Who killed Jimmy Leyton? Metro veteran wants answers

Jimmy Leyton's brief life was like those of a lot of other teenage boys growing up in his careworn east Las Vegas neighborhood.

For most of the public, that life was defined only by the way it ended on the evening of Feb. 15, with a single stab wound in the chest near the McDonald's at 2524 E. Owens Ave. The kid died on the side of the road outside the burger joint with the grind of traffic in his ears. He was 16.

Because he'd been affiliated with an area gang, Ogden 18th Street, Leyton's violent demise might be easy for some to write off. Street gang bangers die all the time, right? Such things happen in poor neighborhoods, right?

But Metro Capt. Andrew Walsh finds himself taking it very personally. Walsh, a 17-year veteran and supervisor of the Downtown Area Command, reminds his fellow officers to take it personally, too. In recent months he's ended weekly planning meetings by asking his fellow officers a simple question: Who killed Jimmy Leyton?

"I don't care if the kid was a gang member," Walsh says. "I don't care if he was a saint. He was 16 years old. He was a kid."

And Leyton died on Walsh's turf, a 9-square-mile section of real estate that includes some of the Las Vegas Valley's poorest neighborhoods. As it does with most good cops, the senseless violence in his area command grinds on him.

For veteran Metro Homicide detectives, solving Leyton's murder has been made more difficult by its swiftness, simplicity and lack of witnesses. The crime happened so quickly that officers who arrived on the scene a short time later first believed the teen had been shot to death. But a single blade had sliced between his ribs and struck a vital organ.

Words were exchanged between Leyton and a group of passing Hispanic males. He lifted up his shirt, exposing his "18" tattoo. They weren't impressed and returned to fight. It was over in the flash of a blade.

Although Leyton's brother was walking with him that night, the altercation occurred so quickly he was unable to help police much. There are several violent Hispanic street gangs in the area.

With few solid leads, and a growing sense of frustration that such a brazen act of violence was going unpunished, Walsh decided to speak out on behalf of the detectives and his fellow patrol officers.

Who killed Jimmy Leyton?

"From what we could tell, a car drives by and words are exchanged," Walsh says, adding that signs were flashed. "Obviously, that didn't scare whoever it was. He died in the bushes in front of McDonald's. Here's a 16-year-old kid. When he was born, was that the plan to die like that? Obviously, the answer is no."

This isn't the usual killing on a tough street, where neighbors see something but keep quiet out of a sense of intimidation or misguided loyalty. Chance altercations can't be predicted, and the usual street rumors and insider chatter have yet to reach Metro's gang intelligence specialists.

When no one sees anything, or at least no one who has comes forward, then it's up to someone to step out of the shadows and break the silence.

Who killed Jimmy Leyton?

For a lot of citizens, he was a common thug, a street kid, just an easy write off.

Walsh speaks to Leyton's sister on a regular basis, reassures her that the police haven't given up on finding the person responsible for Jimmy's murder. Homicide's main number is 702-828-3521, and the anonymous Crime Stoppers line is 702-385-5555.

Just this past week Walsh returned to the McDonald's near where the teenager took his last breath. The air was filled with the scent of burgers and the sound of indifferent traffic.

"It was like it never happened," Walsh says. "That's just sad. That's just wrong."

Who killed Jimmy Leyton?

Some people want to know.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. He can be reached at 702-383-0295 or jsmith@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.