39 minute read
2023 Top Dentists
This list is excerpted from the 2023 topDentists™ list, a database which includes listings for more than 140 dentists and specialists in the Las Vegas metro area. This list is based on hundreds of detailed evaluations of dentists and professionals by their peers. The complete database is available at www.usatopdentists.com. For more information call 706-364-0853; write PO Box 970, Augusta, GA 30903; email help@usatopdentists.com or visit www.usatopdentists.com.
Selection Process
"If you had a patient in need of a dentist, which dentist would you refer them to?"
This is the question we've asked thousands of dentists to help us determine who the topDentists should be. Dentists and specialists are asked to take into consideration years of experience, continuing education, manner with patients, use of new techniques and technologies and of course physical results.
The nomination pool of dentists consists of dentists listed online through the American Dental Association, as well as all dentists listed online with their local dental societies, thus allowing virtually every dentist the opportunity to participate. Dentists are also given the opportunity to nominate other dentists that they feel should be included in our list. Respondents are asked to put aside any personal bias or political motivations and to use only their knowledge of their peer's work when evaluating the other nominees. Voters are asked to individually evaluate the practitioners on their ballot whose work they are familiar with. Once the balloting is completed, the scores are compiled and then averaged. The numerical average required for inclusion varies depending on the average for all the nominees within the specialty and the geographic area. Borderline cases are given careful consideration by the editors. Voting characteristics and comments are taken into consideration while making decisions. Past awards a dentist has received and status in various dental academies can play a factor in our decision.
Once the decisions have been finalized, the included dentists are checked against state dental boards for disciplinary actions to make sure they have an active license and are in good standing with the board. Then letters of congratulations are sent to all the listed dentists.
Of-course there are many fine dentists who are not included in this representative list. It is intended as a sampling of the great body of talent in the field of dentistry in Nevada. A dentist’s inclusion on our list is based on the subjective judgments of his or her fellow dentists. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, we remain confident that our polling methodology largely corrects for any biases and that these lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate, and useful list of dentists available anywhere.
DISCLAIMER This list is excerpted from the 2023 topDentists™ list, which includes listings of more than 140 dentists and specialists in Southern Nevada. For more information call: 706-364-0853 or email: help@usatopdentists.com or visit: www.usatopdentists.com topDentists has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. Copyright 2011-2023 by topDentists, LLC, Augusta, GA. All rights reserved. This list, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without permission of topDentists. No fees may be charged, directly or indirectly, for the use of the information in this list without permission.
Christine C. Ancajas
UNLV School of Dental Medicine, 1001 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas, NV, 702-212-5889, christine. ancajas@unlv.edu, unlv.edu
Specialty: General Dentistry
David A. Arpin Desert Dental Specialists, 7520 W Sahara Blvd., Suite 1, Las Vegas, NV, 702-384-7200, dds@lvcoxmail.com, dds-lv.com
Specialty: Periodontics Cosmetic Dentistry
Stanley S. Askew Island Dental Center, 9750 Covington Cross Drive, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-341-7979, islanddentalcenter@yahoo.com, islanddentalcenter.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Steven A. Avena 3117 W Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV, 702-384-1210, avenadr@yahoo.com, stevenavenadds.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Stacie Baalbaky Elite Family Dental 7835 S Rainbow Blvd., Suite 28, Las Vegas, NV, 702-898-8448, elitefamilydental@gmail. com, elitefamilydental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Will Baalbaky Elite Family Dental
7835 S Rainbow Blvd., Suite 28, Las Vegas, NV, 702-898-8448, elitefamilydental@gmail. com, elitefamilydental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Todd J. Baggaley Dr. B’s Dentistry for Children, 5705 Centennial Center Blvd., Suite 140, Las Vegas, NV, 702-998-7100, contact@surfingsmiles. com, centennialhillspediatricdentist.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Peter S. Balle Vegas Choice Dental, 2801 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-710-9252, balledds@aol.com, vegaschoicedental.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Benjamin J. Barborka Las Vegas Endodontics, 6655 W Sahara Ave., Suite A-106, Las Vegas, NV, 702-876-5800, lvendo3@gmail.com, lvendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Kristen Beling Sunset Endodontics, 54 N Pecos Road, Suite B, Henderson, NV, 702-436-4300, sunsetendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
W. Scott Biggs Micro Endodontics of Las Vegas, 7120 Smoke Ranch Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-463-5000, wsbiggs@hotmail.com, lasvegasendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Laurie S. Bloch-Johnson Exceptional Dentistry 1140 N Town Center Drive, Suite 170, Las Vegas, NV, 702-463-8600, lauriedmd@gmail.com, drlauriesmiles.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Gary Braun UNLV School of Dental Medicine, 1001 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas, NV, 702-774-5134, gary.braun@unlv.edu
Specialty: Prosthodontics
Derryl R. Brian Nevada Trails Dental, 7575 S Rainbow Blvd., Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV, 702-367-3700, ntdalisha@gmail.com, nevadatrailsdental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
William D. Brizzee
Las Vegas Endodontics, 6655 W Sahara Ave., Suite A-106, Las Vegas, NV, 702-876-5800, lvendo10@gmail.com, lvendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Bryan Q. Bui Cavitybusters, 6910 S Rainbow Blvd., Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV, 702-362-5437, cavitybusters@aol.com, cavitybusters.org
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Ryan S. Bybee
The Kid’s Dentist, 375 N Stephanie St., Suite 211, Henderson, NV, 702-454-1008, bybeedds@gmail.com, kidsdentistofhenderson.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Pamela G. Caggiano
Excellence In Dentistry
