Paul Stitt, a 41-year-old Caucasian male, had traded his life as the frontman for a heavy metal band for a quieter existence in Las Vegas, Nevada. Formerly known as Paul Vee, the lead singer of the 1990s Denver-based band Angellic Rage, he had once opened for major acts like Iron Maiden. By the summer of 2008, however, his days were spent working as a clerk at the Liquor Outlet on North Nellis Boulevard, a job that earned him $9 an hour.
He had expressed to his half-brother, Paul Smith, that working alone at night made him nervous.
On the evening of July 8, 2008, those fears tragically materialized. At around 9:20 p.m., police discovered Stitt deceased behind the counter, the victim of a single gunshot wound to the head. Surveillance footage captured the moments two men entered the store. After Stitt returned from a cigarette break, the two individuals followed him inside, and one was seen drawing a gun. Investigators believe the gun may have discharged accidentally during the robbery. The assailants fled with an undisclosed sum of money from the cash register.
The suspects were described as two men in their twenties, standing between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot tall, with a medium build. They were seen wearing oversized white shirts and dark pants. One wore a dark baseball cap with a "C" emblem, similar to a Chicago Bears logo, while the other wore a cap with a "D," resembling that of the Detroit Tigers. Witnesses reported seeing two African-American men running from the store, hopping over a wall, and escaping in a dark-colored Crown Victoria. Despite the circulation of surveillance footage and continued investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, no arrests were ever made, and the suspects remain at large.
