Man mistakes NLV officers for prowler, fires shots

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, July 6, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Shotgun pellets whizzed above the heads of two North Las Vegas Police officers who were called to the home of a fellow officer on a prowler report this morning, police said.

The 24-year-old stepson of the North Las Vegas detective who believed a prowler was in his yard shot at the officers through a window, believing he was shooting at the prowler, police said.

No one was hurt, Officer Tim Bedwell, spokesman for the department said, but the man, whom Bedwell did not identify, may face charges.

The detective called 911 just after 3 a.m., saying he thought a prowler might be in his yard in the 1500 block of Los Alamos Drive near Lone Mountain Road and Camino Al Norte. The person may have jiggled the knob on the detective's front door, Bedwell said.

When two patrol officers arrived three minutes later, the detective's stepson fired a round from a shotgun through a window at the side of the garage, Bedwell said. The officers were about 40 feet from the window.

The man claimed he didn't intend to shoot at the officers but thought he was firing at the alleged prowler. No prowlers were found.

He could be charged with negligent discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor, Bedwell said.

"You can't shoot at someone outside your home unless you can articulate a reasonable fear for your life," Bedwell said.

Several times in the past, authorities have decided against filing charges against homeowners who have shot and killed intruders who entered their homes.

For example, last September a Las Vegas woman fatally shot a neighbor who broke through her ceiling. She was not charged. The man was trying to get away from police, who were attempting to arrest him for breaking into the woman's house several months earlier.

The woman was in reasonable fear for her life, police said.

However, in this morning's case, there was no reasonable threat because the alleged prowler had not entered the home, Bedwell said, and it was not clear if a prowler even existed.