321 N Pecos Road, Suite 100, Henderson, NV, 702-732-7878, info@pamelacaggianodds.com, pamelacaggianodds.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Colin M. Campbell St. Rose Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, 780 Coronado Center Drive, Suite 110, Henderson, NV, 702-387-5900, info@strosedental.com, strosedental.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Brian Chamberlain Super Smile Orthodontics, 7090 N Durango Drive, Suite 120, Las Vegas, NV, 702-645-5100, rachelle@ supersmilevegas.com, supersmilevegas.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Sandra Chan Moore Family Dentistry, 10624 S Eastern Ave., Suite N, Henderson, NV, 702-407-6700, sgchandds@gmail.com, lvsmiles.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Alice P. Chen Roseman Dental, 4 Sunset Way, Building B, Henderson, NV, 702-968-5222, alpChen@gmail.com, rosemandental.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Evangeline Chen
Greater Las Vegas Dental, 8867 W Flamingo Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-880-5858, greaterlasvegasdental@gmail.com, greaterlasvegasdental.com
Specialty: Prosthodontics
Victoria Chen
Significance Orthodontics, 6018 S Fort Apache Road, Las Vegas, NV, 702-213-9247, info@significanceorthodontics.com, significanceorthodontics.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
David A. Chenin
Chenin Orthodontic Group 10730 S Eastern Ave., Suite 100, Henderson, NV, 702-735-1010, info@cheniNo.com, cheniNo.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Guy L. Chisteckoff Island Smiles Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, 8940 S Maryland Parkway, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-270-6501, chisteckoff@gmail.com, islandsmiles.org
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
April J. Cole
Absolute Dental, 3040 W Ann Road, Suite 101, N Las Vegas, NV, 702-825-0926, absolutedental.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Jeffrey A. Cox
Anthem Pediatric Dentistry, 10400 S Eastern Ave., Henderson, NV, 702-531-5437, apdkids10400@gmail.com, apdkids.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Kenneth M. Cox 6615 S Eastern Ave., Suite 102, Las Vegas, NV, 702-866-9311, kencox7@gmail.com, parkviewdentallv.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Matthew O. Cox 8460 S Eastern Ave., Suite B, Las Vegas, NV, 702-492-6688, mcoxendo@yahoo.com, coxendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Chris S. Cozine 8579 S Eastern Ave., Suite A, Las Vegas, NV, 702-739-8289, vancozyn@yahoo.com, cozinedental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Bruce E. Crowley 9510 W Sahara Ave., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-838-9863, brucecrowleydds.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Chase Crowley Endodontics of Las Vegas, 9750 Covington Cross Drive, Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV, 702-878-8584, endodonticsoflasvegas.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Michel Daccache 1701 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 520, Las Vegas, NV, 702-750-9444, info@nevadaoms.com, nevadaoms.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Edilberto De Andrade Anthem Periodontics and Dental Implants, 2610 W Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 202, Henderson, NV, 702-270-4600, info@anthemperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Mark I. Degen
Red Rock Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Centre, 4730 S Fort Apache Road, Suite 390, Las Vegas, NV, 702-253-9090, info@redrockoralsurgery. com, redrockomsc.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
William J. Dougherty, Jr.
Sunset Endodontics, 54 N Pecos Road, Suite B, Henderson, NV, 702-436-4300, sunsetendo@gmail.com, sunsetendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Jason L. Downey 8876 Spanish Ridge Ave., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-871-4903, drdowney@smileslasvegas. com, smileslasvegas.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
John Q. Duong
Lakeview Dental, 2291 S Fort Apache Road, Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV, 702-869-0001, lakeviewdental104@gmail. com, lakeviewdentallv.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Mark D. Edington
Modern Dental Care, 9895 S Maryland Parkway, Suite A, Las Vegas, NV, 702-372-4069, mark_d_edington@hotmail. com, moderndentallv.com
Specialty: General Dentistry Cosmetic Dentistry
Chad W. Ellsworth
Anthem Pediatric Dentistry, 10400 S Eastern Ave., Henderson, NV, 702-531-5437, apdkids10400@gmail.com, apdkids.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Eryn E. Ence Ence Orthodontics, 8490 S Eastern Ave., Suite A, Las Vegas, NV, 702-260-8241, Braces@ VegasCoolSmiles.com, vegascoolsmiles.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Jesse J. Falk Canyon Oral & Facial Surgery, 6200 N Durango Drive, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-867-2763, info@canyonofs.com, canyonofs.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
David C. Fife Fife & Steffen Endodontics 1975 Village Center Circle, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-360-2122, office@drdavidfife.com, drdavidfife.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Barton H. Foutz Foutz Family Dentistry, 2510 Wigwam Parkway, Suite 100, Henderson, NV, 702-792-5929, bartfoutz@gmail.com, foutzdental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Jon P. Galea Pediatric Dental Care Associates, 8981 W Sahara Ave., Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-254-4220, lantunapdca@yahoo.com, pediatricdentalcareassociates.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
John T. Gallob UNLV School of Dental Medicine, 1707 W Charleston Blvd., Building D, Las Vegas, NV, 702-671-5175, john.gallob@unlv.edu, unlv.edu/dental
Specialty: General Dentistry
Michael C. Gardner Leaver & Gardner Orthodontics, 6005 S Fort Apache Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-602-9066, lgortho@me.com, leavergardner.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Adam Gatan
Seven Hills Endodontics & Microsurgery Center, 2810 W Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 200, Henderson, NV, 702-384-0053, sevenhillsendodontics@ gmail.com, lvrootcanal.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Amy A. Gearin
Gearin Dentistry, 1975 Village Center Circle, Suite 160, Las Vegas, NV, 702-367-4040, info@dramygearin.com, dramygearin.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Ryan Gibson Gibson and Leavitt Oral & Maxillofacial & Implant Surgery, 670 S Green Valley Parkway, Suite 115, Henderson, NV, 702-685-3700, info@doctorsoms.com, ryangibsonoralsurgery.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Ryan S. Gifford
Periodontics Unlimited, 3811 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 201, Las Vegas, NV, 702-259-1943, periodonticslimited@ gmail.com, lvperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Cosmetic Dentistry
Irwan T. Goh
Smiles by Goh, 2653 W Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 110, Henderson, NV, 702-732-3754, smilesbygoh.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
John C. Griffiths
Las Vegas Braces, 8710 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV, 702-256-7846, jcgortho@aol.com, lasvegasbraces.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
