Police still seek break in 2007 cold-case slaying

Yellow strings dangle from the branches of a young tree outside a Las Vegas Valley church. ¶ It’s a modest symbol with deep meaning: that although the day of his slaying is more than a decade removed, detectives haven’t forgotten about Michael W. Lucas. ¶ Lucas’ life ended with two gunshots on Aug. 9, 2007. Officers responding to reports of early-morning blasts in the 1600 block of D Street arrived to find his body in the yard of a vacant house. ¶ A gunman was never identified, and investigative leads have been exhausted, but detectives haven’t given up.

The killing of the 42-year-old was highlighted in a remembrance ceremony of sorts last week at Liberty Baptist Church.

A group of officers, volunteers and clergy, who carried “Justice for Families” posters displaying Lucas’ photo, flanked Metro Police Lt. Hector Cintron.

The cop directed his eyes to a camera: “The case has gone cold but definitely not forgotten,” Cintron said, as he outlined the details of the case and sought the public’s help.

“It could be that one piece of information that moves this case forward and gets it solved,” Cintron said.

Lucas was last seen with a black man in his early 30s, who stood about 5 feet, 6 inches, and wore a checkered-pattern shirt and brown pants. After the shooting, he reportedly fled in a small brown pickup truck with an extended cab, possibly a Ford, police said.

PHOTOS BY YASMINA CHAVEZ Metro Police volunteer Ana Coates ties a yellow ribbon to a tree Dec. 13 at the Liberty Baptist Church during a Justice for Families ceremony in honor of Michael W. Lucas, whose 2007 death remains unsolved.

A Justice for Families poster with a photo of Lucas asks, “Do you know who killed me?”