Prosecutors Investigating Additional Suspects in LV Shooting
Courtroom testimony from prosecution officials indicates that law enforcement is investigating additional suspects in the Las Vegas massacre, KVVU-TV reported.
The revelation came during a Tuesday hearing in a Las Vegas courtroom as prosecutors tried to keep some evidence in the massacre sealed from the press; according to KVVU, “lawyers for multiple media outlets argued why information pertaining to 1 October (the date of the attack) is crucial to helping Las Vegas heal.”
However, Las Vegas Metro Police said the information couldn’t be released because additional suspects are being investigated.
“Without naming names, there are potential charges against other people, because of the ongoing investigation?” District Court Judge Elissa Cadish asked Metro Police lawyer Nick Crosby during the hearing.
“Yes, there are charges being investigated,” Crosby said.
The lawyers for the media were seeking information about the massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival last fall, including what weapons shooter Stephen Paddock had in his suite or videos he allegedly shot in his room inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.
Police say that because of the possibility of new suspects, the results of the search warrants or the evidence seized from them ought to be kept from the public.
Media lawyers, meanwhile, questioned what evidence or charges were being considered by Metro Police or other officials.
“Are they investigating obstruction of justice?” Lawyer Craig Island asked. “Lies to Metro under oath from Mandalay Bay employees? Is it people who sold (Paddock) the guns or ammunition? Or did someone have knowledge of what he was going to do?
“Now (Metro Police) are just having us speculate more and more and more,” he added.
The admission from Metro Police that other suspects might be under investigation was the second major piece of news to emerge in the past week about the mass shooting that killed 58 concertgoers.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a U.S. District Court judge in Las Vegas released 300 pages of documents revealing the existence of cryptic email messages between two accounts linked to Paddock and that the fingerprints of Paddock’s girlfriend were found on bullets used in the massacre.
Marilou Dantley, Paddock’s girlfriend, had told investigators her fingerprints would likely be on the bullets because she occasionally helped Paddock load the magazines. While never arrested, Dantley was named as a “person of interest” in the shooting.
The other revelation, according to the Times, were strange messages between two email accounts allegedly both belonging to Paddock.
“The warrants released Friday also produced a puzzling email exchange that Paddock appeared to have with himself,” the Times reported.
“One instance where investigators identified two email account attached to him —
CentralPark4804@gmail.com and CenterPark1@live.com — an exchange began with ‘Try an ar before u buy. We have a huge selection. Located in the Las Vegas area.’
“Later that day, an email was received back from CentralPark4804@gmail.com that read ‘we have a wide variety of optics and ammunition to try.’
“Then Paddock sent an email to CentralPark4804@gmail.com that read: ‘for a thrill try out bumpfire ar’s with 100 round magazine.’”
That information — combined with the revelation that authorities continue to look at suspects in the massacre — are no doubt going to yet another curve into a case where there’s still no clear motive and few answers.
H/T KTIC-TV
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