21-year-old man booked in connection with fatal shooting
A 21-year-old was arrested Monday in connection with a fatal shooting last month.
Arion Harvey-Hawthorne was booked on one count of murder in connection with the death of Defrim Hoxha, 31, according to jail records.
Hoxha was shot in the back around 7:45 p.m. Sept. 3 on the 4300 block of Spring Mountain Road, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Video surveillance from a Circle K at the corner of Spring Mountain and Arville Street captured Hoxha and another man’s vehicles pulling into the parking lot.
A man was seen handing Hoxha a phone before the man took the phone back. Hoxha walked to his car and while backing out of his parking spot, the man appeared to reach into the passenger window and fire a gun into the car, according to a Metro arrest report.
Police used the license plate of the vehicle that the shooter drove away in to identify Harvey-Hawthorne as a suspect. He was captured on video taken on a body-worn camera during a traffic stop in April and he matched the person in the video surveillance footage, according to the report.
On Sunday night, an officer noticed the suspect’s vehicle, a silver Dodge Charger, driving on West Elkhorn Road at Dillseed Drive going 57 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone. During a traffic stop, the driver identified himself as Harvey-Hawthorne. A handgun was found during a search of the car, according to the report.
Homicide detectives interviewed him at Clark County Detention Center. He told police that Hoxha was selling him an iPhone and after giving Hoxha $600, Hoxha returned to his car and tried to leave with the iPhone. Harvey-Hawthorne said he tried to reach in to get his money back and shot at Hoxha when he saw him reach toward the floor of the car, according to the report.
He said he believed he was acting in self-defense but did not call the police or see Hoxha holding a knife or gun, according to the report.
Harvey-Hawthorne remains in Clark County Detention Center without bail and is due in court on Thursday. He faces one charge of open murder.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.
