2 Sought in Deaths of Pizza Workers Arrested in Vegas

A couple suspected of killing a pizza deliveryman in Glendale and of earlier gunning down two employees of the same restaurant chain in South Carolina were arrested without incident early Wednesday by police detectives in Las Vegas.

Tipped by a citizen who recognized the pair’s photographs from news reports, detectives arrested Mitchell Carlton Sims, 25, and Ruby Padgett, 20, shortly before 2 a.m. at the Stevens Motel and Apartments on Las Vegas’ northern fringes.

When police knocked on the couple’s door, Sims made no attempt to hide his identity, even though he had checked into the motel Dec. 11 under the name of “Jeff Richardson,� according to Carrie Miller, assistant manager of the motel.

Miller said Sims calmly announced to police, “I’m Mitchell Carlton Sims.�

Turned Around

Then, Miller said, Sims turned around and placed his hands behind his back without being asked so that officers could handcuff him.

Inside the motel room, police said, they found a firearm.

Sims and Padgett were charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office with murder and robbery after the Dec. 10 slaying of Domino’s Pizza deliveryman John Steven Harrigan, 21, whose body was found in a room at the Regal Lodge in downtown Glendale. Police believe the pair lured Harrigan to their room, robbed and killed him and then went to the pizza restaurant in Glendale. There, they allegedly stole $2,000 and left two employees bound hand and foot.

Las Vegas police had been on the lookout for the pair since Saturday, when a red pickup truck stolen from Harrigan was found outside a casino.

Sims and Padgett also were wanted in connection with the Dec. 3 shooting deaths of two employees at a Domino’s restaurant in Hanahan, S.C., where Sims once worked.

Extradition Plans

Authorities in both Hanahan and Glendale said Wednesday that they plan to extradite the couple, should they refuse to return to South Carolina and California.

It was not immediately clear which state would have first claim on them. However, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Thate said Wednesday that the state that files its extradition request first stands the best chance of bringing the couple to trial first.

The California filings against Sims and Padgett include three allegations of special circumstances--torture, lying in wait and murder during a robbery--which mean the couple could face the death penalty if convicted.

Glendale Police Sgt. Edward DeSario said two Glendale officers were sent to Las Vegas Wednesday to positively identify the pair. The suspects have already been identified by two employees of the Glendale restaurant through photographs, according to Glendale police.

Interview Pair

In Hanahan, a city of about 15,000, Police Chief M. C. Bellew said his 17-member department also planned to send an officer to interview Sims and Padgett.

Bellew said Sims managed a Domino’s restaurant in Columbia, S.C., before resigning and moving to North Charleston, which borders Hanahan. Sims took a job as a delivery driver for a Domino’s in Hanahan and quit about two weeks before the Dec. 3 double homicide, Bellew said.

In the South Carolina homicides, both victims were bound with telephone cords and shot with a .25-caliber pistol, Bellew said.

Gary Dean Melke, 24, died of a bullet to the head. The other victim, Christopher Leroy Zerr, also 24, was shot four times in the head and neck yet managed to drive to a nearby police station. Zerr died four days after being wounded, but not before identifying the squat, heavyset Sims as his attacker, Bellew said.

Bellew said Hanahan investigators believe that Padgett also played an as-yet undetermined role in the double homicide, even though Zerr identified only Sims.

Establish Motive

Authorities in both Glendale and Hanahan said they have yet to establish a motive for the three killings.

“(Sims) might have been upset at (Domino’s),� Bellew said. “It’s not clear at this time.�

It could not be determined Wednesday who, if anyone, would receive a $100,000 reward that Domino’s Pizza officials offered for information leading to the arrest of the wanted couple.