Tag Archives: Michael Boldon

Woman, 22, sought in Vegas Strip shooting, crash

A 22-year-old Miami woman with a history of prostitution arrests was identified Tuesday as a person of interest in a Las Vegas Strip shooting that triggered a spectacular fiery crash and left three people dead.

Police said Tineesha Lashun Howard was in a black SUV with Ammar Harris last week when he fired shots into a Maserati sports car at a self-promoted rapper who investigators say argued with Harris minutes earlier in the valet area of a glassy Strip resort.

Maserati driver Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., 27, was mortally wounded before the sports car accelerated and slammed into a taxi that burst into flames — killing the cab driver and his passenger, a businesswoman from Washington state.

Colleagues of the taxi driver posted a $35,000 reward Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of Harris, a 26-year-old felon whom police last year accused of being a panderer.

“We lost one of our own in cab driver Michael Boldon,” said Brent Bell, president of Whittlesea Bell Corp. and the trustee of a trust fund established to pay the reward.

Bell called the death of Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash., “no less tragic,” and said taxi drivers’ hearts also went out to Cherry’s family in Oakland, Calif.

Investigators have said there were several people in the black Range Rover SUV when the shots rang out. They have only identified Harris and Howard.

Police released several photos of the two together and said Howard also uses the name Yenesis Alfonzo.

A police statement said Howard has been arrested multiple times on charges including prostitution, trespassing, possession of a stolen vehicle and grand larceny. It wasn’t immediately known if those arrests led to convictions.

Police said Howard was considered missing and possibly in danger.

Harris, who was convicted in South Carolina in 2004 of felony possession with intent to sell a stolen pistol and convicted in Atlanta of a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, is sought in Las Vegas on three murder charges.

Police have said they won’t rest until he is in custody.

“We are confident we know what happened and how,” Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Ray Steiber said Tuesday of the shooting and six-vehicle crash. “All this is about now is locating him and arresting him.”

Police previously released a photo of Harris taken after his arrest 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 charges. Court records show that case was dismissed last June.

Ads with Harris’ photo also were posted Monday on billboards along major southern Nevada freeways.

The image shows Harris with tattoos on his right cheek and words on his neck above an image that appeared to depict an owl with blackened eyes. Police said Harris should be considered armed and dangerous.

Public records show Harris previously lived in South Carolina and Georgia, and told police when he was arrested in Miami Beach last December that …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

In hunt for Las Vegas shooting suspect, police focus on home, work

Investigators searching for a suspect in a Las Vegas shooting and vehicle crash that killed three people last week are focusing on places where the alleged gunman lived and worked.

Public records show that 26-year-old Ammar Harris lived in South Carolina and Georgia. He was convicted in Atlanta in 2005 of marijuana possession; he was arrested in Miami in December on a reckless driving charge and in Las Vegas last year on pandering, kidnapping, sex assault and coercion charges.

“We have him identified,” Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones told the Associated Press. “Now the focus is on locating and apprehending him. We’re getting help all over the place.”

Harris is accused of firing shots into a Maserati last Thursday, killing aspiring rapper Kenny Cherry, and causing a crash and explosion that killed two other people in a taxi at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. The incidents happened on the boulevard near the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally’s and Flamingo resorts, police told the Associated Press.

On Saturday afternoon, police found a black Range Rover SUV – believed to be connected to the shooting — at an apartment complex east of the Las Vegas Strip. A SWAT team didn’t find Harris at his home in the complex, but the vehicle has been impounded as evidence.

Cherry, 27, was driving his Maserati when police say a shooter from the black Range Rover SUV peppered his car before it sped through a red light and smashed into a taxi, killing driver Michael Boldon, of Las Vegas, and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash..

Boldon, the taxi driver, was described as a family man who hailed from Michigan. Sutton-Wasmund came from a loving Washington state family and was well regarded in her community.

Police said the shooting stemmed from an altercation between Cherry and Harris in a valet area of the upscale Aria resort a block south of the crash scene at Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

“What the original disagreement was is crucial to the ongoing investigation and the identification of the suspects,” said Las Vegas Police Officer Bill Cassell.

Police said a passenger in Cherry’s Maserati was wounded in the arm, but was treated at a hospital and released. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators, and his name wasn’t made public.

Besides Cherry‘s passenger, police said five other people were treated for injuries after the six-vehicle crash. No one was said to face life-threatening injuries.

Authorities have also released a photo of Harris taken following his arrest in Las Vegas last year in a prostitution case. The disposition of the case wasn’t immediately known.

The photo showed Harris with tattoos on his right cheek and words on his neck above an image that appeared to depict an owl with blackened eyes. Las Vegas Police Capt. Chris Jones said Harris should be considered armed and dangerous.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

…read more
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Police find Range Rover, ID suspect in Vegas shooting

Police have found a black Range Rover SUV in Las Vegas and identified a suspect in a shooting that sent a Maserati into a taxi that exploded, killing three people.

Police Capt. Chris Jones tells The Associated Press the vehicle was found Saturday afternoon at an apartment complex east of the Las Vegas Strip. It has been impounded as evidence.