R. Cree Hamilton Hamilton & Manuele Orthodontics, 401 N Buffalo Drive, Suite 220, Las Vegas, NV, 702-243-3300, drcree@hmortho.com, hamiltoNo.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Blaine R. Hansen Hansen Orthodontics, 3600 N Buffalo Drive, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-568-1600, blakatlex@hotmail.com, hanseNo.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Chad R. Hansen Las Vegas Endodontics, 6655 W Sahara Ave., Suite A-106, Las Vegas, NV, 702-876-5800, lvendo10@gmail.com, lvendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Steven L. Hardy
Paradise Family Dental, 6825 Aliante Parkway, N Las Vegas, NV, 702-294-2739, pfdhardydds@cox.net, drstevehardy.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
George Harouni 731 Mall Ring Circle, Suite 201, Henderson, NV, 702-434-9464, harounig@aol.com, georgeharounidds.com
Specialty: General Dentistry Cosmetic Dentistry
Gregory M. Heideman 6950 W Smoke Ranch Road, Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV, 702-304-1902, heideman@lhdentalcare. com, lhdentalcare.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Gregg C. Hendrickson
Comprehensive Dental Care, 2790 W Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 100, Henderson, NV, 702-735-3284, drgregg@NVDentists.com, nvdentists.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Ashley E. Hoban Summerlin Pediatric Dentistry, 635 N Town Center Drive, Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV, 702-838-9013, drhoban@summerlinpediatricdentist.com, summerlinpediatricdentistry.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Allen W. Huang Significance Dental Specialists, 2430 East Harmon Ave., Suite 6, Las Vegas, NV, 702-733-0558, AllenH@sdsdental.com, sdsdental.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Cosmetic Dentistry
Steve J. Huang Henderson Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Center, 1701 N Green Valley Parkway, Suite 2-E, Henderson, NV, 702-270-2999, hendersonoralsurgery@ gmail.com, oralsurgeryhenderson.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Gregory J. Hunter Nevada Oral & Facial Surgery, 6950 Smoke Ranch Road, Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV, 702-329-7554, info@ NOFSLV.com, nevadaoralandfacialsurgery.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Emily R. Ishkanian Flores Family Dental, 6536 N Decatur Blvd., Suite 120, Las Vegas, NV, 702-242-3373, emily.Ishkanian@yahoo. com, floresfamilydental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Jaren T. Jensen Smile Reef, 9500 W Flamingo Road, Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV, 702-570-7333, jtjdds@gmail.com, smilereef.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Brendan G. Johnson Nevada Oral & Facial Surgery, 6950 Smoke Ranch Road, Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV, 702-329-7554, nevadaoralandfacial.help@ gmail.com, nevadaoralandfacialsurgery.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Brian R. Karn Encore Dentistry, 9406 W Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 105, Las Vegas, NV, 702-331-9966, drkarn@drkarn.com, drkarn.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Thomas P. Keating Keating Dental, 880 Seven Hills Drive, Suite 240, Henderson, NV, 702-454-8855, keatingdds@aol.com, keatingdds.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Katherine A. Keeley 2649 Wigwam Parkway, Suite 102, Henderson, NV, 702-263-9339, kakeeleyomfs@yahoo. com, drkeeley.net
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Matthew M. Kikuchi Kikuchi Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Center, 5765 S Fort Apache Road, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-876-6337, drk@kikuchioralsurgery. com, omssnv.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
James G. Kinard 2780 W Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 20, Henderson, NV, 702-719-4700, jgkinard@aol.com
Specialty: General Dentistry Cosmetic Dentistry
Scott E. Leaver Leaver & Gardner Orthodontics, 6005 S Fort Apache Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-878-0764, lgortho@me.com, leavergardner.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Bryce Leavitt Gibson and Leavitt Oral & Maxillofacial & Implant Surgery, 670 S Green Valley Parkway, Suite 115, Henderson, NV, 702-685-3700, info@doctorsoms.com, doctorsoms.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Curry H. Leavitt Red Rock Periodontics & Implantology, 7475 W Sahara Ave., Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV, 702-834-8900, info@redrockperio.com, redrockperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
William P. Leavitt UNLV School of Dental Medicine, 1001 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas, NV, 702-774-2641, william.leavitt@unlv.edu, www.dentalschool.unlv.edu
Specialty: General Dentistry
Ton V. Lee Summerlin Smiles, 9525 W Russell Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-579-7645, remy1998@aol.com, summerlinsmiles.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Carlos H. Letelier
The Center for Oral Surgery of Las Vegas, 10115 W Twain Ave., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-367-6666, carlos@letelieroms.com, lasvegasoms.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Robin D. Lobato
9061 W Sahara Ave., Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV, 702-877-0500, drlobato@drlobato.com, drlobato.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Nicholas E. Lords Rainbow Park Dental, 2950 S Rainbow Blvd., Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV, 702-227-6510, nlordsdds@yahoo.com
Specialty: General Dentistry Cosmetic Dentistry
Spencer Luth Luth & Heideman Dental Care, 6950 W Smoke Ranch Road, Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV, 702-304-1902, luth@lhdentalcare.com, lhdentalcare.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Kent A. Lysgaard
Lysgaard Dental, 2911 N Tenaya Way, Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV, 702-360-9061, contact@drlysgaard.com, drlysgaard.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
James K. Mah
UNLV School of Dental Medicine, 4505 S Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 702-774-2535
Specialty: Orthodontics
David L. Mahon
Siena Dental, 10075 S Eastern Ave., Suite 107, Henderson, NV, 702-567-0000, sienadentallv@gmail.com, sienadental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Brian Mantor Periodontics Unlimited, 3811 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 201, Las Vegas, NV, 702-500-1742, bmantor@gmail.com, lvperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Jeremy S. Manuele Hamilton & Manuele Orthodontics, 401 N Buffalo Drive, Suite 220, Las Vegas, NV, 702-243-3300, drj@hmortho.com, hamiltoNo.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
George J. McAlpine UNLV School of Dental Medicine, 1700 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 290, Las Vegas, NV, 702-671-5130, george.mcalpine@unlv. edu, unlv.edu/dental
Specialty: General Dentistry
Dawn L. McClellan Dental Care International, 1750 Wheeler Peak Drive, Las Vegas, NV, 702-272-1100, mcclellan2@aol.com, dcare.org
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Elizabeth J. McGee
