1 man in custody, 1 on the run after robbery, beating in southeast Las Vegas
A man is in custody and another is at large after beating and robbing two women and ramming a stolen vehicle into a police car Wednesday morning.
The beating was witnessed by a patrol officer in the area of Boulder Highway and Tropicana Avenue, police said.
About 4 a.m., the officer watched as a white pickup truck driving south on the highway made a sudden lane change and stopped on the right shoulder, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. David Gordon said. The truck’s passenger got out of the vehicle and approached two women on the sidewalk, then battered both women and took at least one of their purses.
The man got back into the truck, which continued southbound. The officer who saw the crime tried to make a traffic stop, but the truck kept driving and a pursuit ensued, Gordon said.
The suspects turned east on Desert Horizons Drive and made a U-turn to intentionally ram the patrol car. The officer wasn’t injured, and the vehicles in the crash had only minor damage, Gordon said.
After the crash, the men exited the truck and ran in separate directions. Patrol and K-9 units surrounded the area in a search.
Rodrigo Cruz, 18, was discovered hiding in a nearby home’s side yard, and a handgun was retrieved in another spot nearby, police said.
Cruz is facing one count of a driver evading, eluding or failing to stop on signal of peace officers and endangering other person/property and two counts of battery with a deadly weapon. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center and is due in court Thursday morning.
Officers contacted the truck’s registered owner, who reported it missing but declined to file a stolen vehicle report, Gordon said.
The battered women have not been located.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts or identities of the women or man who got away should call the southeast area command detectives at 702-828-3206 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
Contact Lawren Linehan at llinehan@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Find @lawrenlinehan on Twitter.