LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The fatal shooting of a local bartender, 29-year-old Hope Ritter, in downtown Las Vegas has left many searching for answers.
Ritter, who worked as a bartender at Atomic Liquors, was fatally shot early Saturday, Feb. 15 while she sat in her parked car near 11th Street and Lewis Avenue.
Now, a new arrest report details the moments leading up to her death. This comes after the arrest of two individuals, 18-year-old Philip Strong and 20-year-old Charles Wright.
Crime
Police make arrests in fatal shooting of downtown Las Vegas bartender
According to the report, police video canvassed the area near the crime scene and other neighborhoods and established a timeline of events.
First, at around midnight Friday, police say the two suspects were spotted on video surveillance at the Circle K at 1140 E. Charleston Blvd., less than a mile from Atomic Liquors.
The suspects were seen walking south and entering the Wingstop restaurant at 1120 E. Charleston Blvd. Afterward, police say they went into Roberto's Taco Shop, where they ate.
At around 1:25 a.m., police say a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Fusion Watch camera captured the pair breaking into a car at the corner od East Clark Avenue and South 13th Street. After the first car break-in, they tried opening the doors of other cars in the area.
At 2 a.m., the two suspects were captured on video surveillance by a Tesla near 10th Street and Norman Avenue, investigators wrote. Police noted one of the suspects could be seen with a visible imprint of a handgun in their pocket.
Approximately 18 minutes later, they were spotted by surveillance video again at the Circle K on East Charleston, walking north on Maryland Parkway.
Later on, at 2:28 a.m., police say the two suspects were seen walking past Ritter's car.
At 2:31 a.m., two gunshots could be heard, with a visible flash near Ritter's door.
Afterward, police say the suspects were seen walking east on Charleston Boulevard, then south on 15th Street. Video also showed them running south on 15th Street. Officers noted police sirens could be heard in the background.
On Feb. 19, Wright was found and arrested by the LVMPD Criminal Apprehension Team.
Two days later, on Feb. 21, detectives arrested Strong and he was arrested at 2704 Daley St. in North Las Vegas.
Ritter, 29, was a warm and welcoming person who was beloved at Atomic Liquors, her boss told Channel 13 last week. She leaves behind a 10-year-old daughter.
"The staff has had a very difficult time getting back to normal, and you know, it won’t be normal for a very long time," Andrew Mendez told Channel 13. "Someone like that that’s left such an imprint on everyone down here; it’ll never go back to the way it was. No one is going to fully recover from this."
