Terry Haga, 69

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Terry Haga, 69, a white man, was reported as a Los Angeles County homicide victim because he died here, even though he actually was the victim of an assault in Las Vegas four months ago.

According to Sgt. Russell Shoemaker of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Haga, a retiree, was found lying next to his car in the driveway of a neighbor’s home in the 2800 block of Northam Street in Las Vegas late at night on Aug. 20, 2007. He had been stabbed, and the neighbor called 911.

He was taken to a local Vegas hospital, and doctors thought he was going to survive. He was transferred into one rehabilitation center, then another, moving toward release. But then family members became concerned for his health. He was transferred to a medical facility in Los Angeles County, then died there of complications of his injuries at 4:25 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12.

The Homicide Report uses coroner’s records to count homicide in Los Angeles County, so although Haga’s murder is technically a Nevada case, his death here qualifies him as an L.A. victim. Much like Los Angeles, Las Vegas homicides are down sharply this year. Las Vegas has had 119 homicides so far this year, down 23% from this time last year.