Thursday, July 13, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.
Three of the Metro Police officers who shot and killed a 19-year-old robbery suspect were in a gang unit that happened to be in the area when a bar was robbed.
The gang unit officers were identified this morning as Sgt. David Schvaneveldt, 40, Detective Chris Tomaino, 29, and Detective Michael Game, 37. The fourth officer who fired was patrol Officer Joseph Lepore, 23, assigned to the Southeast area command, said Sgt. Christopher Darcy, a department spokesman.
The officers fired several times at the car of the 19-year-old suspect, identified as Frakelin Marice Hardy of Bakersfield, Calif.
The officers fired after witnesses and police said Hardy tried to run over an officer. The shooting, which followed a car chase after the bar robbery, occurred at the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street about 11:15 p.m. Monday
A 13-year-old girl, who was in the passenger seat of Hardy's car, was wounded and listed this morning in good condition at University Medical Center. Once released from the hospital, she will be charged with robbery and other related charges connected to the holdup inside the Rum Runner Lounge, 1801 E. Tropicana Ave., Capt. Greg Jolley said.
Police found a sawed-off rifle in the car near Hardy, and the girl had a revolver, police said.
The girl, also of Bakersfield, was reported as a runaway by her family in March, said Sgt. Bob Bivens, a Bakersfield Police spokesman. The runaway investigation was considered open until Bakersfield Police learned she was in the Las Vegas hospital, Bivens said.
Hardy's only recent contact with Bakersfield police was a traffic stop earlier this year. The Kern County, Calif., Sheriff's Office would not release any information about Hardy.
Hardy went into the bar wearing a ski mask and tried to rob at gunpoint the bartender, who dived for the floor. Getting no money from the bartender, the gunman then robbed seven patrons of the bar, police said.
Several gang-unit officers were nearby and responded to the robbery call. They saw the 19-year-old fleeing in a gray Nissan from the bar.
About four minutes after the robbery, the Nissan came to a stop in the far right westbound lane of Tropicana. Police converged on the traffic-congested intersection from all directions, witnesses said.
Officers reportedly ordered the man to stop, but when the car continued toward one, police fired, Jolley said.
The car was behind a large Cadillac and tried to move into another lane to escape police, but there wasn't enough room, Jolley said.
The Nissan hit the back of the Cadillac as the getaway car tried to move into the adjacent lane, putting the officer in its path, Jolley said.
The officers will remain on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation, which is routine in officer-involved shootings.
Schvaneveldt, a Metro officer for 11 years, received the department's medal of honor in 1998 for running into a burning building searching for people who may be trapped inside. Another officer led an elderly woman from the building.
Tomaino has been a Metro officer for six years. Game has been with the department for 10 years, and Lepore has been an officer for about 18 months, Darcy said.
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