Second suspect jailed in shooting of officer

Keith Paul

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

A second suspect was arrested Monday night in connection with last month's restaurant robbery that led to a Metro Police officer being shot in the face.

Darnell Graham Harris, 21, was in the Clark County Detention Center this morning, booked on attempted murder of a police officer, robbery, kidnapping and burglary charges in connection with the June 14 robbery and shooting of Metro Officer Pete Rossi, said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit.

Petersen would not reveal what information led to the arrest of Harris, who was found at a home east of downtown Las Vegas about 7:40 p.m. Harris, who is on probation, was apprehended by Metro officers with the help of Nevada Division of Parole and Probation officials.

Petersen also said this morning that a man who was in the county jail on other charges and was suspected in the shooting is now believed not to have been involved.

About 17 hours after Rossi was shot, police arrested Markus Weatherspoon, 22, at a duplex at 1297 N. N St. in connection with the robbery and shooting. He is currently held in the Clark County jail.

Police are still searching for two men in connection with the robbery of the Macayo Vegas restaurant, 4457 W. Charleston Blvd., just before 11 p.m. June 14. As a trio of robbers fled the scene running toward a getaway car, one of the robbers fired shots at Rossi.

Police believe when the bullet went through the windshield it split apart, with one fragment hitting Rossi, 26, in the chin and the other fragment going into his eye.

Petersen said some information about suspects is still coming in and detectives are pursuing leads to identify and locate another robbery suspect and the getaway car driver.

Harris has a history of arrests that includes charges last year of kidnapping, drug possession, obstruction and giving false information to a police officer. He was on probation on the drug-possession charge. In 1998 he was arrested on an obstructing a police officer charge, said Officer Tirso Dominguez, a Metro spokesman.

At the time of Weatherspoon's arrest, Sheriff Jerry Keller described him as having "a very violent past." Weatherspoon has previous arrests for domestic battery and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime. He is wanted in North Las Vegas and Los Angeles on drug-related charges.

A woman who rented the sport utility vehicle used as the getaway car was charged last week with embezzlement of a vehicle on June 22. Kimberly Landrum, 25, is accused of renting the vehicle in April and never returning it to the rental car agency, police said. She was not charged in connection with the robbery or shooting.

The 2000 Chevy Blazer was abandoned near the restaurant, and detectives collected evidence from it. A justice of peace ordered Weatherspoon to provide a DNA sample to police, to be taken by swabs from the inside of his mouth.

Police said they were seeking a DNA sample to compare it to evidence collected, but declined to specify what evidence would be compared.