Jones says police are looking for 26-year-old Ammar Harris in connection with the shooting early Thursday on the Strip. His arrest history in Las Vegas includes charges of kidnapping and pandering.

Maserati driver and aspiring rapper Kenny Cherry was killed by gunfire.

Taxi driver Michael Boldon, of Las Vegas, and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash., died when the Maserati crashed into them.

Cherry, 27, was driving in his Maserati on the Vegas Strip when police say a shooter from a black Range Rover SUV peppered his car before it sped through a red light and smashed into a taxi, killing Michael Boldon, the taxi driver, and his passenger in the backseat.

The rapper would film online music videos on the Strip and post them online. In one song he raps, “One mistake change lives all in one night.”

In this case, three lives were cut shot.

Boldon, the taxi driver, was described as a family man who hailed from Michigan. His passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, came from a loving Washington state family and was well regarded in her community.

As investigators Saturday tried to find the gunman in a black Range Rover SUV who triggered the shocking chain of events, families and friends tried to grasp the blink-of-an-eye finality of it all.

Right now my heart is breaking,” said Cherry’s great aunt, Patricia Sims, of Oakland, Calif. “This has really been a tragedy. Kenny was just a delightful kid.”

Sims, 75, said Cherry moved to Las Vegas from Northern California, though she didn’t know her nephew was a rapper using the name Kenny Clutch.

Cherry’s parents were traveling to Las Vegas on Friday to claim his body.

The taxi exploded into flames, killing Boldon and Sutton-Wasmund, as four other vehicles crashed like pinballs at an intersection overlooked by some of Las Vegas‘ most famous hotel-casinos: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally’s and the Flamingo.

Police think an argument at the valet area of the upscale Aria resort-casino led to the shooting, but they haven’t shared details. The shooting happened the same night that Morocco-born rapper French Montana was playing at Aria’s signature nightclub, Haze.

“What the original disagreement was is crucial to the ongoing investigation and the identification of the suspects,” said Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell.

Police said a passenger in the Maserati was wounded in the arm but was treated at a hospital and released. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators, and his name wasn’t made public.

Cherry’s father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., of Emeryville, Calif., said he was struggling to handle his grief.

He said his son started a music career in Oakland after attending two Catholic high schools. According to his father, Cherry was recognized by other rappers within a West Coast …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Aspiring rapper in fiery Vegas crash sang haunting lyric

Kenny Cherry, an aspiring rapper who moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas to pursue his music career, was killed early Thursday morning in a violent incident normally seen in movies.

Cherry, 27, was driving in his Maserati on the Vegas Strip when police say a shooter from a black Range Rover SUV peppered his car before it sped through a red light and smashed into a taxi, killing Michael Boldon, the taxi driver, and his passenger in the backseat.

The rapper would film online music videos on the Strip and post them online. In one song he raps, “One mistake change lives all in one night.”

In this case, three lives were cut shot.

Boldon, the taxi driver, was described as a family man who hailed from Michigan. His passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, came from a loving Washington state family and was well regarded in her community.

As investigators Saturday tried to find the gunman in a black Range Rover SUV who triggered the shocking chain of events, families and friends tried to grasp the blink-of-an-eye finality of it all.

Right now my heart is breaking,” said Cherry’s great aunt, Patricia Sims, of Oakland, Calif. “This has really been a tragedy. Kenny was just a delightful kid.”

Sims, 75, said Cherry moved to Las Vegas from Northern California, though she didn’t know her nephew was a rapper using the name Kenny Clutch.

Cherry’s parents were traveling to Las Vegas on Friday to claim his body.

The taxi exploded into flames, killing Boldon and Sutton-Wasmund, as four other vehicles crashed like pinballs at an intersection overlooked by some of Las Vegas‘ most famous hotel-casinos: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally’s and the Flamingo.

Police think an argument at the valet area of the upscale Aria resort-casino led to the shooting, but they haven’t shared details. The shooting happened the same night that Morocco-born rapper French Montana was playing at Aria’s signature nightclub, Haze.

“What the original disagreement was is crucial to the ongoing investigation and the identification of the suspects,” said Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell.

He said investigators were examining surveillance video and enlisting help from federal authorities and agencies in neighboring states to look for the distinctive Range Rover. It had blackout windows and custom black rims and was last seen speeding away from the fiery scene around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police said a passenger in the Maserati was wounded in the arm but was treated at a hospital and released. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators, and his name wasn’t made public.

Cherry’s father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., of Emeryville, Calif., said he was struggling to handle his grief.

He said his son started a music career in Oakland after attending two Catholic high schools. According to his father, Cherry was recognized by other rappers within a West Coast hip-hop strain called hyphy.

Cherry was not well-known in wider music circles, according to Chuck Creekmur, CEO of AllHipHop.com.

“I had never heard his name before,” Creekmur said.

Kenny Clutch‘s YouTube music video, “Stay Schemin,” shows scenes of hotels along the Strip as he sings about …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News