It could be months before Strip shooting suspect Ammar Harris is brought back
to Nevada to face trial.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, with
collaboration from its Clark County counterpart, successfully established the
identity of the Strip shooting suspect, who has been in custody since March 1.
Harris, 26, was arrested at a Studio City, Calif., apartment complex a
week after the early morning shooting in the heart of Las Vegas' famous
tourist corridor that resulted in three deaths.
At a March 4 extradition hearing, Harris requested an identity hearing,
forcing authorities to present evidence that they had indeed found the right
man.
Thursday morning, a Los Angeles judge formally identified Harris as the
wanted suspect after hearing evidence presented by the Los Angeles District
Attorney's office. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said one of
the prosecutors from his office went to Los Angeles to assist.
But after his identity was established, Harris refused to waive
extradition, and the public defender representing him asked authorities to
present a governor's warrant. Authorities now have 90 days to produce the
warrant, which includes a copy of the complaint and affidavit stating the
crime allegedly committed.
"I expect it to take between 60 to 90 days to get it all taken care of,"
Wolfson said. "We want this resolved quickly."
Wolfson said the process can sometimes be as short as 30 days, but there
are several government departments that come into play.
According to California extradition law, a suspect in a crime committed
in another state cannot be arrested without a California governor's warrant,
which is issued after the requesting state issues its own governor's warrant.
California law enforcement, however, may arrest a suspected fugitive from
another state if the crime allegedly committed is punishable by death or more
than one year in prison, which was the case with Harris.
Most suspects facing extradition waive additional hearings, and a
governor's warrant is frequently not necessary, Wolfson said.
"Most people waive extradition because they want the issue to be resolved
quickly," Wolfson said. "But this is not most cases. This is a man who is
charged with three murders and who we plan to vigorously prosecute for three
murders."
Several Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys agreed that challenging
domestic extradition is rare, but it could be a strategic move to delay the
criminal trial and allow the defense more time to prepare.
Wolfson's staff will now send the proper documents to Nevada Gov. Brian
Sandoval's office for review. Sandoval must issue a governor's warrant that is
then sent to California for review by Gov. Jerry Brown.
"This is one of the top three cases we are prosecuting; it's of the
highest importance," Wolfson said. "It's routine paperwork, but we have to go
through the process, get it signed and have the suspect returned to Nevada. In
terms of how long each step takes, a lot of it is out of our control."
A call to Harris' public defender was not immediately returned.
Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba scheduled a status hearing for
April 12. Harris is being held without bail at the Los Angeles County jail.
Once the California governor's warrant is issued, Wolfson said, it will
be "a matter of a couple of days" before Harris is shepherded back to Las
Vegas by law enforcement.
Harris was arrested following a weeklong manhunt launched after he was
accused of opening fire Feb. 21 from a Range Rover on a Maserati on the Las
Vegas Strip, between Harmon Avenue and Flamingo Road, according to Metro
Police.
The driver of the sports car, Kenneth Cherry Jr., was struck by a bullet
and killed, police said. He lost consciousness before his car sped through a
red light, hitting a taxi, which burst into flames, police said.
Both the cab driver, Michael Boldon, 62, of Las Vegas, and passenger,
Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, a businesswoman from Maple Valley, Wash. were
killed in the crash.
A passenger in the Maserati was injured.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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News Column
Vegas Shooting Suspect Fights Extradition to Nevada
March 15, 2013
Tovin Lapan, Las Vegas Sun
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Source: (c)2013 Las Vegas Sun (Las Vegas, Nev.) Distributed by MCT Information Services
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