Prosecutors: Summerlin backyard intruder was killed in self-defense District attorney’s office closes case on March 20 shooting

Backyard intruder killed

A Summerlin resident acted in self-defense and will not be charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed backyard intruder last month, officials at the Clark County district attorney’s office determined.

The screening unit at the district attorney’s office, which reviews all incoming cases, made the determination April 12, closing the case, Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens said.

The shooting happened the morning of March 20 in the 2100 block of Spurs Court, near Hualapai Way and Sahara Avenue. The resident, who called 911, told Metro Police he fired shots at a backyard intruder, later identified as 19-year-old Demarcus Carter, who the resident believed was trying to break into his home.

The Clark County coroner’s office determined Carter died from multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Owens said evidence — including that Carter was shot on the front of his body — supported the resident’s claim that he felt threatened by the suspect. The resident, whose identity has not been released, said Carter continued attempting to enter the home after the two made eye contact, Owens said.

Witnesses reported seeing Carter acting suspiciously in the neighborhood that morning, ringing random doorbells and appearing to leave if someone was home, Owens said.

“He had been seen by neighbors casing other homes,” Owens said, adding that none of those people called police. “He had tried to ring the shooter’s doorbell several times to try to get the homeowner to answer.”

The resident works from home and decided not to answer the doorbell, but a subsequent noise in the backyard piqued his interest, Owens said. The man grabbed his gun as he went downstairs and peeked through a curtain covering a sliding-glass door to the backyard.

The resident saw the “suspect on his knees trying to open the sliding-glass door to make entry,” Owens said.

The two men locked eyes, but the homeowner said the suspect continued trying to enter. At that point, the homeowner “shot him through the glass,” Owens said. Carter was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police did not find any weapons in Carter’s possession, Owens said.

“The injuries to the suspect were consistent with (him) being shot in the front,” indicating Carter was advancing and not retreating when the homeowner shot him, Owens said. “The police thought this was self-defense.”

To reach the backyard, Carter had to climb over a 6- to 8-foot wall because a padlocked gate blocked access, Owens said. Investigators found pry marks on the home’s front door as well as a removed window screen in the backyard.

Nevada law gives greater latitude for people to use deadly force if they feel threatened by someone entering their habitation, Owens said.

Carter was on probation after a December conviction of burglary, possessing a stolen vehicle and grand larceny, Owens said. Records show that Carter already had broken that probation once before the March 20 incident.