Las Vegas robbery attempt led to officer shootings, police say
An officer-involved shooting on Aug. 21 stemmed from an attempted robbery in an off-duty Las Vegas police officer’s neighborhood, according to a recently released arrest report.
According to the report:
Detective Austin Bone called 911 about 11:30 p.m. Aug. 21 to report that he had been shot, and that he had fired 10 shots at two men who fled in a black Nissan Altima.
Bone told police he’d walked out of his house near Sunking Street and Dole Avenue around 11:15 p.m. and saw his male neighbor walking with a woman later identified as 21-year-old Crystal Garcia. He said he saw two men following his neighbor; the men were later identified as brothers Markquwon Allen, 25, and Devan Allen, 27.
The detective said he ran back into his house to grab his cellphone and his gun, and when he got back outside he saw the Allen brothers running toward a black sedan near the community entrance gate. He tried to get the vehicle’s license plate number, but one of the men yelled, “Hey, what are you doing?” and charged toward him.
The officer tackled the man, but another approached and pointed a gun at the detective. Bone said he ran for cover but heard two or three gunshots and fell to the ground. He rolled over and fired 10 shots at the brothers, who ran back to the Altima and headed south on Decatur.
Bone called 911. He had been shot three times in the leg and suffered a broken femur.
On-duty officers heard Bone’s call and were able to locate the Altima heading south on Las Vegas Boulevard. They followed the car until it stopped in traffic on Fourth Street, south of Ogden Avenue. Two men got out of the car and ran from officers, heading west between Nacho Daddy and White Castle.
When the officers approached the car, which had a broken back windshield, they found Garcia and the Allen brothers in the back seat. All three were taken into custody, and Garcia told police the brothers had fired the shots.
Garcia said she was in town visiting the brothers from California, and was going to meet a man she had met on Facebook. She told police the Allen brothers are protective of her and had asked to see a picture of the man. When she showed them, they “insinuated they wanted to rob him,” according to the report.
The report continues:
The woman told police she took an Uber to hang out with the man, but she called the Allen brothers to come pick her up a few hours later. She said she’d walked to the community entrance gate to wait for her friends, but the man she was with persuaded her to wait at the house instead.
The brothers arrived as the pair was walking back to the house and confronted the man. He told police they “pistol whipped him approximately eight times” and stole his wallet and Rolex watch.
Garcia and the brothers then ran to the Altima, which was being driven by a friend, 26-year-old Johnathan Pennington. The Allens confronted and shot at Bone; then the group fled south on Decatur looking for a hospital for the brothers, who had been shot, Garcia said.
Pennington was one of the two who fled when officers caught up to the car. Police located the registered owner of the vehicle, who claimed she and Pennington had a child together. Pennington called her, and police were able to track the call to his sister’s house, where they found and arrested him.
The other man who fled was 25-year-old Marquise Allen. He had not yet been caught at the time of the arrests.
The Allens, Garcia and Pennington were all arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm and battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm.
All four were being held at the Clark County Detention Center, with court appearances set for this week.
Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.