Three schools locked down briefly

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

Four schools were locked down briefly Wednesday when police were chasing suspects nearby in two unrelated incidents.

Three schools near Nellis and East Lake Mead boulevards, were locked down from 12:25 to 1 p.m. while Metro Police chased a burglary suspect. Lynch Elementary School, 4850 Kell Lane, Sandy Miller Elementary School, 4851 E. Lake Mead Blvd., and Monaco Middle School, 1870 Lamont St., were affected.

Ferron Elementary School, 4200 Mountain Vista St., was locked down from 1:30 to 1:45 p.m. during a police foot chase nearby.

The schools locked the front doors and the classroom doors as a precaution, Clark County School District Police spokesman Darnell Couthen said.

In the first incident an attempted burglary had been reported at the AAA Mobile Home Park, 4976 Stanley Ave. When police arrived on the scene the suspects fled but were seen at Kell Lane and Agate Avenue a short time later, Metro Sgt. Rick Barela said.

The two teenage suspects led police on a chase on foot toward the school, prompting the lockdown. Police caught one boy at Kell and Lamont, less than a block from the school, and booked him into the Clark County Juvenile Hall.

In the second incident Metro Police officers tried to pull a car over for a traffic violation on Boulder Highway near Flamingo Road. When the silver Ford Mustang stopped in a shopping center parking lot on Flamingo, the driver bailed out of the car and fled, Barela said.

Officers learned that a warrant had been issued for the driver on a battery charge in California. As officers chased the man on foot, he headed in the school's direction, prompting the lockdown.

Both schools dismissed on time.