Las Vegas police identify officer who shot, killed man Wednesday

The officer who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop Wednesday night is a sergeant, Las Vegas police said Saturday.

In an emailed statement sent early Saturday, the Metropolitan Police Department identified the officer as Timothy Stovall, 51, who’s assigned to the Gangs Vice Bureau’s investigative services division. Stovall shot and killed 38-year-old Jesus Caballero during a traffic stop northeast of the Las Vegas Valley.

Metro had previously described the officer who killed Caballero as a detective.

About 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, Stovall was in an unmarked police vehicle when he saw someone driving “erratically” on Interstate 15 northbound near Cheyenne Avenue, Metro has said.

Stovall followed the vehicle and requested a marked patrol car to perform a vehicle stop. He followed the car into the far northeast valley, where it pulled off the highway onto Apex Road, police said.

Using his “emergency equipment,” Stovall stopped the vehicle, and Caballero got out of the car and “produced” a firearm, police said. Stovall shot Caballero “a short time later.”

Caballero died at University Medical Center of gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, the Clark County coroner’s office has said.

Stovall has worked for the department since 2001, and he was placed on routine paid administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated, the department said.

Caballero’s shooting marks the sixth involving Metro officers this year and is the second fatal police shooting, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal. Further information about his death is set to be released within 72 hours of the shooting.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.