Man killed, woman injured in shooting near Sahara and Nellis

One man was killed and a woman was injured in a shooting at an east valley apartment complex Monday afternoon.

Police are investigating a possible drug connection between the victims and the suspects, Las Vegas police Lt. Lew Roberts said. Three men were seen fleeing the scene at the Pacific Harbors at Sunrise apartments, 5150 E. Sahara, near Nellis Boulevard, shortly after the shooting.

Police received reports of a shooting in an apartment at 12:28 p.m. When they arrived, they found one man dead in the apartment and a woman with a gunshot wound to the face near the apartment, Roberts said.

The woman was transported to University Medical Center. Roberts said she is expected to survive.

The names of the shooting victims were not released.

Witnesses told police the three men who fled are young with thin builds. Their heights were estimated at between 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet. Police said one of them may have been wearing a blue jacket. They were last seen headed north on Nellis.

Detectives worked into the night Monday and kept much of the complex taped off. One woman, who would not give her name, said the male victim was a youth football coach who had adult children.

"He's always been nice to everybody," she said.

The killing was the 100th homicide for the department this year, Roberts said. Las Vegas police investigated 132 homicides last year, the fourth-lowest total of the last decade. It was also the latest of several drug-related killings.

Two weeks ago, several intruders tried to break into the northwest valley home of two brothers who were growing marijuana, according to police. One of the intruders, 25-year-old Dane Searcy, was shot and killed by one of the brothers. Richard Saterstad and Martin Saterstad were arrested on murder and drug charges and remain under investigation although they've not been formally charged.

On June 7, Las Vegas police said three men executed and robbed two men alleged to be drug dealers. Carlos Zapata, 23, Ralph Jeremias, 24, and Ivan Rios, 24, face two counts each of murder with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon in a double slaying at the Polo Club Apartments, on Decatur Boulevard near Flamingo Road. The victims, Paul Stephens and Brian Hudson, were shot in the head.

Anyone with information on the crimes is encouraged to call the homicide section at 828-3521 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 385-5555.