Robbery suspect shot by North Las Vegas police ‘violent’

The officer who shot a suspect in a Sept. 6 string of convenience-store robberies knew the man to be armed and “very violent,” North Las Vegas police said Friday afternoon.

Police on Friday were still looking for two additional people in the case and released a description of one of them. He was described as a Hispanic or African-American man who stands between 5-feet-6-inches and 5-feet-9-inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds. He wore a green shirt, long black shorts and white shoes.

Over 90 minutes during the early morning of Sept. 6, two armed men robbed four valley stores, police spokeswoman Sgt. Chrissie Coon said during a news conference.

They were armed with a handgun and a shotgun and threatened clerks and customers. They once shot a round into the ceiling, and another time pistol-whipped a store clerk, Coon said.

North Las Vegas police officer Brian Krieger, 35, spotted the white SUV connected to the robberies on the 1900 block of Tropical Parkway, Coon said. Krieger pulled it over and as he approached the vehicle, two men exited the rear doors and ran into the neighborhood.

Krieger, who was alone, chased the man who was known to have a shotgun. That man was later identified as 21-year-old Clarence Lasale Rose Jr., Coon said. The second man has not been apprehended.

When Krieger confronted Rose in a residential backyard, Rose did not obey the officer’s commands and tried going over a brick wall, Coon said. That was when the officer shot Rose, whose wound in the buttocks was not life-threatening.

“In this particular situation, the risk that this suspect posed to the community should he get away from police at that point was very high,” Coon said.

Rose was taken to University Medical Center and booked into the Clark County Detention Center a few hours later, where he is facing four felony charges. More charges will likely be added as the investigation continues, Coon said.

While Krieger chased Rose, a third person fled in the vehicle. That person has not been identified, Coon said, adding that that SUV was found 12 miles away in the 4200 block of Skyview Drive, near South Lamb Boulevard and East Wyoming Avenue.

During the afternoon, Metro and North Las Vegas officers served a warrant in the residence where that SUV was found. There, police found four weapons and evidence linked to the robberies, Coon said. Rose’s shotgun was found near the yard where he was shot.

Police need help identifying the second robber and the driver, but urge people to not approach them. Anyone with information should call police at 702-633-9111 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

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