Man shot by police indicted in thefts

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, April 17, 2003 | 9:42 a.m.

A Las Vegas man authorities say is responsible for a string of local convenience store and fast food restaurant robberies was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday.

The document, unsealed before District Judge Valerie Adair, charges Edward Everett Seely with 23 felony counts, including robbery with use of a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

Prosecutors believe Seely, 35, robbed a Jiffy Lube on Charleston Boulevard, a 7-Eleven on South Torrey Pines Drive and a Burger King on South Rainbow Boulevard between March 2 and March 13, Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc Digiacomo said.

Seely was shot by police when he was apprehended and is currently in custody at University Medical Center, Digiacomo said. He is paralyzed from the chest down.

Adair set a no-bail bench warrant for Seely's arrest pending his release, but Digiacomo said that could take a while.

"He's not expected to leave the hospital for months," he said.

Digiacomo said Seely's crime spree was a dangerous one that often included the use of firearms.

During the 7-Eleven robbery, Seely forced two store clerks into a storage closet at gunpoint while he committed thefts. He then fired shots into the storage room door, hitting and wounding one clerk.

During the Burger King robbery, in which Seely also used a firearm, he forced four clerks into a freezer while he stole money and a cellular phone, the document alleges.

Police shot Seely after police allege he aimed a gun at them and stated, "The only way you're going to take me is to kill me," Digiacomo said.