Family, friends want answers in fatal shooting of Las Vegas man
After Randall Johnson was shot and killed Thursday night, his family and friends were left to wonder what led to the argument that turned deadly.
Johnson’s cousin and family friend identified him as the victim of a homicide Thursday night, where the 49-year-old was allegedly shot and killed by Cleveland Haddicks, 41, in front of a home in a far east Las Vegas Valley residential area.
As of Friday, the Clark County coroner’s office had not officially identified Johnson.
Haddicks, who was arrested and faces a charge of murder and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, was the ex-husband of Johnson’s new girlfriend, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
“People have to answer some questions for sure,” Ron Frazier said in an interview with the Review-Journal on Saturday. “We want everything to come out and what happened and why this man died.”
Frazier said he was the brother of Johnson’s ex-girlfriend, who had dated Johnson for 17 years. The couple broke up over the summer but remained in contact, and Frazier was still close with the man.
“You get 17 years in, you’re family,” Frazier said about Johnson.
Frazier said he didn’t know much about the woman his friend had recently started dating.
“She’s kind of the common link in all this,” he said.
Complicated crime scene
Johnson, 49, was found dead Thursday night after officers were called about 8:50 p.m. to the 6400 block of Za Zu Pitts Avenue, in the Hollywood Ranch neighborhood near Hollywood Boulevard and Vegas Valley Drive. A “pre-teen” child called 911 to report the shooting, homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said during a news briefing Thursday night.
After working Thursday night to unravel an “extremely complicated” crime scene, detectives determined that the fight between the men unfolded when Haddicks knocked on the door of the home, and Johnson answered the door, Spencer said.
Haddicks was spotted in the area, by a police helicopter, before patrol officers arrived in the neighborhood.
“They saw the suspect, and they basically guided the patrol units into the area using the helicopter spotlight,” Spencer said. “And that’s when the suspect was taken into custody.”
Shanel Montez, 32, told the Review-Journal on Sunday that Johnson had been her fiance since April. She described him as a “family-oriented” man who loved her sons.
Montez said she divorced Haddicks in March 2018. She said she was at work Thursday night while Johnson was watching her 7-year-old and 9-year-old sons, and Haddicks arrived at the home.
She claimed that Haddicks came to the home because he was jealous and had threatened her in the past.
Her 9-year-old son called 911 after an argument broke out between the two men, Montez said.
“He was on the phone with me saying ‘mommy someone’s banging on our door,” Montez said. “He’s saying, ‘mommy they’re arguing, mommy they’re shooting.’”
Montez said her children have been nervous and scared since witnessing the shooting.
“It’s very hard for me to tell them that daddy is gone,” she said.
Frazier said that Johnson, Haddicks and Haddicks’ ex-wife all worked at Timet, a titanium-producing facility in Henderson. He didn’t know what may have lead up to a fight between the two men.
“I think that’s why both families, the Johnson family and obviously Cleveland’s family, are trying to figure out what happened,” he said, later adding, “Randall can’t tell his side of the story because he’s no longer here.”
Haddicks remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Saturday without bail. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
Smart, compassionate man
Johnson’s cousin, 49-year-old Jason Mizell, said Saturday that Johnson grew up in Louisiana. He described his cousin as a smart, loving and compassionate person.
“He’s a person that’s very nice,” Mizell said. “I don’t just say that because he’s a victim of a crime, I say that because in general, he’s a nice person.”
He said Johnson’s extended family in Houston and Louisiana are all grieving the sudden loss.
“It was a crime that I feel like my family member didn’t deserve,” Mizell said.
Frazier said Johnson is survived by his daughter, 18-year-old Makayla Johnson, as well as a 25-year-old stepdaughter and a 23-year-old stepson.
He said Johnson was a reserved man with “his funny moments” who had a stubborn streak. Frazier trains boxers, and when Johnson asked for Frazier to help him work out, Frazier said the other man had to stop smoking first.
So Johnson trained himself instead and never stopped smoking, Frazier said with a laugh.
Frazier said Johnson’s family has been angry and in shock since Thursday night.
“A random act of violence — it’s hard to wrap your head around that,” he said.
This story has been updated from a previous version.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.