Las Vegas shooting suspect arrested in Los Angeles
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A self-described pimp was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles, ending a manhunt that began after a vehicle-to-vehicle shooting and spectacular, fiery crash that killed a Washington state woman and two other people on the Las Vegas Strip a week ago, police said.
Ammar Harris, 26, surrendered to a team of police and federal agents who found him inside a North Hollywood apartment after a woman answered the door, authorities said.
In Nevada, Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie and Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones scheduled a late afternoon media briefing about the arrest.
Harris, whose Internet posts show him with fists full of money boasting of a high-rolling lifestyle with prostitutes, was the subject of the multi-state search after the Feb. 21 attack at a neon-lit intersection that's home to posh casino resorts such as Bellagio, Bally's, Flamingo and Caesars Palace.
Court documents allege Harris was driving his black Range Rover SUV when he fired into a Maserati sports car, killing self-promoted rapper Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr. The two men had argued minutes earlier in the valet area of a Las Vegas Strip resort.
The Maserati with Cherry mortally wounded at the wheel sped forward and slammed into a taxi that burst into flames. The cabbie, 62-year-old Michael Boldon, and his passenger, 48-year-old Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash., were killed.
The crash closed the Strip for about 15 hours.
Earlier Thursday, Las Vegas police revealed they had found and talked with all three women who were in the SUV with Harris during the shooting.
Police found SUV passenger Tineesha Lashun Howard in another, undisclosed state late Wednesday. Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones said police previously found and interviewed the two other women.
Jones wouldn't release the names of the other passengers but said none of the three women had been charged with a crime. Police were concerned about their safety, he said.
Howard, a 22-year-old from Miami with a history of prostitution arrests, also uses the names Yenesis Alfonzo or Yani. She was identified by police on Tuesday as a person of interest in the case who might have been in danger.
Las Vegas police also sought Thursday to stop the circulation of several photos the department issued Tuesday and Wednesday in the search for Harris. Police said they depict people unconnected with the case.
Harris was arrested last year in Las Vegas in a 2010 prostitution case using the name Ammar Asim Faruq Harris. He was charged with robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping and coercion with a weapon, and police sought charges of pandering by force and felon in possession of concealed weapon. Court records show that case was dismissed last June.
Harris was convicted in South Carolina in 2004 of felony possession with intent to sell a stolen pistol and convicted that same year in Atlanta of a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.
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Associated Press writer Tami Abdollah in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Ammar Harris, 26, surrendered to a team of police and federal agents who found him inside a North Hollywood apartment after a woman answered the door, authorities said.
In Nevada, Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie and Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones scheduled a late afternoon media briefing about the arrest.
Harris, whose Internet posts show him with fists full of money boasting of a high-rolling lifestyle with prostitutes, was the subject of the multi-state search after the Feb. 21 attack at a neon-lit intersection that's home to posh casino resorts such as Bellagio, Bally's, Flamingo and Caesars Palace.
Court documents allege Harris was driving his black Range Rover SUV when he fired into a Maserati sports car, killing self-promoted rapper Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr. The two men had argued minutes earlier in the valet area of a Las Vegas Strip resort.
The Maserati with Cherry mortally wounded at the wheel sped forward and slammed into a taxi that burst into flames. The cabbie, 62-year-old Michael Boldon, and his passenger, 48-year-old Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash., were killed.
The crash closed the Strip for about 15 hours.
Earlier Thursday, Las Vegas police revealed they had found and talked with all three women who were in the SUV with Harris during the shooting.
Police found SUV passenger Tineesha Lashun Howard in another, undisclosed state late Wednesday. Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones said police previously found and interviewed the two other women.
Jones wouldn't release the names of the other passengers but said none of the three women had been charged with a crime. Police were concerned about their safety, he said.
Howard, a 22-year-old from Miami with a history of prostitution arrests, also uses the names Yenesis Alfonzo or Yani. She was identified by police on Tuesday as a person of interest in the case who might have been in danger.
Las Vegas police also sought Thursday to stop the circulation of several photos the department issued Tuesday and Wednesday in the search for Harris. Police said they depict people unconnected with the case.
Harris was arrested last year in Las Vegas in a 2010 prostitution case using the name Ammar Asim Faruq Harris. He was charged with robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping and coercion with a weapon, and police sought charges of pandering by force and felon in possession of concealed weapon. Court records show that case was dismissed last June.
