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Suspect in Vegas Strip Shooting a Proud Pimp, Remains at Large [UPDATED]
Ammar Harris (Photo courtesy Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
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UPDATE 2:50 PM: The suspect was apprehended Thursday in Los Angeles. -------
A man named as the suspect in a deadly shooting on the Las Vegas strip that caused a fiery crash and took three lives remains at large today.
It was one week ago that shots rang out from a Range Rover, targeting a Maserati, after the two cars left the Aria hotel and hit the Las Vegas strip in the wee morning hours. The shooting caused the driver of the Maserti, identified as Kenneth Cherry Jr., to run a red light and crash into a taxi cab, killing both occupants. Cherry, an Oakland native living in Las Vegas trying to gain fame as a rapper named "Kenny Clutch," also died in the incident.
Las Vegas Police have named Ammar Harris as the suspect in the shooting, however, as KTNV reports, Harris remains on the lam: "The black Range Rover police say Harris was in is all that police have been able to find."
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Harris is described as a 26-year-old ex-convict with a criminal history that spans several states. Fox5Vegas spoke with a former Las Vegas Metro lieutenant about Harris and the case:
"The longer it goes, the higher the reward goes, the less people he's going to be able to trust and the more paranoid he's going to become," Randy Sutton, the former lieutenant, told the station. "The pressure is on now. So he is holed up like a little rat, if you will."
That "little rat" though doesn't mind boasting about his lifestyle. The Huffington Post adds to Harris' description, noting he is "self-described pimp whose Internet posts show him with fists full of money and boast of a high-rolling lifestyle with prostitutes." In fact, Harris can be seen in a YouTube video bragging about all the cash he has. (Caution: Language is NSFW)
In an article published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Harris' extravagant, boastful lifestyle has been the fodder of his long-running Twitter account. There he talked about his wealth, his numerous expensive cars, lavish parties and celebrations, and his involvement with women. "Tweet by tweet, post by post, Harris meticulously documented the life of a pimp, creating a virtual diary for the world to see." That Twitter account was closed earlier this week, however.
Harris was the sole shooter, say police, but he was not alone in the Range Rover. He had three other women with him. All three have been located, though only the identity of one has been made public. That woman is Tineesha Lashun Howard, also known as Yenesis Alfonzo or Yani, who is a prostitute from Miami. Howard was located outside of Nevada, however police will not reveal the location.
Police also took a bit of heat for bungling the photo release prior to locating Howard; they initially circulated photos of another woman they thought was Howard, and had to explain why they thought she was Howard: "[I]t appears Harris had obtained and downloaded images of this celebrity because of the identical resemblance to the person of interest and his known associate," explains CNN. Howard is thought to be Harris' girlfriend.
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Billboards set up in Las Vegas name Harris as a wanted man. According to his now-defunct Twitter account, Harris was bound for Paris and London the day after the shooting took place. Others theorize he is being protected by friends, or he has fled to Mexico.
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