December murder trial for Strip shooting suspect to follow September rape trial

By Bethany Barnes

Monday, July 15, 2013 | 11:51 a.m.

A trial date has been set for the man accused in a shooting and car crash on the Las Vegas Strip that left three people dead.

Ammar Harris, 27, appeared Monday in Clark County District Court, shackled and wearing orange mittens so that he would not be able to grab or pick up anything that could help him escape. The mittens are standard for anyone deemed a high-risk transport, said Officer Larry Hadfield, a Metro Police spokesman. Special emergency response team officers also escorted Harris into court because of his status.

The trial — in which the District Attorney's Office plans to pursue the death penalty — was set to begin Dec. 2. In setting the trial date, Clark County District Judge Kathleen Delaney acknowledged prosecutors' concern the holiday season could make it tricky to secure jurors and witnesses. But Delaney said she thought everyone involved could make it work.

Harris faces three charges of first-degree murder and one charge of attempted murder for the carnage that ensued in the early morning hours of Feb. 21. Police reports and court records say Harris got into an argument in the valet area of the Aria with Kenneth Cherry Jr. After the two drove off in separate vehicles, Harris is accused of shooting at Cherry’s car as the two were driving north on Las Vegas Boulevard. Cherry subsequently lost control of the car and slammed into a cab, causing it to explode.

Cherry died, as did cab driver Michael Boldon, 62, and Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, a businesswoman from Maple Valley, Wash., who was riding in the cab.

Freddy Walters, a passenger in Cherry’s car, was shot but survived.

Harris will appear in court before the murder trial for an unrelated rape case stemming from a 2010 incident for which Harris is facing felony sexual assault and robbery charges. The alleged victim resurfaced after the Strip shooting and subsequent manhunt for Harris. That case is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 9, also in Delaney's court.