Harris was convicted in South Carolina in 2004 of felony possession with intent to sell a stolen pistol and convicted that same year in Atlanta of a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.
___
Associated Press writer Tami Abdollah in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Looking at this guys eyes, he's killed before. A lot, and up close and personal. I'm willing to be he IS "Bubba" in the joint. And the faster this individual is pushing daisy's the better.Â
"self-promoted rapper Kenneth Wayne Cherry" =Â he wasn't making any money from that.
But he was driving a Maserati. Actually Mr. Cherry was also a criminal and convicted of gun crimes. Like the shooter, he was a pimp and drug dealer. That was published in Bay Area California papers where he was from but I guess the AP just couldn't find it.  Like the vast majority of shootings, this was your usual criminal turf dispute. Gun laws are meaningless.
"You are in my spot!"Â
"oh you think so?"
"yeah!"
<bang bang bang>
Ghetto trash......
A convicted felon who's forbidden to own a firearm, Â no less.
@Doxie It's our culture. It's our country. Be proud son...
@geo liquor @Doxie Yeah, being in violation of the law means nothing to these people. I'm sure he's dying to vote too.  Ha, I just made myself laugh.Â
@Doxie @Throbbinhood "Dying to vote" - awesome...
@Throbbinhood Happy to be of service, it's pathetic if I laugh at my own joke so thanks for laughing with me.
Made me laugh, too!
To his momma if he has one. Your son is a POS!
He just looks like the kind of guy that would put one in you and not blink an eye.
Don't rule out that he can be rehabilitated. Oh wait... he's already been to prison. Well I'm sure he turned his life around... oh, charged in a prostitution case including kidnapping? Oh well, can't say he wasn't given a chance. Fry him. Not 10 years from now, by summer.Â
Just hook him up to 480 volts and save everyone a bunch of time and money.Â
Nuke it
I say send him right to death row. Do not collect $200.
@toolbox1007 Maybe just take them to "Burning Man" - off season.
What a winner.
"Jones wouldn't release the names of the other passengers in Harris' SUV, but said none of the three passengers had been charged with a crime. Police are concerned about their safety, the police captain said." Either it's a ploy to get the women to testify against Harris. Or it's gender discrimination, because if it was three other males in the car they would all be charged with murder.
@Hehateme
Maybe because they already have all they need from the one named prostitute, Tineesha Lashun Howardâ¦.
This comment has been deleted
@aintno1specialÂ
I'm sure he's been to prison before, and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would get "turned out." You have to remember that in order for there to be prison rape, there must be both victims and rapists. If this guy were to be one or the other, I'm betting on "rapist," especially if he has pre-existing gang ties.   Â
After all, how do you think "Bubba" ends up in jail in the first place? A murder charge is a good guess.
@WhobekeWhat I have learned about a lot of these "thugs"...is they are compensating for something...his rap sheet seems fairly petty, which means he has served no "hard time"...things are different in max security prisons.Â
I didn't think my initial comment was controversial...Maybe I need to be more sensitive towards Mr. Harris' feelings?
@Whobeke  You seem to have a lot of insight into the sexual activities that go on in prison. I am not going to ask how you know so much.
@aintno1special Looking at this guy, I think Bubba might be a little nervous ..
Sounds like a real nice guy, who, of course his mother will say is just misunderstood. Maybe Seattle can get this guy to move here on his upcoming work release program.
Most criminals always run back to their hood where they are known and "respected" (cough cough)
Hopefully this will put this guy behind bars for good.
He was a one man crime spree.
"Court records show that case was dismissed last June."
And I thought Seattle had a revolving door justice system!
I wonder if he was just trying to impress the whores....
I hope he enjoyed his freedom because he will never see outside of barbwire and a cage again. What a life!
Another thug off the streets.Â
 A coward with a gun is a dangerous combination and this coward proves that.
@patriot279 Yes indeed. People who solve their problems of fear and disrespect with gunfire are very dangerous to the general public.
That said, I'm glad the massive manhunt that LAPD employed to find this guy didn't result in shooting up any innocent Range Rover, or Range Rover shaped, vehicles.
Hope he gets charged w/murder of all 3 victims since his actions directly caused the deaths.Â
Why couldn't this take place in Texas. Then there would be no doubt.
@mstipton Yep, that's why these thugs like the liberal states so much