The suspect in last week's triple slaying on the Las Vegas Strip has been arrested in the Los Angeles area, the Clark County District Attorney's Office said on Thursday.
Ammar Harris, 26, was taken into custody in the San Fernando Valley community of North Hollywood on Thursday morning after being followed by a task force of local, state and federal officials, police said.
Harris had been the subject of a manhunt since Feb. 21 when he allegedly fired a gun from a moving vehicle on the Vegas Strip, killing Oakland rapper Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr. aka Kenny Clutch, officials said.
Cherry was behind the wheel of a Maserati when he was shot and crashed into a taxicab which subsequently exploded, killing the driver and the 48-year old passenger.
At a press conference in Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon, Clark County District Attorney Steven B. Wolfson said the case was the worst he had seen in his 32-year career.
“I can’t imagine anything much more serious than firing a weapon from a moving vehicle into another moving vehicle on a corner such as Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo," Wolfson said. "It is reckless. It disregards human life.
“Thank God only three people lost their lives … it could’ve been worse.”
Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said the suspect does not reflect the values of Las Vegas.
“If you live in this city, work in this city, visit this city and you act like this person, we will find you, we will prosecute you and we will send you to prison,” Gillespie said.
Harris is believed to have left Nevada after the shooting and was believed to have been hiding out in a friend's North Hollywood apartment, authorities said.
Police accuse the suspect of being the driver of a Range Rover from which gunfire erupted, killing the 27-year-old rapper.
Harris could be seen online boasting about the stacks of money that have come his way thanks to being a pimp, according to reports.
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In one video, Harris "flashes a thick stack" of $100 bills.
In a Web posting, he boasts of the flock of women at his home, all of whom are working for him.
In another, he talks about the birthday party he is organizing on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean, replete with a $1,000 bikini contest, the Associated Press reported.
Harris is expected to appear in court to face an extradition hearing to Las Vegas where he faces three counts of murder and other felonies, Wolfson said.
NBC4 Staffer Samantha Tata contributed to this report.
