Strip shooting suspect could face the death penalty

By Molly Waldron

CREATED Mar. 1, 2013

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  • Now that Strip shooting suspect Ammar Harris is in police custody, the Clark County District Attorney is getting ready for what's next. Video by ktnv.com

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  • The apartment manager at Archview Apartments in Studio City, Calif. had no knowledge one of his tenants was harboring an accused killer.

  • Strip shooting suspect Ammar Harris was arrested at at the Archview Apartments in Studio City, Calif. at about noon Thursday.

  • The arrest happened quietly, without the knowledge of most residents.

  • The apartment manager said the woman Harris stayed with has been living there for a few months.

  • The relationship between Harris and the woman he stayed with was not clear.

  • The woman living in the apartment complex was not arrested, but police said they continue to investigate her involvement in hiding Harris.

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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Now that Strip shooting suspect Ammar Harris is in police custody, the Clark County District Attorney is getting ready for what's next.

Action News spoke with DA Steve Wolfson about pursuing the death penalty in the case.

"We consider the death penalty in any murder case," said Wolfson. "But this isn't just any murder case -- this is a man that expressed severe recklessness, a disregard for human life, disregard for consequences." 

Wolfson said he has never seen a case quite like this one, so horrific and in such a public place. But does the location -- the fact that this happened on the Las Vegas Strip -- play a factor in Harris' penalty? 

"It does," Wolfson said. "At the end of the day, we look at the facts of the case, we look at the results of his behavior. The results are three innocent people died. Another few people were injured and there could have been many more." 

Harris is facing three open murder charges, meaning what degree of murder will be determined by a judge.

Right now, the focus is on 26-year-old Harris, but the other three people police say were in the black Range Rover at the time of the shooting could still face charges.

"My office will get the complete file in the next few days to a week," Wolfson said. "We'll examine all of the interviews of the witnesses...we'll evaluate if other people committed crimes. If other people committed crimes, they will be charged." 

Along with those murder charges, Harris also faces a handful of felony charges related to discharging a firearm. 

A timetable on the case will depend on how quickly Harris is extradited from California back to Las Vegas.

His initial extradition hearing is set to take place Monday in a Los Angeles courtroom.