Pair sue Metro in 2013 police shooting

Two people who were shot by Las Vegas police last year have filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department and three officers.

According to the lawsuit, Angel Landeros and Amelia Villalba were negotiating the sale of a vehicle to a man named Roberto Torres when the three officers approached them in February 2013.

“Then, suddenly and without warning, defendants drew and discharged their firearms,” the lawsuit alleges.

Torres, 33, was fatally shot. Landeros was shot in the left side of his body, causing a bullet to become lodged near his spine, according to the lawsuit. Villalba was shot in the left ankle.

Landeros and Villalba, who live in Clark County, filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court. They are represented by Las Vegas attorney Cal Potter III and California attorney Richard Patterson.

In addition to the Police Department and Sheriff Doug Gillespie, officers Scott Thomas, Joseph Parra and Clyde Villanueva are named as defendants.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of excessive force and negligence.

A Las Vegas police spokesman said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

Thomas and Parra were cleared of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of Torres in January, following a review by the Clark County district attorney’s office.

“Mr. Torres shot his pregnant girlfriend in the head just two days prior to his death,” District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement at the time. “As a result, a felony arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Torres for the crimes of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon and battery domestic violence. When officers attempted to arrest him, Mr. Torres pulled a handgun and fired at the officers.”

The two who survived the shooting were not identified by police. They were trying to sell a car to Torres after he responded to an ad on Craiglist.

Police watched as Torres approached a man and woman near a dark blue Honda Accord. Police commanded all three to get down and put their hands up before Torres reached for his pistol and fired it, a homicide detective said during a public fact-finding review in November. The detective said the other two people were unintentionally shot during the exchange.

Villanueva was not identified by police as one of the participants in the shooting.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Find her on Twitter: @CarriGeer.