Masked duo got more than bargained for in robbery attempt, report shows

A duo of masked and armed robbers showed up to a medical office on a recent Wednesday demanding to see where the money was.

But it was the would-be robbers who ended up getting shot by a medical assistant, according to details in a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.

Veronica Clay, 45, was fatally wounded and her boyfriend, 43-year-old Mario Antwaun Chism, a seven-time registered felon, was arrested last Wednesday, two weeks after the Dec. 16 thwarted scheme, Metro said.

Dr. Theodore Thorp's office, 2801 W. Charleston Blvd., near Rancho Drive, was ready to close at about 7 p.m. when the two entered the business, police said. Jose Perez, the assistant, was with the last patient of the night.

At gunpoint, Chism and Clay ordered the pair to go into a waiting area, Metro said. Clay stood guard while Chism went into Thorp's office demanding money. When Thorp said there was none, Chism pistol-whipped him.

Chism returned to the waiting area and pointed a gun at Perez' stomach, according to the report. Perez took him around the medical office and showed him that there was no money. That's when Chism pistol-whipped Perez, too. Eventually, Thorp handed the robbers his watch and money in his pocket.

The robbers made Perez kneel, but when they became distracted, the report said, he ran to his car to get a Glock pistol.

As Perez headed back to the office, he spotted the robbers near a dumpster enclosure close to the building. It wasn't immediately clear how far he was from them, but he told police the "suspects appeared to be looking at him," and he was "afraid" Chism would shoot and kill him, so he fired rounds in their direction.

The robbers disappeared around the dumpster enclosure, which was about 70 feet away from his car, Metro said. As Perez headed toward the enclosure, he told police, he saw that a head "popped up," and he fired two rounds.

Perez had shot Clay, Metro said, and he told detectives he saw Chism run away — leaving a trail of blood.

It was later determined that Clay had been a patient at the office several months prior and that she apparently knew Perez. She said to him, "Jose you shot me and I didn't have anything," according to the report. She began to undress and showed Perez a gunshot wound in her chest.

Clay later died at University Medical Center. Metro has linked Clay and Chism to a previous petty robbery out of North Las Vegas.

The investigation then led police to Clay's mother, who told them that Chism called her the night of the robbery. Chism told her that he and Clay were at Lorenzi Park, 3343 W. Washington Ave., when a man walked up to them, pulled out a gun and started shooting at them, the report said. The park is about 2 1/2 miles away from the dentistry.

Chism, according to the report, told Clay's mother that he didn't know where her daughter was, but that she should call hospitals to check on her. She also told police that multiple people had told her that Chism had been shot in the foot.

Detectives determined that a phone linked to Chism placed him in the area of the robbery at the time of the shooting, the report said. He also matched the robber description, and tracking data did not place him near Lorenzi Park, according to the report.

Chism was arrested last Wednesday in a North Las Vegas home, police said. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and is facing burglary, robbery, battery and kidnapping charges, logs show. His next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.