Officer cleared in fatal shooting

Jen Lawson

Monday, Feb. 23, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

A Metro Police officer who shot an armed, fleeing suspect in the back last month was cleared of any wrongdoing Friday by a Clark County coroner's inquest jury.

John Evans, 29, testified that he felt 24-year-old Keith Williams was a threat because he allegedly had committed a home invasion earlier in the night and was running toward some homes in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood with a gun in his hand.

"We have a right to protect you guys and protect everyone," Evans told the jury. "We are trained that if someone is an immediate threat and has robbed someone, tied someone up and has this adrenaline rush and he has a gun pointed at me, he's not going to give up."

The shooting happened Jan. 21. On Jan. 17 another home invasion robbery occurred at a home in Sun City Summerlin. Homeowner Jim Rothermel testified that he and his wife were tied up and at least five guns were stolen.

Police testified that the guns used in the home invasion four days later were stolen from the Rothermels.

In the latter incident three armed men burst into the home in the 4100 block of North Durango Drive and tied up the homeowners and their daughter.

Homeowner Vincenzo Mugno was pistol-whipped and a large amount of property -- computer equipment, electronics, jewelry and appliances -- were stolen.

Ute Brunk-Mugno called 911 after untying herself. Natalie Mugno, 21, arrived home while the robbery was in progress and had seen the suspects' car, a red Toyota four-door with untinted windows, in the driveway and described it to the call-taker.

Three police officers who had heard the descriptions of the suspects and the their vehicle over their radios quickly spotted the car a few miles from the Mugno's home.

Evans testified that in the 1200 block of Silver Prospect Drive, near Washington Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, he used a "pursuit immobilization technique" in which his front fender touched the suspects' rear fender, causing the suspects' vehicle to spin and stall.

The driver, Williams, got out of the car with a gun in his hand, Evans said.

"He pointed the gun directly at me while getting out of the car," Evans said. Evans' cruiser was angled against the suspects' car, and Williams hopped over the hood of the cruiser and began running toward some homes.

Evans said he didn't give Williams any verbal commands to stop or drop his weapon.

Evans fired four shots, hitting Williams once in the left upper back. He continued running but quickly collapsed and died in a back yard. A gun was found nearby, in between two houses, and police testified that it appeared that Williams had dropped it while running.

When asked by a juror if there had been any alternative to shooting Williams, Evans said if there had been enough time, the SWAT team could have been called, but "all we have to address deadly force with deadly force, and that's our firearms," he said.

He testified that he felt Williams posed an immediate threat to nearby residents and he feared he would run into a house and take the residents hostage.

Jurors deliberated for about 20 minutes before announcing they unanimously determined Evans' actions were justified.