegas police officers in pursuit, a burglary suspect in the southeast valley threatened a woman with a large knife, stole her silver hatchback and then sped off early Saturday, losing police.
The suspect, who goes by the nickname of “DJ” and has a missing front tooth, has also been identified as a person of interest in a homicide at the Canyon Pointe Apartments in the 4400 block of Jimmy Durante Boulevard on Friday afternoon. The crime scene is across from Dog Fancier’s Park.
A man was found dead inside one of the apartments at 1:09 p.m., and Metro’s homicide unit was investigating the death late Friday night. Clark County medical examiner officials were on the scene as late as 9 p.m.
“The preliminary investigation indicated the death appears to be criminal in nature, and identified several persons of interest and potential witnesses who may have knowledge of the facts surrounding the victims death,” Metro said in a press release issued on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s incident started at 6:36 a.m. when officers spotted somebody committing what appeared to be a residential burglary in the complex. They chased the man over a wall and into a nearby residential neighborhood. But by the time they caught up with him, he had managed to stop a woman who had been driving a hatchback, pulled out a large knife, and threatened her with it before stealing her vehicle, police said.
The woman was not injured in the carjacking.
DJ, police said, is black, of medium build, and 25 to 28 years old. He stands between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored knit cap, a dark-colored hoodie and dark pants.
The car is a 2005 Toyota Scion four-door hatchback. Its license plate number is 535-RWZ.
Anyone who has information about the suspect or either crime is asked to call homicide, 702-828-3521, or contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or www.crimestoppersofnv.com.
Contact reporter Tom Ragan at tragan@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.
