Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
By Tovin Lapan (contact) 
Published Thursday, March 14, 2013 | 12:04 p.m.
Updated Thursday, March 14, 2013 | 3:33 p.m.
Ammar Harris
Sun archives
- Suspect in Las Vegas Strip shootings brags online about fast life (2-27-2013)
- Person of interest sought in Strip shooting (2-26-2013)
- Cab companies offer $35,000 reward for suspect’s arrest (2-26-2013)
- Police ‘confident’ suspect was lone gunman in Thursday’s Strip shooting (2-25-2013)
- Police identify suspect in Strip shooting that led to deaths of 3 people (2-23-2013)
- Candlelight vigil on Strip pays tribute to shooting victim Cherry (2-23-2013)
- 'He could always make me smile': Slain taxi driver leaves void at Desert Cab (2-23-2013)
- Family of Kenneth Cherry Jr. reeling after son killed on Strip (2-23-2013)
- Suspects in Strip shooting still at large; taxi passenger identified (2-22-2013)
- The reaction: Tourists try to make sense of the violence on the Strip (2-21-2013)
- Will Strip shootout and crash hurt Las Vegas tourism? (2-21-2013)
- Three killed after gunshots fired from SUV cause fiery crash on Las Vegas Strip (2-21-2013)
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.
Comment removed by moderator. - -
He's using up his final minutes of remaining in the news and relevant in his own mind before being sent off into obscurity to some north Nevada prison. Then he just becomes a number. The party life is over Amarr. Enjoy the 6x9. Maybe some of your ho's will visit you although in all liklihood they are already hooking up with a new scumbag pimp.
Here we go! This sorry individual, murderer will cost all of us a fortune to not only bring back for trial but to house his butt and provide expensive lawyers. This is where our justice systems fails.
Is the Governor's warrant issued by the State of California or Nevada?
This may just be an attemp to get a plea deal of some sort, I hope Clark county doesn't offer a plea deal there were too many people involved in catching this guy to just dismis the efforts put forth by those who sought him. There also comes a time when you should go all out to try this guy with the most you can get on the account that Tourist are watching and want to have some kind of closer if it were them. Trying to save the county money in this case would be a disservice to the residents.
After the trial if found guilty, execution.
Don't bend over in the shower Ammar.
Just another thug thinking he's something bad. Now he takes three lives but he doesn't have the guts to stand up and deal with the consequences. Not so bad now are you Ammar! Enjoy dragging this out because in the end, the Nevada State Pen is gonna be your new home. Get use to the idea. You deserve it.
Nevada prosecutors...don't drop the ball on this one. We're all watching.
Great specimen for the type of government most here support. More people like him on welfare and your tax dollars (those of us still working) pay to support all his "women" and all the kids he has fathered. Plus pay to prove he is who he is and to send him back here to face the music.
I guess I would be afraid to be him and have to ride back to Las Vegas in a Metro cop car. After all, that was one heck of a gun fight on the Strip and not one metro officer was invited to participate, They are a little upset at that...
There is a lot of open desert out there... Things can just happen on the way back t Las Vegas that can't be explained.
That's okay. We can wait. We've got time, and soon... he will too.
**Attention NV prosecutors,
You wanna help revive Vegas tourism? Get this guy and bring him to justice to the fullest extent of the law! Quickly! Show the public his actions will NOT be tolerated in our city.
If you can do that, I'll be sure to vote re-election for all of you.