Police: Woman killed in shootout was convict who wanted to die

By Pashtana Usufzy

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015 | 6:15 p.m.

A woman fatally shot by Metro Police officers last week “decided to end her life in a shootout" and stated, “Either you can finish this now or I will,” Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news briefing today.

Linda Lee Lush, 50, was armed with a gun and knife, and she refused to get out of a car Thursday morning in the parking lot of a Las Vegas strip mall near Jones Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road, McMahill said.

Police noticed Lush speeding about 8:40 a.m. near Desert Inn Road and Valley View Boulevard, and when they researched further, they found the car she was driving was "embezzled out of California" and she was the suspect, McMahill said.

Officers attempted to stop her, but when she took off, an air unit followed her to the Mountain View Plaza at 3400 S. Jones Blvd., he said.

When she arrived at the lot, she pointed the gun at a male citizen, who escaped unharmed, McMahill said.

Lush, who was smoking what is believed to be an illegal narcotic and drinking Wild Turkey whiskey, shook her head no when officers ordered her to drop the gun, McMahill said.

She also held the gun to her head during the standoff with SWAT and was seen waving the knife and gun around, he said.

Police evacuated the shopping mall and nearby retail areas, shutting down roads in the area.

During the standoff, Lush held up a handwritten note that police couldn't read, and it appeared the stolen car was slowly moving forward, McMahill said.

As SWAT vehicles approached, Lush fired three shots, McMahill said.

Officers returned fire, and Lush was struck five times in the head, neck and arm, McMahill said.

An on-scene medic was summoned, but Lush was ultimately pronounced dead about 10:10 a.m.

Videos obtained from the SWAT vehicles show Lush firing through the windshield.

The Jimenez 9 mm gun she was carrying had one round in the chamber and four in the magazine, McMahill said.

Lush had a criminal history, including a 1983 California conviction for assault with a firearm and another in California in 2002 for assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person, McMahill said.

In 2002, she came to Las Vegas and was subsequently convicted on kidnapping and robbery charges, he said.

She served her time for both 2002 convictions with the Nevada Department of Corrections, and she was paroled June 2014, he said.

Her parole was scheduled to end November 2019.

She called her parole officer the morning of the deadly shooting from a payphone, saying she “was doing wrong on purpose” and planned to go back to California with a gun in her glove box, McMahill said.

A statewide notice was issued following that call warning that Lush could be a threat to officers or herself, he said.

Multiple notes were found in the car after the incident.

One said Lush wouldn't hurt civilians, McMahill said.

Another, which reads like a letter, begins, "Hello, my love, please don't cry. It's not a sad time."

In December, Lush attempted suicide in Henderson by stabbing herself and ingesting "various substances," McMahill said.

She was living in the valley, going back and forth between Henderson and Las Vegas.

The four officers involved in Thursday's shooting were identified as 35-year-old Zachary Adam, 32-year-old Jair Brown, 42-year-old Dewane Ferrin and 45-year-old William Marx, according to Metro.

Adam and Brown have been employed by Metro since 2006, Ferrin since 2000 and Marx since 1997.

They were all placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard in officer-involved shootings.

Sun editor John Fritz contributed to this story.