Man killed in police shootout at Rio was high on cocaine, Metro says

A man wanted by police in connection with several casino heists was high on cocaine when police shot and killed him at the Rio last December, a Metro detective testified Monday.

Anthony Wade Moore, 31,had robbed three casinos using a gun and a fake grenade in November before police caught up to him on Dec. 7, Detective Marc Colon said during a fact-finding review of the police shooting.

Detectives Sean Beck and Thomas Faller had been tailing Moore throughout the morning and were ordered to make the arrest just after 5 a.m. They followed him to the Rio lobby, started walking toward him to take him into custody, Colon said.

What happened next was all caught on the Rio's security cameras.

Moore turned around and spotted Beck. The detective ordered Moore to get on the ground.

But Moore instead turned back toward the elevators, and reached into a gym bag hanging on his shoulder.

Faller fired his Taser at Moore, but Even with the prongs in his back, the 5-foot-8-inch, 200-pound ex-bodybuilder was able to reach inside the bag and grab his gun, Colon said.

Beck closed in, put his knee on Moore's shoulder, and saw him reaching for the gun. Beck told him "Don't do it! Don't do it!" Colon said.

Still, Moore managed to pull the trigger on his Tauras .40 calibur pistol., forcing Beck to fire a single shot to the back of Moore's head, killing him, Colon said. The round Moore fired went through his own hand and ricocheted into his upper stomach.

An autopsy performed on Moore showed that he tested positive for cocaine, cocaine metabolites, alcohol and nicotine at the time of his death, Colon said.

The metabolites in his system means that Moore was likely a regular cocaine user, Colon added.

Besides being wanted for at least three casino robberies, Moore also was a wanted man out of Oregon with a history of assault and drug charges dating back to 2003.

Moore was arrested in 2003 on charges of domestic violence assault in Tigard, a city in the Portland area. The way that case played out in court was not immediately available.

He was arrested again in Tigard in March 2014 on charges of assault, weapons use and criminal mistreatment.

On July 21, Moore was arrested on several drug charges involving methamphetamine, cocaine and Ecstasy. He was released Nov. 1 on probation.

But Moore never showed up to meet his probation officer, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The warrant was still active out of Oregon at the time of his death.

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com ro 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead.