Charges possible in shooting

The husband of a woman who was shot and killed by a police officer was arrested Tuesday on fugitive warrants from Tennessee and Texas _ eight days after Las Vegas police released him.

Michael Noblett, 23, was picked up Tuesday evening at a mobile home at 1624 S. Palm St. where he had been staying with an acquaintance for several days.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s SWAT team and detectives took Noblett into custody without incident. Detective Pete Beckman said he was found after police received several tips from people who read an article in the Review-Journal.

On Monday, Las Vegas police asked the district attorney’s office to charge Noblett with the murder of his wife and attempted murder of the police officer.

Noblett was a passenger in the car his 19-year-old wife, Rebecca Noblett, was driving when it struck a Las Vegas police officer outside the Out of State Check Cashing service at 511 E. Fremont St. on March 4.

Two police officers were inside the business when the manager told them Rebecca Noblett tried to pass a bad check. She ran outside and started to drive away, and her car hit officer James Carroll, 27, knocking him down. He then fired one shot at Rebecca Noblett.

She died at a local hospital on Saturday, a bullet lodged in her brain, after being taken off a respirator.

Authorities previously identified her by her maiden name, Rebecca Huff.

Kay Black, a spokeswoman for the Memphis, Tenn. Sheriff’s Department, said Michael Noblett is wanted on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

On Aug. 29, 1989, Black said, Tennessee authorities found 102 pounds of marijuana and 10 ounces of methamphetamine inside a car Noblett was driving.

Fort Worth, Texas, authorities said he is sought on a charge of a parole-probation violation stemming from a conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

On the night of his wife’s shooting Las Vegas police took Noblett into custody, but released him after questioning. Police said he and his wife had fake identification and he was not a suspect in a crime at that point. His fingerprints were not taken the night of the shooting.

Noblett told police he only knew the woman casually. Police later discovered she was his wife.

Members of Rebecca Noblett’s family blame Noblett for her death. Her brother, Charles Huff, 23, who lives in Fort Worth, said Noblett told a Las Vegas couple he was staying with that it was he who turned the wheel of the car toward the officer and stepped on the gas.

Huff said he can’t understand how Las Vegas police could let his brother-in-law walk away the night of the shooting.

"I know he had a fake I.D., but my God, you got a killing and somebody who tried to kill a cop. You would think they would have held him longer," he said.

Sgt. Bill Keeton said statements were taken from several witnesses the night of the shooting, but evidence did not surface until later that Rebecca Norblett’s death may have been a direct result of her husband’s actions.