Man arrested in September slaying
DNA evidence might link a 28-year-old man to the slaying of a Las Vegas man whose body was found at the victim's home during a fire last year, a police report obtained Tuesday said.
Las Vegas police on Friday arrested John Wesley Scott in connection with the death of 42-year-old Eddie Morell Heckard. Scott also uses the alias Michael McGee. Scott was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on multiple charges including, murder, robbery, arson and first-degree kidnapping.
Heckard's body was found on Sept. 18 in his burning home on the 1400 block of J Street, south of Owens Avenue.
According to the police report, a friend tried to visit Heckard the day he died and was greeted by a man he recognized but didn't know by name. Once inside the home, the friend was attacked by two men, one of whom had a gun.
The two men stole $600 from the friend, who saw that Heckard's bedroom was on fire. The friend thought the two men killed Heckard, the report said.
Firefighters found Heckard's burned body in the bedroom. His hands were bound behind his back. Friends and family described Heckard as a loving father who sold cars at auctions and worked as a club promoter.
During the investigation, police found a surveillance video showing a man driving Heckard's 1997 gold Mercedes Benz on West Owens Avenue.
On the video, the man could be seen removing a white T-shirt and ditching it behind a building.
The man in the video matched the description of one of the men who attacked Heckard's friend, the report said. The Mercedes was later found abandoned at H street and Monroe Avenue.
Police found the T-shirt, which was stained with blood, and tests revealed a mixture of three types of male DNA.
Police then ran the DNA results against the FBI database and discovered a possible match for Scott.
Scott told police he knew Heckard and last saw him about 15 years ago. He told police there would be no reason for his DNA to be on Heckard's shirt.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
