Las Vegas ‘Road Rage’ Suspect Makes First Court Appearance
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@LVMPD/Twitter(LAS VEGAS) — The 19-year-old accused of murder after a reported road rage incident in Las Vegas made his first court appearance Monday, after his lawyer said in an exclusive interview that his client was acting in self-defense and that no road rage occurred.
Erich Nowsch Jr. is charged with murder, attempted murder and illegal discharge of a gun in the death of Tammy Meyers. He was arrested Thursday.
Nowsch did not speak after an officer ushered him into a Las Vegas courtroom Monday morning. He was shackled at the waist and wearing a blue prison uniform, with tattoos showing on his chest beneath a v-neck collar and on his arms. He did not speak.
The court scheduled a preliminary hearing for March 10 at 9 a.m., after a lawyer for Nowsch told Judge Conrad Hafen he needed time to subpoena additional evidence in the case, including video recordings.
There was no discussion of bail or a plea.
Defense attorney Conrad Claus told ABC News earlier in an exclusive interview that Nowsch — not Meyers — may have been the target the night of the shooting, Feb. 12.
“The facts seem to point to self-defense in this situation,” Claus told ABC News in an exclusive interview. “It seems to explain the facts we have in front of us more sensibly than any other explanation.”
According to a police report released Friday, there were two shooting scenes.
Police said Nowsch told friends he felt threatened as he watched Meyers and her 15-year-old daughter take part in a driving lesson. According to the report, Nowsch jumped in a friend’s silver Audi and followed Meyers and her daughter.
The Audi’s driver cut off the mother and daughter and got out of the car, telling Meyers, “I’m gonna come back for you and your daughter,” according to the police report.
That’s when police said Meyers went home and picked up her son Brandon, who was armed with a gun, and went out to find the driver who threatened her.
According to the police report, Meyers and her son approached the vehicle Nowsch was in and Nowsch opened fire.
Tammy and Brandon Meyers then retreated back to their home, where Nowsch allegedly opened fire again, fatally shooting Tammy Meyers. She died at a hospital two days later.
Nowsch admitted to friends that he fired a total of 22 shots that night, police said.
After the arrest of Nowsch — who lived near the Meyers’ home — Meyers’ husband, Bob Meyers, revealed that his wife knew the teen suspect and even “fed him, she gave him money.”
“We know this boy. I couldn’t tell you this before. He knew where I lived,” Bob Meyers told reporters outside his house Thursday. “We knew how bad he was, but we didn’t know he was this bad, that he’s gotten to this point.”
Police said they only learned of the Meyers’ personal connection to Nowsch hours before the arrest.
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