Gun scare prompts evacuation of market

Heather Rawlyk

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2004 | 11:19 a.m.

Customers were evacuated from a Food 4 Less grocery store in south Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon for fear they would be shot.

The evacuation occurred after a man who had been driving erratically in the area was reported to have run into the store with a gun.

A citizen driving southbound on Interstate 15 called police at 4:15 p.m. and reported seeing a man driving recklessly and "sideswiping" several cars along the roadway before exiting onto Las Vegas Boulevard, according to Metro Police Lt. W. Graham, who refused to give his first name.

The driver continued southbound and pulled into the parking lot of the Food 4 Less grocery store at 8280 Las Vegas Blvd. South, then hit another car, Graham said.

The witness told police he saw the man get out of the car and run into the grocery store, with what the caller believed to be a gun in his hand.

Police arrived and surrounded the grocery store and all customers inside were evacuated, Graham said.

The store was searched using police dogs for 45 minutes before the man was spotted in the meat section, located at the back of the store, Graham said. "They released the K-9's and the man started running and ran right into a police officer's arms," Graham said.

The man, Modoris Martinez, was taken into police custody, Metro Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Jones said. His age and charges were not available from Metro this morning.

Police searched for a gun for an hour, but no weapon was found, Jones said.