Pediatric Dental Care Associates, 6365 Simmons St., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-449-7657, dshaypdca@yahoo.com, pediatricdentalcareassociatesaliante.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Todd S. Milne
Children’s Dental Center, 2085 Village Center Circle, Suite 120, Las Vegas, NV, 702-240-5437, info@cdclv.com, cdclv.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
D. Kevin Moore Moore Family Dentistry, 10624 S Eastern Ave., Suite N, Henderson, NV, 702-407-6700, mfd3llc@gmail.com, lvsmiles.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
E. Orlando Morantes 3412 N Buffalo Drive Las Vegas, NV, 702-794-0820, omorantes@cox.net, morantesdds.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Jason T. Morris Shipp Endodontics, 9053 S Pecos Road, Suite 3000, Henderson, NV, 702-798-0911, shalevdds@yahoo.com, shippendodontics.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Michael Most Most Dental, 6392 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV, 702-871-0304, mmost15@gmail.com, mostdental.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Jeff E. Moxley Moxley Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, 3663 E Sunset Road, Suite 403, Las Vegas, NV, 702-898-8350, moxleycrew@yahoo.com, drjeffmoxley.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Johnny E. Nassar Smile Design Center, 10120 S Eastern Ave., Suite 375, Henderson, NV, 702-361-9611, jndds@hotmail.com, smiledesigncenterlv.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Patrick A. O’Connor O’Connor Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, 630 S Rancho Drive, Suite B, Las Vegas, NV, 702-870-2555, info.droconnor@gmail. com, drpatrickoconnor.net
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Amanda J. Okundaye 9500 W Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV, 310-486-6656, ddsanesthesia@gmail.com, anesthesiabydramanda.com
Specialty: Dental Anesthesiology
Kathleen F. Olender
Desert Dental Specialists, 7520 W Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV, 702-384-7200, dds-lv.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Cosmetic Dentistry
Daniel L. Orr II Medical Education Building, 2040 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 201, Las Vegas, NV, 702-383-3711, dlorrii@gmail.com, orrs.org
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Marco T. Padilla
Clear Choice Las Vegas, 6460 Medical Center St., Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV, 702-430-2372, mtupa2@aol.com, clearchoice.com
Specialty: Prosthodontics
Cosmetic Dentistry
Jorge Paez Nevada Dental Esthetics, 5864 S Durango Drive, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-744-8007, jpaezdds@ gmail.com, lasvegas-cosmetic-dentistry.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
William G. Pappas 7884 W Sahara Ave., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-367-7133, wgpappasdds@lvcoxmail. com, wgpappasdds.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Sam Partovi Desert Smiles Dental, 10175 W Twain Ave., Suite 120, Las Vegas, NV, 702-202-2300, desertsmiles@yahoo.com, desertsmilesdental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Marielaina Perrone 2551 N Green Valley Parkway, Suite A-405, Henderson, NV, 702-458-2929, drperrone@cox.net, drperrone.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
James B. Polley 1875 Village Center Circle, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-873-0324, skwpolley@gmail.com, drpolley.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
John M. Quinn Smiles for Life Family Dentistry, 8930 W Sunset Road, Suite 190, Las Vegas, NV, 702-795-2273, kelleysmilesforlife@gmail. com, lvsmilesforlife.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Richard A. Racanelli Stunning Smiles of Las Vegas, 6410 Medical Center St., Suite B, Las Vegas, NV, 702-736-0016, drracanelli@lvstunningsmiles. com, lvstunningsmiles.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Manny Rapp, Jr. Adaven Children’s Dentistry, 2843 St. Rose Parkway, Suite 100, Henderson, NV, 702-492-1955, adavenpeds@yahoo.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Steven L. Rhodes 501 S Rancho Drive, Suite E-29, Las Vegas, NV, 702-384-4896, rhodesdds@cox.net, srhodesdds.com
Specialty: Prosthodontics
Gary D. Richardson Adventure Smiles, 8995 W Flamingo Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-838-5437, rofarabia@hotmail.com, adventuresmiles.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
James K. Rogers
Canyon Ridge Periodontics, 3575 S Town Center Drive, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-966-0300, drjrogersperio@gmail.com canyonridgeperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Craig R. Rose
Rose Family Dentistry, 8490 S Eastern Ave., Suite C, Las Vegas, NV, 702-914-0000, cstrose@aol.com, rosefamilydentistry.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Douglas D. Sandquist Sandquist Dentistry, 2650 Lake Sahara Drive, Suite 160, Las Vegas, NV, 702-734-0776, doug@sandquistdds.com, sandquistdds.com
Specialty: General Dentistry Cosmetic Dentistry
Tammy Sarles 8650 Spring Mountain Road, Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV, 702-869-0032, office@mydesertbreezedental.com, mydesertbreezedental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Alana Saxe
Saxe Orthodontics, 3555 S Town Center Drive, Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV, 702-541-7070, drsaxe@saxeortho.com, saxeortho.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Joshua L. Saxe
A Childrens Dentist, 8710 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-255-0133, frontoffice8710@ achildrensdentist.com, achildrensdentist.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Michael D. Saxe
A Childrens Dentist, 8710 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-255-0133, frontoffice8710@achildrensdentist.com, achildrensdentist.com
Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry
Steven A. Saxe
Advance Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, 1570 S Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas, NV,
702-258-0085, nvjawdoc@aol.com, nvjawdoc.com
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Nathan D. Schwartz Henderson Family Dentistry, 537 S Boulder Highway, Henderson, NV, 702-564-2526, hendersonfamilydental@ gmail.com, hendersonfamilydental.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Daniel I. Shalev Nevada Endodontics, 2510 Wigwam Parkway, Suite 200, Henderson, NV, 702-263-2000, shalevdds@yahoo.com, nvendodontics.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Ryan C. Shipp Shipp Endodontics, 9053 S Pecos Road, Suite 3000, Henderson, NV, 702-798-0911, drshippendo@gmail.com, shippendodontics.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Douglas K. Simister Las Vegas Braces, 8710 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV, 702-256-7846, drdougsimister@gmail. com, lasvegasbraces.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Patrick A. Simone 70 N Pecos Road, Suite A, Henderson, NV, 702-735-2755, dr@drsimone.lvcoxmail.com, patricksimonedds.com
Specialty:
