Officers face inquest in shooting death

Keith Paul

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.

When 19-year-old Frakelin Marice Hardy brought home his new 13-year-old girlfriend, his mother was apparently so appalled by the girl's young age, she ordered Hardy out of her Bakersfield, Calif., home.

The teenage couple left Hardy's home, and according to police, robbed one -- possibly two -- Bakersfield businesses before making their way to Las Vegas and a deadly encounter with Metro Police on July 10.

Testimony started this morning in a Clark County coroner's inquest to determine if four officers were justified in shooting and killing Hardy.

Hardy ran into the Rum Runner bar on Tropicana Avenue with a gun about 11:15 p.m. July 10 and announced a robbery. When the bartender hit the ground, police said, Hardy robbed several patrons and fled to his waiting car with the 13-year-old in the passenger seat.

Just around the corner, several gang unit detectives heard the call reporting the robbery over the police radio. They spotted the suspected getaway car and started following.

Hardy's car got caught in heavy traffic at a stoplight at Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street. As the officers moved in, Hardy hit a car and tried to escape, police said.

The officers -- Sgt. David Schvaneveldt, Detective Chris Tomaino, Detective Michael Game and Officer Joseph Lepore -- fired several times at the car. Witnesses and police said Hardy was trying to run over an officer. The officers are on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation.

The 13-year-old girl, who was wounded in the shooting, will be called as a witness during the inquest, but it is not known if she will testify. Police said officers recovered a revolver from the girl as she was taken out of the car and charged her with carrying a concealed weapon. Her name has not been released.

The girl, who is being held in the juvenile detention center, was charged with robbery, but the charge was dropped, Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit said.

When she returns to California, she faces a robbery charge, Bakersfield Police Sgt. Bob Bivens said.

The girl had been reported as a runaway by her family in March, but Bivens said that was not the first time the girl has left home.

Two days before Hardy and the girl rode to the Rum Runner bar, police say, they were involved in two robberies in California.

The brief robbery spree apparently started after Hardy's mother kicked him out of the house for dating the young teen.

"His mother was apparently not pleased he was dating such a young girl," Bivens said.

Hardy's only recent contact with Bakersfield police was a traffic stop earlier this year.