Ex-city planner pleads guilty in stabbing

Michael Chambliss was once called the Karl Rove of West Las Vegas.

The former Las Vegas city planner and long-time political activist worked as a consultant to former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates and counted former state Assemblyman Wendell Williams as a close friend.

He shocked friends and others in 2005 when he was accused of stabbing to death a Nigerian-born boxer in the back room of a 7-Eleven. Authorities said the two men had a confrontation over a woman. Chambliss' attorney at the time said he stabbed 26-year-old Vincent Ekeoba Moses in self-defense.

On Wednesday, Chambliss appeared in District Court and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon.

"Did you stab Mr. Ekeoba (Moses) with a knife on the ninth day of November 2005?" District Judge David Barker asked.

"Yes sir," replied Chambliss, 55. He was reserved and polite in court and declined to comment after the hearing.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 10. He remains out of custody.

Chambliss could face one to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter charge with an equal and consecutive one to 10 years in prison for the deadly weapon enhancement.

The 2005 slaying stunned many in Las Vegas who had known Chambliss. After the stabbing, many supporters came to his defense, saying he was a peacemaker.

A black-and-white surveillance video shows Moses in an office at the back of the 7-Eleven on Torrey Pines Drive, near Charleston Boulevard. Moses worked as a clerk at the store.

In the video, Moses' girlfriend, Jocylyn Nixon, is seen standing nearby. Chambliss arrives at the store, and Nixon and Chambliss hug.

Moses and Chambliss then get into a confrontation. In the video, Moses is seen slapping Nixon in the head, knocking her hat off. Chambliss and Moses get into a fight, and Chambliss is seen stabbing the victim multiple times.

Chambliss told authorities that he and Nixon were linked romantically years ago but were merely friends at the time of the stabbing.

The incident effectively ended Chambliss' political career in Las Vegas.

He was known for helping to bring several million dollars in funding for economic development for West Las Vegas, an area roughly defined as being bordered by Carey Avenue on the north, Bonanza Road on the south, Interstate 15 on the east and Rancho Drive on the west.

Chambliss and a business partner had a concession contract at McCarran International Airport that was revoked by Hudson News.

He spent several years working for Comprehensive Employment Training Act, a quasi-city agency that helped disperse federal grant money to social service providers.

Chambliss also ran an AIDS awareness and testing group called Fighting AIDS in our Community Today, or FACT.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.