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Cosmetic Dentistry
Luke Simonis Centennial Hills Dental Care, 7425 W Azure Drive, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-878-4397, smile@chdentist.com, centennialhillsdentist.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Dave L. Smith 5320 W Sahara Ave., Suite 4, Las Vegas, NV, 702-871-1808, smithortho@hotmail.com, davesmithorthodontics.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Susan S. Smith 8275 S Eastern Ave., Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV, 702-967-1700, susan_smith@cox.net, susansmithdds.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Zachary Soard
Dentistry for Families, 1306 W Craig Road, Suite H, N Las Vegas, NV, 702-633-4333, drzac@ dentistryforfamilies.com, dentistryforfamilies.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Stephen W. Spelman
Willow Springs Dental, 3450 S Hualapai Way Las Vegas, NV 89117, 702-871-6044, sspelvett@hotmail.com, stephenspelmandds.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Joshua Steffen Fife & Steffen Endodontics, 1975 Village Center Circle, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-360-2122, drdavidfife@yahoo.com fsendo.com
Specialty: Endodontics
Bradley S. Strong 2931 N Tenaya Way, Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV, 702-242-3800, bssdds@mac.com, bstrongdds.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Eric D. Swanson
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates of Nevada, 1775 Village Center Circle, Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV, 702-507-5555, glyman@glymanswanson. com, facialsurgery.org
Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Dane T. Swenson
Periodontics Limited, 3811 W Charleston, Suite 201, Las Vegas, NV, 702-259-1943, whitney.lvperio@gmail. com, lvperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Robert H. Thalgott
Chenin and Thalgott Orthodontics, 1945 Village Center Circle, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-364-5100, thalgott@thalgott.com, thalgott.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Michael J. Tomita Island Dental Center, 9750 Covington Cross Drive, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV, 702-341-7979, Islanddentalcenter@ yahoo.com, islanddentalcenter.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Karen T. Tran Lakeview Dental, 2291 S Fort Apache Road, Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV, 702-869-0001, lakeviewdental104@gmail. com, lakeviewdentallv.com
Specialty: General Dentistry
Mark Truman Truman Orthodontics, 10000 W Sahara, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV, 702-360-9000, Info@ TrumaNodontics.com, trumaNodontics.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Zachary B. Truman Truman Orthodontics, 10855 S Eastern Ave., Henderson, NV, 702-221-2272, passion@trumanbraces. com, trumaNo.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
David J. Trylovich Periodontics Unlimited, 3811 W Charleston Blvd., Suite 201, Las Vegas, NV, 702-259-1943, djtrylovich@gmail.com, lvperio.com
Specialty: Periodontics
Cosmetic Dentistry
Richard Webster Webster Orthodontics, 7603 Grand Teton Drive, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV 89131, 702-819-9921, info@webster-ortho.com, webster-ortho.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Johnathan White Aesthetic Dentistry, 8084 W Sahara Ave., Suite G, Las Vegas, NV 89117, 702-823-3000, info@ jbwhitedds.com, jbwhitedds.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Joseph A. Wineman Wineman Dental, 1701 N Green Valley Parkway, Suite 4D, Henderson, NV 89074, 702-270-4800, drwineman@gmail.com, winemandental.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Tracy D. Wyatt Wyatt Orthodontics, 7550 W Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6, Las Vegas, NV 89128, 702-242-9777, info@ wyattorthodontics.com, wyattorthodontics.com
Specialty: Orthodontics
Behnam Yaghmai A Great Smile Dental, 3412 N Buffalo Drive Las Vegas, NV 89129, 702-804-5154, great_smile_dental@ yahoo.com, agreatsmiledental.com
Specialty:
General Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
BY PJ PEREZ
Lin ‘Spit’ Newborn and Daniel Shersty were murdered 25 years ago. Their legacies still reverberate through Las Vegas.
eslie LeGere doesn’t remember who called her on the morning of Saturday, July 4, 1998. Maybe it was her friend Lisa, who lived across from Cafe Espresso Roma on Maryland Parkway, one of the several UNLV-area coffeehouses where LeGere and her friends did much of their socializing. But she hasn’t forgotten the words she heard from the other end of the line that would change her life forever: “Dan had been found. Spit was missing.”
Daniel Shersty and Lin “Spit” Newborn (who often referred to himself in full as Idyll Kylljoi Spitler Kyllclown) were supposed to be attending a sort-of punk rock Independence Day picnic at Sunset Park that afternoon. The previous day, LeGere stopped by Tribal Body Piercing, the Maryland Parkway shop where Newborn worked as a piercer, to see if he had any plans for the eve of the holiday. Newborn was tied up with a client, but Shersty was there, helping watch the shop, as he often did.
“Dan (Shersty) let me know they were going to a party with some girls they had met at the shop,” says LeGere, who sang in Newborn’s politically charged noise-punk band, Life of Lies. “That was the last time I ever saw Dan.”
Shersty, a white U.S. Air Force service member, and Newborn, a Black punk rocker, both self-identified as Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARPs). They shared a passion for anti-racist activism, but for Newborn, this mission wasn’t some moral exercise in righteousness — it was a battle for survival. He often spoke of being the target of harassment and attacks by white supremacist skinheads, proclaiming during one of his band’s performances, “I’ve been stomped by Nazis, chased by Nazis, I’ve been beat up by Nazis, I kicked a couple of Nazi asses.”
Those girls with whom Shersty and Newborn said they had dates turned out to be Mandie Abels and Melissa Hack, the girlfriends of Ross Hack (Melissa’s brother) and John “Polar Bear” Butler — an alleged leader of the Independent Nazi Skinheads (INS). And the desert destination on the northwest edge of the Las Vegas Valley they drove to after midnight in Shersty’s black Chevrolet Cavalier turned out not to be a meetup for a party but an ambush.
Butler, Ross Hack, and two others — Leland Jones and Daniel Hartung — were waiting at the designated location. Shortly after Shersty and Newborn arrived with Abels and Melissa Hack, gunshots started going off. Shersty was killed almost immediately, having been shot at close range (possibly trying to protect his friend) and bludgeoned, up against the front of his car. Newborn tried to escape, and, despite suffering a shot to the back of his head, he was still able to run some distance into the desert. After being chased and shot at through the darkness, he was finally finished by a shotgun blast.
Newborn had just turned 24 that May. Shersty was 20, only a month away from his 21st birthday.
