Man accused of ramming police cars, fleeing is brother of murder suspect
A 26-year-old man accused of ramming into police cars last week told investigators he led officers on two high-speed chases because his brother was arrested on suspicion of murder, according to an arrest report.
Javonn Caver was arrested Friday after allegedly ramming into a North Las Vegas Police Department vehicle on Thursday night, and then ramming into a Metropolitan Police Department vehicle the following day while fleeing from police at up to 100 mph, according to the report.
Caver told police he “wanted to get into high speed chases with officers” because his brother had recently been arrested on suspicion of murder in North Las Vegas.
Last week, 28-year-old John Caver was arrested in connection with a February shooting in North Las Vegas that left a 17-year-old dead, police said.
Javonn Caver told investigators that before he fled from police, he was in the area of H Street and Owens Avenue looking for the North Las Vegas detective who had arrested his brother, the report said. He admitted to “ramming” a North Las Vegas police car on Thursday in a neighborhood near Owens and Main Street.
About 3:55 p.m. Friday, Metro officers received a report of a stolen vehicle near H Street and Curran Way, which investigators believe was involved in ramming the North Las Vegas car the night before, the report said.
A detective who arrived at the scene attempted to convince Javonn Caver “to be reasonable and give up,” but he told the officer, “Y’all going to have to chase me,” the report said. Javonn Caver then sped away, and other officers attempted to set up a roadblock with their vehicles in the neighborhood.
Javonn Caver then rammed into the side of a Las Vegas police vehicle while an officer was inside of it, the report said. He sped away again at up to 100 mph and did not stop when officers attempted to pull him over.
He drove onto Interstate 15 near Lake Mead Boulevard and headed north in the southbound lanes for about 2 miles, the report said.
A Metro helicopter tracked Javonn Caver through neighborhoods near Cheyenne Avenue and Civic Center Drive but lost sight of him.
About two hours later, police again saw Javonn Caver’s car at a gas station near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Owens. He again fled the scene, leading police on a second pursuit going more than 100 mph. Javonn Caver was eventually stopped about 3 miles away, near 13th and Fremont streets, the report said.
After he was detained, Javonn Caver “made spontaneous utterances that he does not care about killing people and that was the reason he was driving the way he was driving in the wrong direction on the freeway,” an officer wrote in the report.
Javonn Caver faces felony charges of tampering with a vehicle, two counts of assaulting a first responder with a deadly weapon, three counts of disobeying a peace officer while endangering others, possession of a stolen vehicle, battery with a deadly weapon against a first responder, assault with a deadly weapon, destroying personal property, and two gross misdemeanor counts of disregarding another’s safety, court records show.
He remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday without bail. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 6.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
