Two die as police chase suspected carjacker, 16

Keith Paul

Thursday, May 9, 2002 | 10:56 a.m.

A 16-year-old boy is charged with killing two people and shooting a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper in a pair of carjackings Wednesday night.

The boy was apprehended about 2:30 this morning after a high-speed chase with North Las Vegas Police that ended when the stolen sport utility vehicle he was driving rammed into an unsuspecting motorist, killing the driver.

The boy was in fair condition at University Medical Center this morning and faces charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery, grand larceny auto, reckless driving resulting in death and felony evasion. He will be charged as an adult, police said.

The final deadly chase was captured on video by a film crew of the television show "Cops," which was riding with North Las Vegas Police officers.

The deadly encounters with the teen started about 9:45 p.m. on the off-ramp of U.S. 95 and Eastern Avenue. A trooper had pulled over a motorist for an unsafe lane change and was writing a ticket.

The driver of a white Lincoln Towncar struck the driver's door of the car the trooper had stopped. The teen is accused of jumping out of the Towncar and firing shots at the trooper, who returned fire, police said.

The trooper was hit in the foot, but the 16-year-old apparently was uninjured and fled the area, Lt. Tom Monahan of Metro's homicide unit said.

Police found the driver inside the Towncar had been shot.

"It appears the driver of the Lincoln intentionally struck the victim's car to get the trooper's aid," Capt. Dennis Cobb said. "We believe the driver was shot by the suspect either just before or after he struck the car."

The driver, whose name was not released this morning, was taken to UMC, where he later died. The trooper, who has been with the Highway Patrol for 2 1/2 years, was treated and released.

Police allege the 16-year-old, whose name was not released this morning, ran about 500 yards and carjacked another vehicle, an SUV, at Stewart and Eastern avenues, Monahan said.

The boy fled in the SUV as troopers and Metro officers responded to the off-ramp at Eastern and U.S. 95.

The man whose SUV was carjacked called police hours later and said he saw his vehicle. North Las Vegas Police spotted the SUV in their jurisdiction and tried to pull it over. The driver of the stolen SUV led police on a high-speed chase near Decatur Boulevard and Vegas Drive, Monahan said.

"A guy in a compact (car) had the misfortune of crossing the intersection as the suspect sped through and (the suspect) T-boned the compact" in the intersection of Decatur and Vegas, Monahan said. "The impact sent the car at least 100 yards. (The suspect) was traveling in excess of 80 mph."

The driver of the car was killed. When police pulled the teen out of the stolen SUV, a gun fell out, Monahan said.

"The fact that it was a 16-year-old doing all this is just amazing," Cobb said.