Las Vegas smoke shop clerk accused of fatally shooting teen appears in court

The 13-year-old fatally shot in a west valley smoke shop Dec. 2 was at least 40 feet away from the clerk who shot him as he was running out of the store, an arrest report released Thursday said.

The Metropolitan Police Department report on the clerk’s arrest outlined some of what was shown in the store’s surveillance video and statements made by Lucky Cigars and Smokes employee Raad Sunna and the teens involved.

Fabriccio Patti, an eighth-grader at Lawrence Junior High School, was shot after he and two classmates, all with clothing covering their faces, ran into the store at 8665 W. Flamingo Road on Dec. 2.

The police report said Sunna told police on Dec. 2 that one of the boys, whose names are all redacted throughout the report, was “at a full run towards him, behind the counter,” when the clerk drew his gun and began to shoot.

Police learned the following day that Fabriccio had been shot seven times with all of the entrance wounds on his back.

Officers who viewed the the store’s footage Monday saw that one of the boys held the door open, and the other two boys went in, ran behind the counter and began to grab merchandise. Fabriccio was grabbing marijuana paraphernalia from the wall at least 40 feet away from Sunna when the clerk opened fire, the report said.

When the gunfire began, the boys began to run toward the exit, but Fabriccio was struck several times and collapsed.

Sunna, 24, was charged with murder and released from custody after posting $150,000 bail. The clerk made his first court appearance Thursday.

He surrendered his U.S. passport to authorities Thursday morning, according to his attorney, Dominic Gentile.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron ordered Sunna to remain on house arrest, while allowing him to go to work, see his doctor and lawyer and attend church. The judge set a preliminary hearing for next month.

Outside of court, Gentile said he advised Sunna not to speak to reporters.

“The only thing we can be sure of at this point is that this tragedy has affected at least two families,” Gentile said. “It’s affected the Patti family, and it’s affected the Sunna family. And nobody wanted it to happen.”

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the other teens, 14 and 15, would be prosecuted in the juvenile court system.

Wolfson called the shooting “a sad, tragic case that didn’t have to happen. In my opinion, there was a lapse of judgment by all.”

Fabriccio’s father, Martin Patti, told reporters earlier this week that the boy was shot multiple times in the back and at least once in the head.

Metro initially said the shooting appeared to be defensive but reversed course after reviewing surveillance footage from inside the store.

The Police Department acknowledged that there was a divide in public opinions about Sunna’s arrest. But Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo stood by the arrest during a meeting with news agencies Thursday.

“A lot of people are split,” Lombardo said, but “the actions of the suspect were in question.”

The department also noted that Sunna had a permit to carry a concealed weapon and had the gun on him. And the smoke shop had not had any incidents involving police in the 90 days befire the shooting.

“I think it was appropriate to recommend prosecution,” Lombardo said.

Wolfson said the surveillance video would be “released to the public in due course.”

“There are professional rules of conduct, which prohibit attorneys from releasing certain information to the public which could prejudice the rights of a defendant’s fair trial,” he said.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter. Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.