In the winter of 2015, the life of 35-year-old Black/African American female Charlita Lashunda Carroll was tragically cut short in a violent encounter in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the evening of December 7th, police were called to an apartment on Jackson Avenue where they discovered a grim scene. Inside the small kitchen, Charlita, along with two men, Morty Cornell Young and DeAndre Leggett, had been shot and killed.
The coroner would later confirm that Charlita died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The initial investigation into the triple homicide pointed towards a "senseless" shooting, possibly connected to a drug-related robbery. Evidence found at the scene, including drug paraphernalia, supported this theory. Investigators determined there were no signs of a struggle, suggesting the victims were executed at close range with a handgun as they knelt or lay on the floor. Witnesses reported seeing a tall, thin man, approximately 6-foot-4 and dressed in black, running from the apartment shortly after the shooting. An older model red or burgundy van with a tan stripe was also seen leaving the area.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the FBI Violent Crime Task Force, pursued leads in what was described as an extremely violent crime. For months, the suspect remained at large. Then, in March 2016, a breakthrough came with the arrest of 38-year-old Gerald Pointer in Chicago on unrelated charges. Investigators connected him to the Las Vegas triple homicide.
Pointer, who had previously used the alias Leroy Greenwood while an inmate at High Desert State Prison, was subsequently indicted by a grand jury. The charges against him were extensive, including three counts of murder with a deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of a firearm, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The indictment alleged that Pointer had robbed the apartment, stealing money and/or cocaine before shooting the three victims. Following his indictment, he was held at the Clark County Detention Center to await court proceedings.
