DNA evidence leads to suspect in slaying outside restaurant
It was a homicide case that baffled detectives for nearly three months: no witnesses, a shaky motive, few leads.
But Las Vegas police would discover evidence that became a true "smoking" gun: in this case, a cigarette, carelessly tossed aside by the suspect just before the fatal shooting.
The cigarette was collected as evidence and contained the suspect’s DNA.
On Tuesday, police announced that Brandon J. Hill, 22, had been charged with murder in the March 30 slaying of Michael Alano Portaro, 22, outside the Tenaya Creek Brewery at 3101 N. Tenaya Way.
At a police news conference, Richard Portaro stood at a podium, choked back tears and thanked the officers involved in the case.
"I don’t think they could have done any better for us," Portaro said.
The grieving father was accompanied by two family members.
His wife, Cynthia, did not attend. The ordeal had been extraordinarily tough on the family, Portaro said.
"She doesn’t want to do this anymore, and neither do I," he said. "Now we’ve got to get ready for the trial."
Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said police first learned that Hill might have been involved in the Portaro case after a tip, but he did not elaborate.
Hill has been at Clark County Detention Center since May 19, when he was arrested in connection with an unrelated robbery from March 26, four days before Michael Portaro was killed.
Police did not release Hill’s mug shot on Tuesday.
After his May arrest, Hill was given a buccal swab to test his DNA.
On Monday, police said the swab matched the DNA found on the cigarette. And they said there was forensic evidence that linked Hill to Portaro’s stolen vehicle, which was recovered by police shortly after the shooting.
Roberts credited the detectives and patrol officers who relentlessly pounded the pavement for information.
Traffic checkpoints were conducted.
The surveillance tapes from the parking lot were released to the public, although they did not show many details.
"The video wasn’t exactly a quality that allowed us to identify a suspect at that point," Roberts said.
But one frame in the video showed the suspect with a cigarette in his mouth, which gave detectives hope that the cigarette they recovered might be linked to the shooting.
Roberts praised the outpouring of support from the community and the persistence of the family, who raised a $30,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.
Michael Portaro, a 2006 graduate of Faith Lutheran Junior/Senior High School, was in the bar’s parking lot selling tickets to a show at Daddy Mac’s restaurant in Henderson, where his hip-hop group, Ekoh, was to perform.
Although there were patrons in the bar during the shooting, nobody heard gunshots, police said. Portaro never set foot inside the bar.
Roberts said Hill has not confessed to the crime.
He added that Michael Portaro was definitely not doing anything criminal when he was killed.
This was a crime of opportunity, Roberts said.
"There’s nothing behind door number three. The victim was an innocent person in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
According to county records, Hill was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in 2008.
He was sentenced to two years of probation and community service. His probation later was revoked, and he was sentenced to a year in county jail with credit for 85 days served.
He is scheduled to appear in court today .
Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@review journal.com or 702-383-0283.
