Las Vegas Strip Shooting Suspect Arrested in Los Angeles

Ammar Harris is the prime suspect in an attack that left three people dead.

ByABC News
February 28, 2013, 10:18 AM

Feb. 28, 2013 — -- The fugitive wanted for the Las Vegas Strip attack that killed rapper Kenny Clutch in his Maserati and two other people in a taxi has been arrested in Los Angeles, according to police.

Ammar Harris was taken into custody in North Hollywood, Calif., today, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

"Harris was arrested without incident and will be transported to the LAPD Metro Detention Center to await extradition proceedings," police said in a statement.

Police are expected to hold a news conference tonight to provide more information.

Harris, 26, was the subject of a nationwide manhunt that began after the Feb. 21 shooting that left the three people dead and several others wounded.

An arrest warrant for Harris was issued and he was considered, according to police, "absolutely armed and dangerous."

Harris' lengthy rap sheet includes charges of pandering with the use of force, robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping, according to ABC News' Las Vegas affiliate KTNV.

An argument between Harris and Clutch, 27, whose legal name was Kenneth Cherry Jr., originated in the valet area of a Las Vegas hotel, police said.

Police said Harris fired several rounds into the Maserati that was being driven by Cherry as both vehicles continued northbound on glitzy Las Vegas Boulevard.

The rapper's expensive sports car careened out of control after he was shot, slamming into several cars, including a taxi. The impact caused the cab to burst into flames, killing the driver, Michael Boldon, and a female passenger identified as Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash. Witnesses said it looked like the car exploded.

A passenger in the Maserati suffered a minor injury to his arm. Clutch died at University Medical Center.

The SUV allegedly driven by Harris was found Saturday in the garage of a gated apartment complex where police believe Harris was living.

Earlier today, police said they located and interviewed a woman, Tineesha Lashun Howard, they identified as a person of interest in the case and that she was no longer a person of interest.

Howard's criminal record includes arrests for soliciting prostitution, trespass, possession of a stolen vehicle and grand larceny trick roll, which is when a prostitute steals money or other property from a customer.

Howard, 22, is also known as Yenesis Alfonzo, police said.

"Yenesis Alfonzo is no longer a person of interest because she was located and interviewed by LVMPD detectives in another state last night at approximately 8:30 p.m. Pacific time," police said in a news release today. "Alfonzo has confirmed that she was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting."

Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The news came after an apparent police mix-up with the photos of Howard released by authorities. On Wednesday, police released four photos they said showed Howard. One was a mug shot and the other three were candid photos that showed a woman with Harris.

However, two of the candid photos turned out to be a Florida woman and reality TV star named Tasha Malek who said she knew Harris but was not at all involved in the shooting.

Malek, 25, said she had left Miami to go on vacation in the Bahamas and did not even know there had been a shooting in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, she received a phone call from a friend saying that her photo was all over the news.

"I just Googled 'Vegas news' and I saw Harris' picture and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I know him,'" Malek told ABCNews.com. "So then I clicked the link and all of my pictures pop up and I'm like, 'What is going on?'"

The next morning, Malek woke up to more than 60 missed calls from concerned family and friends.