The mere idea of an “anti-racist skinhead” may be perplexing to those whose only familiarity with skinheads is media portrayals such as the one in the 1998 film American History X. But not all skinheads hold neo-Nazi or racist views — many, far from them.
Skinhead culture has its roots in the 1960s among the working-class youth of England. These are often referred to as “traditional Skins” or “trads” for short. They were notably multicultural, aesthetically inspired by mod fashion and Jamaican “rude boys” — including, initially, an association with reggae and ska music and solidarity with working-class immigrant communities. They kept their hair cropped tight and appearance crisp and clean in contrast to middle-class “long hairs.” The only hints of violent tendencies were usually limited to football hooliganism.
But like many subcultures, divisions formed over time. An England-first, anti-immigrant sentiment developed, and by the time the skinhead scene made it to the U.S. in the early 1980s, it brought with it both its traditional, multicultural, working-class origins and its neofascist, racist ideologies as well — the latter finding alignment with and support from American white power groups such as the White Aryan Resistance.
The seminal 1980s Las Vegas punk band Fuck, Shit, Piss (known more commonly as FSP) exemplifies this split in ideologies. Led by then-teenage Johnny “Bangs” Bangerter, who Chapman University sociology professor Peter Simi describes as a former “peace punk,” the band was always radical, inspired by the anti-establishment sentiments of heroes such as the Dead Kennedys. But as Bangerter became more influenced by far-right, anti-government ideologies, tensions formed within the band, culminating in a 1987 show where Bangerter showed up bearing a swastika armband, which caused a minor riot and led to the breakup of FSP.
Bangerter became a leader of a group known as Christian Identity Skinheads but relocated to Utah following a series of “race riots” in the early 1990s, with several of his followers joining him to establish a whites-only commune in Zion National Park. Others stayed behind or took their place in the white power pecking order.
“Once roots are there, new groups take their place,” says Simi, whose experiences embedded with white power groups informed the book he co-authored with UNLV sociology professor Robert Futrell, American Swastika.
Harry Fagel, a Las Vegas poet and retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department captain, remembers neo-Nazis “starting shit” at punk rock shows when he was growing up in the valley. This recollection is shared by many young music lovers who grew up in Las Vegas in the 1980s and 1990s.
“I remember there always being a Nazi presence, whether it be shows (or) parties,” LeGere says. “Any time there was any type of gathering, there always seemed to be at least a few neo-Nazis in the bunch at that time.”
Fagel says he was exposed to even more overt organized hate after he started attending college at UNLV.
“I went to see a Jewish Defense League speaker, me and the president of Black Students Association,” Fagel says. “And when we came out, there was a ton of skinhead Nazi punks in the street, and they were screaming, ‘Death to the Jews’ and all this other shit. It was awful.”
Racist skinhead groups grew bolder as their numbers swelled. As Heidi Beirich, cofounder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, recalls, “The skinhead problem was massive in the ’90s and the early 2000s. Back then, that was the most violent part of the white supremacist scene.”
But even as the presence and activities of neo-Nazi groups increased, so did those who rose up to combat hate both ideologically and in physicality.
Lin Newborn wasn’t a Las Vegas native — he was born in Pomona, California, and moved to the Vegas area with his parents in the late 1980s. But even as an adolescent, Newborn was already developing a keen awareness of the injustice surrounding him in the world.
“Lin was on a mission from day one,” Newborn’s father Lionel Newborn said during one of the murder trials. “He thought everyone should be able to get along and live together. He just didn’t understand why people couldn’t get along.”
Margaret Newborn, Lin’s older sister — whom he almost exclusively called “Bunky” — remembers having long talks with her brother and being in awe of not only his intelligence, but also what she called “a whole world movement” brewing in his mind.
“From a very young age, Lin was a people person,” Margaret says. “I mean a lover of people. He was always the type that, you knew if somebody needed something, he would offer to help. He was that type of person. He was outspoken, but not loud. You knew where he stood.”
When musician Brandon Sledge first met Newborn, he says, “We really didn’t like each other.” But despite that auspicious start, Sledge ended up moving in with Newborn and his girlfriend at the time in a less-than desirable area of North Las Vegas, where the pair ended up “bonding over fearing for our lives,” as Sledge tells it. They formed a band not long after called Life of Lies, often driving out to their guitarist’s house in Boulder City to rehearse and record.
Life of Lies’ music could be challenging to a casual listener. According to LeGere, they were heavily influenced by bands associated with Crass Records — the small label formed by the English anarcho-punk band Crass. Discordant guitars, shifting rhythms and shouted lyrics provided the gristle to serve up Life of Lies’ anti-establishment messages.
“Life of Lies was always very political because of Spit and Brandon (Sledge),” LeGere says. “They were very outwardly spoken about their beliefs and didn’t ever hold back on that.”
Sledge says that while his rage wasn’t motivated by anything in particular (he admits that like “most pissed-off kids,” his ire was “scattered and vague”), Newborn’s venom was sharply focused on racism and the forces that perpetrated such ideologies.
“He had been dealing with it his whole life,” Sledge says. “I mean, he had already been shot once by the time I met him. So that all came through in the music.”
At Life of Lies’ first gig with LeGere — who’d joined as a second vocalist — a desert show at the Caves opening for Citizen Fish, Newborn rallied against white supremacists and at the very notions of power, setting on fire an American flag in protest, which — even at a punk rock show in the middle of the desert — “made everybody mad,” according to LeGere.
It wasn’t just racism and the establishment against which Newborn railed. In the middle of Life of Lies’ first — and only — gig at the historic Huntridge Theater, Newborn destroyed a television on stage as part of the performance of their song “Television Children.” The band was permanently eighty-sixed from the all-ages venue.
“So many people just bleed their face into television,” Newborn said of the song’s inspiration during an interview filmed for the 1996 local music documentary, Lost Vegas . “Instead of going out and talking to somebody about what’s going on in the world, they’d rather have it displayed to them on a television. It’s just totally false. It’s bull.”
Music venues weren’t the only locations where Newborn made his voice and message heard — he was also a regular at various poetry readings around Las Vegas, particularly those held in the coffee shops that dominated the scene on Maryland Parkway in the 1990s. His pointed invectives often drew a sharp contrast to the usual introspective or tongue-in-cheek poetry of his comrades-in-verse.
