Metro IDs man shot by officer after burglary call

Las Vegas police have identified the man an officer shot Wednesday as 19-year-old Richard Powell.

Powell is hospitalized and cooperating with police, according to Metro.

An officer shot him after Metro was called to a west valley house to investigate an in-progress burglary.

Officers were called at 10:20 a.m. to the 6300 block of Bluejay Way, near the intersection of Oakey and Jones boulevards and south of Bonanza High School and College of Southern Nevada, officer Laura Meltzer said. The caller reported someone suspicious wearing a backpack was trying to break into a house.

A K-9 officer confronted a man at the front door inside the home. The door was open when police arrived, and the two fought before the officer shot him once, according to Metro Capt. Matt McCarthy. Police found a handgun in the house that apparently belonged to the burglar.

Powell was taken to University Medical Center, where he was in stable condition, police said Wednesday afternoon.

He was booked in absentia on one count of burglary with a firearm, McCarthy said.

Clark County Detention Center records showed Powell also faces a charge for possession of an unregistered firearm. His full name was listed as Richard F. Powell III.

No one else was in the house at the time of the burglary.

Brigg Valdez, 42, said he has lived in that house for two peaceful years, so he was surprised when he got the call at work that his home had been broken into.

Neighbors said the burglar was inside the home for about an hour before an officer showed up. Valdez said his home was a mess when he returned. The criminal broke into his home through the back door and had gone through every room, cupboard and drawer and was just about to leave with the family’s jewelry.

“It’s been a rough day. Having an armed thief inside, it makes you feel weird,” he said.

Craig Domingue, 61, lives across the road, on Bluejay Circle, and spends a lot of time tinkering in his garage with the door open. He said he saw a suspicious man outside and called the police, but he didn’t see the shooting itself.

“I just saw him outside,” he said. “All that happened inside.”

Valdez said the neighborhood is friendly and people watch out for each other. But he had never met Domingue before he went to thank him.

“He’s a pretty cool guy,” Valdez said.

Review-Journal writer Kimber Laux and photographer Chase Stevens contributed to this report.