Police: Bloodstain, shoes lead to arrest of Las Vegas burglary suspect
A pair of shoes and a bloodstain at a Las Vegas cafe led authorities to the arrest of a man police said was tied to a dozen burglaries across the north and west Las Vegas Valley.
T’Shawn Allen, 27, is accused of stealing hundreds of dollars from businesses such as Pink Box Donuts, Pretty Soul Kitchen and Buffalo Wild Wings, and caused potentially thousands of dollars in damages over a two-day theft spree, his arrest report said.
He was on probation for theft-related charges at the time of his arrest, police said.
Metropolitan Police Department investigators alleged in the report that Allen arrived at each of the properties in a white Nissan Versa, which he had rented through the car sharing company Turo at 12 a.m. on Dec. 21, just hours before the first break-in. The vehicle’s registered owner, Alizabeth Vasquez, said Allen was one of her friends, according to the report.
Vasquez told police that Allen “was trying to get back on his feet,” and needed a vehicle to get around, so she allowed him to use the car for a day. Vasquez said that after the vehicle was picked up she had not seen Allen and did not know what he was doing with the car.
When Allen did not bring the car back on time, Vasquez tried calling him, but did not reach him until about 6 a.m. on Dec. 23, after the last robberies were committed, according to police.
“Vasquez stated it took a lot of courage to come forward, but she knew it was best to tell law enforcement she knew who was driving the car when she saw a patrol vehicle and detectives standing outside of the Nissan,” the report said.
On probation when arrested
Police said they responded to Pretty Soul Kitchen, located at 7365 Sahara Avenue, around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 21 after the business owner reported her alarm system had gone off. Investigators found that the suspect had broken into or attempted to break into four other businesses within the same complex, as well as a Buffalo Wild Wings and Cafe Lola, roughly six miles south, that same morning.
Police said the suspect cut himself at the cafe, leaving blood on a door handle inside. The suspect also left behind a cell phone that was reported stolen from Thai Spa, according to the report.
Investigators gathered surveillance footage from the incidents, which they said showed Allen, wearing a black beanie, a gray sweatshirt, and red shoes, using a glass-breaking tool to enter various storefronts. Police said that on Dec. 23, Allen burglarized five more businesses, including Pink Box Donuts, Crumbl Cookies, and Cephas Jiu Jitsu.
Allen faces 10 counts of burglary of a business and two more of attempted burglary of a business. Officers arrested Allen, who said he knew nothing about the burglaries, at the Siegel Suites, where he was renting an apartment.
According to police, Allen’s neighbor, Brandan Lucas, later told investigators that Allen asked him to indefinitely hold onto the shoes he had been seen wearing during the burglaries.
At the time of his arrest, police said, detectives noticed “a small cut on the pinky finger of his left hand of Allen which is consistent with the reason blood was found” at Cafe Lola.
Court records show that Allen has faced theft-related charges dating back to 2016. In 2022, Allen pleaded guilty to another burglary spree in which he broke into coffee shops, a smoke shop, and multiple restaurants in the south valley.
He was sentenced to one to four years in prison, but it is unclear how much time he served.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