“Spit was a great poet,” LeGere says. “His activism, beliefs, and life experiences really shone through.”
Fagel, another Maryland Parkway coffeehouse regular, who wrote and performed street-level poetry partially inspired by his experience as a beat cop patrolling the area around UNLV, remembers Newborn’s poetry as “visceral street stuff.”
“He was very much an anti-racist person and didn’t understand the hate thing,” Fagel says. “He was really counter to that in his conversations, (his) poetry. He looked tough, like he could handle his business, but he had a really big heart for all the kids in the neighborhood.”
Golden Sun Shyne, now a makeup artist for film and television, was a preteen when she first started hanging out in places like Cafe Espresso Roma and Cafe Copioh on
Maryland Parkway. She remembers first bonding with Spit over mutual musical tastes and their shared experience as Black punk rockers in an otherwise homogeneous white scene.
“He came out of nowhere,” Shyne says. “It felt like he just dropped from heaven.”
Shyne says that Newborn, who affectionately called her “Cub,” often acted as a big brother figure, trying to protect her from dangers she wasn’t aware of. “He would shoo me,” she says — telling her to leave desert punk rock shows when he sensed violence was possible. Even though he wasn’t much older than many of the teenagers in the scene who looked up to him, Newborn still cut an almost paternal figure.
“He was a very legit guy who just cared about his family, about the little kids out on the street,” Fagel says of Newborn. “They worshiped the ground Spit walked on.”
Brandon Hodges moved to Las Vegas in 1996 after graduating high school, drawn by Sin City’s status at the time as a mecca for all things punk rock — at least relative to the sparse offerings of his small Arizona town. But it was through a very different Vegas institution that he met Dan Shersty.
“We had a friend from Arizona who was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base,” Hodges says. “We would just drive onto the base and go to parties at the barracks. As someone who was underage, what else are you going to do on a Tuesday night rather than just driving to Nellis and (hanging) out with your friends?”
Shersty, who worked on helicopters at Nellis, became part of Hodges’ snowboarding crew. They got to know each other well during long drives to Brian Head Resort in Utah. Hodges remembers Shersty as “very serious and earnest, but also (having) a good sense of humor.”
“Dan wanted to change the world,” Hodges says.
In addition to desert punk shows and mountain snowboarding, Hodges was also drawn to the bohemian coffee shops along Maryland Parkway. He ended up getting a job at a record store near the university, and it was his immersion in that scene that led to meeting Newborn.
“The first time I met Spit (Newborn), it was probably outside of Cafe Copioh, where we would all hang out in the parking lot,” says Hodges, who considered Shersty “the crossover” between the two scenes he was a part of — the Maryland Parkway counterculture scene and the Nellis Air Force Base crew.
Eventually, Shersty’s desire to “change the world” cemented into a passion for the anti-racist movement. Both he and Newborn had become intimately involved in the Las Vegas Unity Skins, and the pair cofounded a local chapter of Anti-Racist Action (ARA), a national network of left-leaning activists formed in Minneapolis in the late 1980s that had reached a peak of about 1,500 members nationally by the mid-1990s.
“Back then, it seemed like every major city had a chapter or group of ARA,” Hodges says.
Newborn had already been instrumental in getting anti-racists organized and active in Las Vegas for many years — a growing need because of the rising presence of racist skinheads in the scene. As LeGere notes, there wasn’t a “strong (traditional) skinhead presence yet in Las Vegas. We were always outnumbered by Nazis.”
Although groups such as ARA and Las Vegas Unity Skins helped provide an alternative alliance for young skinheads who otherwise may have fallen under the influence of white power groups — indeed, Newborn in particular was known for helping to “deprogram” racist skins — the neo-Nazi groups weren’t exactly sitting on the sidelines.
“After the Huntridge reopened (in 1996), it seemed like there was increased violence at shows,” Hodges says. “And so, it seemed like when the violence got stronger, the ARA presence became stronger.”
Although he admits, “It did seem like most of the fights involved the racist skinheads,” Hodges is careful not to pin all of the cause for the violence at local concerts on tensions between racist and anti-racist factions.
“Was it racist skinheads or was it just youthful testosterone?” Hodges asks. “The violence would happen regardless of there being politics involved. You’re at an aggressive music show and people are slam dancing and there’s inevitably fights.”
But when Life of Lies, with Newborn on vocals, was asked to open for popular English skinhead band The Business at the Elks Lodge in Henderson, there was no question of the reason for increased tensions.
“We were very excited to open up for them, but we were also very cautious,” LeGere says. “They had a huge skinhead following, and we knew that. So, we didn’t know what to expect. At the show, there were several neo-Nazis that showed up.”
LeGere says that as soon as they finished their set and got off the stage, the band had to split up in different cars to avoid anyone following them back to Newborn’s apartment.
In the year leading to Newborn and Shersty’s murders, Hodges recalls, the skinhead violence started “bleeding outside of being at shows and getting into fights” and evolving into “showing up in parking lots just randomly.”
“There were definitely a few people that I know who got attacked,” Hodges says.
By the summer of 1998, Newborn and Shersty were much more deeply involved with ARA and their anti-racism activism — while Life of Lies found itself on an unplanned hiatus.
“We had lost our drummer,” LeGere says. “Our guitarist, James, had gone away to college. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing at that point, so we weren’t really playing out.”
Golden Shyne, by then approaching adulthood, says that, in the days before the murders, Newborn’s tone intensified, his attitude toward her shifting from “big brother” to “more father-ish.” Shyne had just graduated high school — from the same vocational technical institute Newborn had attended years earlier — and was looking forward to her first summer of relative freedom. But she remembers hanging out around Tribal Body Piercing and Newborn insisting she go home.
“In that last week, he was less tolerable of this kid being around,” Shyne says.
Dan Shersty’s body was found just after 8 a.m. on the morning of July 4, 1998, when a trio of ATV riders stumbled upon Butler, his friend Joey Justin, and Melissa Hack returning to the scene of the crime to recover any traces of evidence from the mayhem the night before. Butler’s crew hastily told the ATV riders to call the police and drove off, attempting to hide their identities from the riders. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police quickly arrived on the scene, but it would take another two days before detectives would return to the desert to find Newborn’s body.
