Published Thursday, June 22, 2017 | 8:27 a.m.
Updated Thursday, June 22, 2017 | 6:05 p.m.
Detectives are trying to determine if a man’s body found inside a blazing car this morning is connected to a nearby bar robbery in which the suspects wore masks, according to Metro Police.
Officers were first dispatched at 4:34 a.m. to the Five Star Tavern, 2425 N. Rainbow Blvd., near Smoke Ranch Road, police said. At least two masked suspects wearing bandannas robbed a bartender, two patrons and the establishment, Metro Lt. Dan McGrath told reporters in a briefing broadcast online.
Six minutes later, firefighters responded to a residential neighborhood less than a mile north from the bar, in the 6600 block of Castor Tree Way, police said. There they found a sedan engulfed in flames with what appeared to be a man’s badly burned body behind the steering wheel.
The burned car — a light-colored, newer-model, four-door Volkswagen Jetta — matched the description of the car the suspects in the robbery used to get away, although the incidents hadn’t been officially linked as of this evening, police said.
According to investigators, the car was seen in the neighborhood at least 40 minutes prior to the fire, police said. A dark-colored SUV with custom rims also was in the area just before the car was set to flames.
There was one report of "pops" heard before the fire, but detectives this morning couldn’t tell if the body had been shot, McGrath said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro at 702-828-3521 or by email at [email protected]. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppersofnv.com. Tips leading directly to an arrest or indictment processed through Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a cash reward.
