A Las Vegas man has been arrested after he purportedly attempted armed robbery of an animal hospital. The accused, whose criminal history includes felony and larceny convictions, is currently being held on numerous charges without bail. The defendant, however, claims the police arrested the wrong man, and as details come to light, it seems there may be more to the story than initially thought.
A masked man wearing a gun attempted to rob the West Flamingo Animal Hospital on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 19. The attempted robbery was interrupted when the thief, whose face was concealed by a red bandana throughout the incident, got into a skirmish with an off-duty police detective. The detective’s gun was discharged total of three times during the fight.
A wallet discovered at the scene of the crime was believed by police to have fallen out of the robber’s pocket at some point during the struggle. This wallet led police to the suspect’s apartment complex where, several hours later, he was taken into custody. However, certain facts and conflicting stories have since come to light that are muddying the waters.
When questioned by investigators, the accused denies robbing the veterinary clinic and fighting with the police detective, claiming he was buying drugs and that a friend of his may have committed the robbery. He does not know how his wallet came to be found at the scene of the crime. However, a roommate of the defendant claims that the accused man did confess the crime to him. Further complicating the matter is the fact that the off-duty officer who fired his weapon is now under investigation on suspicion that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time the incident took place. Given the variety of stories and the defendant’s criminal history of larceny, burglary and felony drug possession, his Las Vegas defense counsel will no doubt want to get a clearer picture of the story to make sure that his legal rights are protected.
Source: Las Vegas Sun News, “Man in failed animal hospital armed robbery ID’d after leaving wallet at scene“, Ricardo Torres-Cortez, Dec. 23, 2016
