Two killings draw focus to skinheads

They don't make headlines the way black, Hispanic and biker gangs do, but skinheads have a hold in the Las Vegas valley.

Their shaved heads draw almost as much attention as their typically tattooed and pierced bodies. Clothing varies, but philosophical ideologies are the ties that bind them in their brotherhood.

And until this weekend, they could have continued passing almost unnoticed in this bustling city. That is, until the spotlight shined on the fact that two bodies found in the northwest desert just 150 yards apart were members of the Las Vegas Unity Skins.

Metro Police homicide investigators have yet to find the killer responsible for shooting Lin "Spit" Newborn, 25, and Daniel Shersty, 20.

But the fact that Shersty and Newborn belonged to what police have identified as a more passive, non-racist skinhead group -- and one that has been attacked in the past by a militant, racist brotherhood -- has left investigators with another avenue to follow up.

"It's another option for us," said homicide Sgt. Ken Hefner, explaining that interviews with friends and family of the victims has yet to confirm the possibility that a rival skinhead gang could be responsible.

Shersty was white, and Newborn was black -- unusual only because the "skinhead" label is more commonly identified with those advocating white supremacy.

The more hardcore white supremicist, skinhead brethren also have a place in the valley.

Yet aside from delineating between the passives and the militants, Metro is challenged to put a solid figure on how many skinheads exist in the valley.

"They are a hidden subculture," said Sgt. Mike Bunker of Metro's Intelligence Services Section. "When speaking of a hidden subculture, numbers are nebulous things."

Skinheads, by their nature, are typically confrontational, and equally mistrusting of authority figures, Bunker said.

In Las Vegas, however, neither the militant nor the passive types have done much to draw attention from the community or police.

"The active movement of skinheads within the Las Vegas valley is very low," Bunker said. "They are relatively small in number and relatively inactive."

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