Arrest made after standoff with police

David Kihara

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 | 11:18 a.m.

One man was arrested and six were being detained and questioned after a two-hour standoff in northwest Las Vegas that was preceded by a Metro Police officer firing shots at a car, police said.

The officer shot at 18-year-old Angel Arroyo this morning when Arroyo allegedly tried to run him over with a vehicle in an alley near Vegas Drive and Jones Boulevard, police said.

No one was hurt by the gunfire, and an investigation into the incident is pending.

A group of young men who had been with Arroyo fled into a nearby residence and initially refused police orders to come out. They eventually relented, however, and the stand-off ended uneventfully around 4:30 a.m., Metro stated.

Arroyo is facing charges of attempted murder of a police officer and could face additional charges, said Sgt. Chris Jones, Metro spokesman. His companions were being questioned this morning, said Jones.

It all began about 2:20 a.m.,when a Metro officer spotted five individuals acting suspiciously in a vehicle on the 5800 block of Vegas Drive, said Officer Jose Montoya, Metro spokesman.

While the officer was running a check on the vehicle, the suspects drove into the parking lot of a Circle K convenience store at 5400 Vegas Drive. The officer discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen and pulled up behind the vehicle in the parking lot of the convenience store, Montoya said.

The suspects drove away and a short chase ensued, Montoya said. The officer followed the suspects into a nearby alley.

Four of the suspects fled from the vehicle and ran to an apartment at 5835 W. Vegas Drive, near Vegas Drive and North Jones Blvd., said Jones. Arroyo was in the car when the officer approached it and allegedly attempted to run over the officer several times, Jones said.

The officer then fired several shots at Arroyo, police said. Arroyo got out of the car and ran to the apartment where his four companions were holed up.

Arroyo and the suspects remained in the apartment with two other people when Metro arrived. It was unclear what the relationship between the suspects and those in the apartment was, or whether any of the suspects lived in the apartment, Jones said.

The officer involved in the shooting is on paid administrative leave, Jones said.