“The police were confused,” Margaret Newborn says. “When they found (Shersty’s) car, they found it was actually Lin’s jacket in the back of the car. Because of the style of clothing that they wear, they thought they were a different type of people. Then they looked at the stickers they had and realized that they weren’t looking for another typical white skinhead. They realized they were looking for someone else.”
Friends were baffled that Newborn was not found sooner. Some of them, including Hodges, ventured out to the publicly reported location of the crime to see if they could find him themselves, to no avail. According to court transcripts, even Newborn’s father, Lionel, went with them on one such excursion. On reflection, he said in court, “I should have never even been there.”
“They found Spit in the same general area a couple of days later,” Hodges says. “Like, they didn’t have search dogs and helicopters? I mean, I don’t know.”
Few of the details of what had truly happened out by Powerline Road near
Rome Boulevard were known at the time. Early reports in the local media at the time included quotes from friends and ARA members that Shersty and Newborn’s killings were likely the result of a premeditated plot to lure them to their deaths. Police officials would only say the deaths were likely tied to the ongoing skirmishes between racist and anti-racist skinheads — the result of bad blood between two gangs.
“I attempted to provide some guidance,” says Fagel, who was still a relatively young patrolman at the time. “They tried to say (Newborn) was in a gang — I said that was not true. The gang unit was very fervent on this. It seemed like they had bad info at the time. That kid was in my purview. They colored it wrong. He got ganked by some absolute evil haters. He was murdered for being Black, literally. And it should have been the crime of the century.”
But it didn’t take the authorities too long, as Margaret Newborn put it, to get “on the right track.” Metro gang unit detectives found Butler on July 14 standing by a vehicle with Justin. Butler fled, and in the course of the chase — which eventually resulted in an arrest — an officer recovered a .32-caliber handgun that was later matched to two of the bullets recovered from Shersty’s body. Police still couldn’t link the .38 caliber bullet recovered from Newborn’s body to a specific weapon. But at least they had some physical evidence and a suspect in custody.
At that point, Metro was also looking into other suspects, including Ross Hack. Police searched Hack’s home in late July, but six days later, he fled to Germany.
Abels followed him out of the country but returned on her own to the U.S. within a few months. It didn’t matter — she wasn’t even on the authorities’ radar at that time.
Butler, meanwhile, was in possession of a stolen vehicle (and methamphetamine) when he was taken into custody — and inside that vehicle, police found a letter addressed to Butler from an inmate in Ely State Prison, in which he was told “I want the punk Spit to know he can be reached out and touched.” Butler was formally booked for the two murders that September.
While he was awaiting trial in the Clark County Detention Center, he confided in a cellmate that he’d committed the July 4 murders, even detailing the events of that night. The testimony of that witness at Butler’s December 1998 preliminary hearing helped nail the case shut, at least for “Polar Bear.” Not so for any of his co-conspirators — yet.
Shersty’s funeral was held at Nellis Air Force Base. Hodges recalls the scene being “emotionally charged,” with the service attended by both his fellow airmen from the base and — in an allowed violation of Air Force protocol — a coalition of artists, musicians, and activists.
“The way I remember it,” Hodges says, “it was like you had all these artists and musicians and punk rockers and activists sitting on one side with piercings and dyed hair, and then on the other side, you had all the airmen. We obviously had the same friend. It was just two worlds colliding.”
Newborn’s funeral was an entirely different scene — and a much more public one. Those who attended recall hundreds of people turning up at Davis Funeral Home and Memorial Park on the southeast side of Las Vegas, reflecting the outsized impact Newborn had in his short life on the community that he fought to make more harmonious.
Sierra Sky, a mutual friend of Newborn’s and Shyne’s who first encountered Life of Lies at their infamous Huntridge appearance, remembers the funeral home’s chapel being a standing-room-only affair, with people spilling outside. As she sat on the floor with her then-infant daughter and some friends, Sky says, she listened to Lionel Newborn express shock at the sheer number of people who were in attendance. “I had no idea my son had so many friends,” she recalls him saying.
“There were so many people,” Margaret Newborn says, echoing her father’s sentiments. “It was amazing. We had no idea the reach that Lin had. I did speak to some people, and they were from out of the country, not just out of state, not just from the East Coast.”
Of course, the funeral was also a potential powder keg. Some feared that racist skinheads might show up at the service or the burial and try to cause trouble. Several people remember there being a palpable sense of danger.
“There were all sorts of rumors about what was going on,” Hodges says. “There was a rumor going around that there was a bomb threat called in. I don’t know if that actually happened or not.” Shyne, who also attended the funeral, says that the air of potential threat was too much for her. She didn’t end up staying long. “It felt like anything could happen at any moment,” she says.
Thankfully, the fears turned out to be unfounded. Margaret Newborn remembers, “It was all love.” The funeral remained peaceful likely, in part, because of the proactive presence of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers — including Fagel.
“Because of the threats we’d heard, my boss felt it was prudent that we had uniformed officers there,” Fagel says. “I was allowed to attend on-duty in uniform. I was trying to help. (Newborn) knew me as a policeman, a protector, and a servant.” Fagel’s presence did not go unnoticed by Newborn’s friends.
“Officer Fagel showing up and paying his respects just showed how much he understood the importance that Spit had to the culture,” Hodges says, “but also the loss (to) the community.”
After the funeral, Fagel wrote a poem in honor of Newborn, which was subsequently published in his first poetry collection, Street Talk . Although Fagel says he no longer performs the poem, it reflects his still-seething feelings about what had happened to his friend.
“It’s hard to think about,” Fagel says. “That young man didn’t have to die for that. It makes me upset even now, to be taken out of your place of safety, to think that you’re going to a party with friends and girls, and you’re killed — and have the guy still alive who did it? It was just so wrong.”
2023
With COVID in the rearview mirror, artistic directors and cultural institutions have turned up the volume on the events scene to 11. It’s so lit that we couldn’t fit everything there is to see, hear, and do in a mere 14-page feature. Fortunately, we don’t have to: There’s now a community-created version of this annual feature online, called (literally) The Guide. Check it out — and feel free to submit your own events — at desertcompanion.com!
