Second Suspect in North Las Vegas killing Died During Barricade
Marcella Patterson was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on September 4th, facing charges of open murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, and third-degree arson. Her arrest stems from the investigation into the death of a man found inside a burned SUV on Mary Dee Avenue on August 17th.
According to an arrest report, law enforcement was initially seeking another suspect, whose name has been redacted, believing he had fled to California. Though, on September 4th, the FBI’s Criminal Apprehension Team located Patterson and this unnamed individual near the Silver Sevens casino around 1:00 a.m.
When officers attempted to arrest the pair, the man barricaded himself inside a vehicle, also preventing Patterson from leaving. After approximately two hours, ”he continued to refuse to exit the vehicle and instead made the decision to inflict a single gunshot wound to [his] head,” police stated in the report.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the man as 41-year-old Myron Jackson. His death was ruled a suicide resulting from a gunshot wound to the head, according to a county spokesperson.
Investigators believe Jackson may have been the individual who shot the victim and set the SUV ablaze.
The arrest report details that a freind of the victim told police the man received a disturbing phone call shortly before leaving his friend’s home on the night of August 16th. Cell phone records indicate the victim afterward met with Patterson and a third person – possibly Jackson – prior to his death. At some point before the SUV was discovered,the victim’s phone was either turned off,placed in airplane mode,or broken.
Surveillance footage from the scene showed a person wearing a black beanie, white shirt, and black shorts wiping down the exterior of the SUV, “presumably for fingerprints.” Patterson’s vehicle was also observed in the area,and police say she and the other man left together,abandoning the smoking SUV.
In a post-arrest interview, Patterson confirmed she drove the other man away from Mary Dee Avenue. When asked why she hadn’t contacted police after learning about the body found in the SUV, she “could not provide an explanation,” the report states.She also acknowledged seeing news coverage of the incident, stating, “she did see the news of the vehicle and knew about the body found inside.”
