LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Speaking from jail Wednesday, a Las Vegas teenager accused of murdering three people was insistent he was not responsible, though police said DNA evidence ties the 19-year-old to the crimes.
Alonzo “AJ” Brown is accused of shooting and killing three men in January, May and June.
Brown lived extremely close to the May and June homicide scenes, police wrote in court documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained earlier this year. Police described the distance as fewer than 300 feet near Tropicana Avenue and Nellis Boulevard in the east valley.
“A normal, sane 18-year-old kid is not going to go ahead and wake up and go on a killing spree,” Brown said from jail Wednesday.
Police suspect Brown shot and killed 62-year-old Paul Viana at a bus stop on May 4. On June 23, police believe Brown shot and killed 36-year-old Josue Chaparro-Montalvo.
Last week, investigators announced Brown was a suspect in a January killing. In that case, police suspect Brown shot and killed Tevin Alhashemi, 26.
Police suspect Brown and Alhashemi knew each other and had an altercation prior to Alhashemi’s murder. The May and June homicides were random, police said.
“You are telling me that you are not the person who killed these three men?” Charns asked Brown.
“No, sir I’m not,” Brown said.
Police reviewed body camera video from a hit-and-run crash from last year involving Brown at the Whitney Library, they said. The body camera video showed Brown wearing similar clothing as in the May and June homicides, investigators said.
“What’s your message to people who are going to see this who think you are an alleged serial killer?” 8 News Now Investigator David Charns asked Brown.
“I’m surely not an accused serial killer,” Brown. “I’m just a 19-year-old young man trying to figure out life.”
Witnesses reported seeing a man, later identified as Brown, running through the area after the June shooting, police said. As part of their investigation, officers found a puffy jacket and white gloves nearby. Officers also found a pair of black jeans, they said.
Police reviewed surveillance video from the area, which they said showed Brown wearing the found clothing. Brown was following a man who had exited a nearby convenience store. Video also showed Brown running and taking off his jeans, they said.
Brown said Wednesday the jacket was not his, though a family member had told police it was.
“The dude lives in the neighborhood that was wearing the jacket,” Brown said. “The dude lives in the neighborhood — just imagine me walking down the street — him walking down the street, ‘Hey man that jacket’s nice, let me buy that jacket off you.’”
“If you didn’t do it, who did?” Charns asked.
“I wouldn’t feel right putting the person’s name out there,” Brown said.
During his arrest in June, officers retrieved a gun from Brown’s underwear and another gun in his backpack, they said. Police also found a ski mask matching prior video surveillance, they said.
Brown did not deny owning the two guns. Police said evidence at the May and June crime scenes is connected to one of Brown’s guns. It was unclear Wednesday if the January homicide is believed to have been committed with the same weapon.
With life in prison or the death penalty on the table should a jury convict Brown, the teenager remained insistent.
“It’s strange because why would an 18-year-old kid, who has nothing besides speeding tickets, just wake up one day and say, ‘Well, you know what, let me go ahead, let me go ahead and do a homicide,’” he said.
Brown was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. His trial is scheduled to begin next year.