Metro officer shot in face

Keith Paul and Jace Radke

Thursday, June 15, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Metro Police continued a massive manhunt today for three men involved in the shooting of an officer in the face after they robbed a restaurant late Wednesday.

Officer Pete Rossi, 26, was in serious condition this morning at University Medical Center. The robbers, described as three young black men, opened fire on him in his cruiser as they fled out the back door of the Macayo Vegas restaurant, 4457 West Charleston Blvd., just before 11 p.m.

"Everyone who comes to work as a police officer knows this can happen, but it's something that you never think will happen to you," Sheriff Jerry Keller said. "When a nonsensical act like this occurs it's tough on all the officers."

Rossi, a three-year Metro veteran, who was also a police officer in Ohio, was headed south on Arville Street about 125 feet from the Charleston intersection when police say three men rushed out the back door of the restaurant and onto Arville.

"We believe two, possibly three shots were fired from a 9 mm semi-automatic," Keller said. "One bullet hit the driver's side front tire and another came through the windshield at about eye level, hitting Rossi."

The bullet struck Rossi in the chin, travelled up his face and lodged near one of his eyes, which he could lose, Keller said.

More than 150 Metro officers, including K-9 units, SWAT teams and detectives flooded the neighborhood after the shooting and started a manhunt that was still under way this morning.

A crime scene perimeter was set up between Charleston, Sahara Avenue, Wilshire Street and Valley View Boulevard, with patrol cars lining each street. Two of Metro's helicopters flew over the scene early this morning as patrol cars raced in all directions in an attempt to locate the three suspects.

Homes in the area were searched and K-9 units also swept through the Sandpiper Apartments, 4650 W. Oakey Blvd.

Rossi's patrol car came to a stop facing southeast toward a vacant lot on Arville. This morning medical supply wrappings still littered the street next to the car where emergency paramedics attended to the wounded officer.

At 10:57 p.m. Wednesday, a patron at the nearby Flex Lounge and Tavern, 4347 W. Charleston Blvd., heard shots outside and called police. Many in the lounge didn't hear anything except the pumping bass of the music inside the nightclub.

"I didn't even know anything was happening, and then someone said a lot of police lights were outside, and people started to see what was going on," bar patron Daniel Fischer said. "Police kept everyone here, and then interviewed everyone inside."

Investigators are uncertain if Rossi was responding to a robbery call from the restaurant or if he just happened to be driving by when the suspects made their getaway.

Police said that shortly before 11 p.m. three men entered the closed Macayo restaurant through the back door on Arville, and demanded money from the employees, Flynn said.

One of the employees was pistol whipped and kicked, and the men escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

After shooting Rossi, the suspects fled in a brown Chevrolet Blazer that had been parked on Arville.

The three men drove the rented Blazer through the Westland Fair shopping center parking lot bordered by Arville, Charleston and Decatur Boulevard. The suspects ditched the vehicle at a grassy median in the parking lot near The Big Game Club, 4747 Faircenter Parkway Lane, and left two guns in the Blazer, Deputy Chief Ray Flynn said.

"We believe that two of the suspects then ran over to the Olive Garden restaurant just south of The Big Game Club on Decatur, and kidnapped a woman who was just getting off work," Flynn said. "They grabbed her and her vehicle and drove off."

It took the suspects only three minutes from the time of the shooting until they were kidnapping the woman and making off with her 1991 Chevrolet Blazer at 11 p.m.

The woman was kicked out of her car near Rancho Drive and Bonanza Road, and the stolen Blazer was found at about 1:40 a.m. in the 1300 block of Monroe Avenue near H Street, police said. The woman, who was not injured, didn't call police for 90 minutes after being released, Flynn said.

Police set up a perimeter in the area of Monroe and H to search for the three men, but found nothing.

Meanwhile, detectives tracked down the name of the man who rented the initial getaway car. Investigators talked to the man but would not reveal if he was involved in the incident.

Officers spotted at least two of the suspects in a dark green late-model Dodge Intrepid or Chrysler with California license plates at about 2 a.m. near Rainbow Boulevard and Alexander Road. The suspects fled in the car, Flynn said.

Police flooded the area with officers, hoping to spot the vehicle, but again the suspects eluded them.

Many pieces of evidence, including stolen money and a "Star Wars" mask worn by one of the suspects, were recovered near the shooting scene and The Big Game Club, Flynn said.

"We have tons of physical evidence at this point, and we're confident that we'll locate these suspects," Flynn said.

Police are also examining video from outdoor security cameras on buildings that the suspects may have passed by, like the Internal Revenue Service building at 4750 W. Oakey Blvd.

Rossi's girlfriend and his roommate, who is also a Metro officer, rushed to the hospital after the shooting, Keller said. The wounded officer's parents are scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas today from their home in Philadelphia.

"Rossi's sergeant told me that he is the kind of cop that's always there to get his task done, and that he is well respected by his peers," Keller said. "The best surgeons operated on him and they were able to re-inflate his eye. They said it will be about 10 days before they re-evaluate the eye, and the injury appears to not be life-threatening."

A CAT scan showed no damage to Rossi's brain, and an eye specialist was one of the surgeons who operated on him, Keller said.

The last time a Metro officer was shot was on Dec. 5, when 41-year-old Dennis Devitte was shot eight times during a robbery attempt at Mr. D's sports bar, 1810 S. Rainbow Blvd. Devitte, who was off-duty at the time, shot and killed one of the suspects, 19-year-old Emilio Rodriguez.

Officer Marc Kahre was the last Metro officer shot to death. On Oct. 11, 1988, Kahre was shot by a man, who had earlier fired a bullet through his ex-girlfriend's front door. Kahre, driving a Metro motorcycle, followed the man's car and was waiting for backup officers. The man stopped his car, jumped out and began shooting, striking Kahre in the head.

Officer Russell Peterson was the last Metro officer who was killed while on duty. On March 24, 1998, Peterson, assigned to the search and rescue unit, was climbing a frozen waterfall in a training exercise on Mount Charleston when a chunk of ice broke away, hitting and killing him.