Trooper fires shots as suspect steals car waiting for Virginia governor at Vegas airport

LAS VEGAS - A Virginia State Police trooper fired two shots at a man who stole a luxury car awaiting the arrival of Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore at a private air facility here Thursday night.

The unidentified trooper was assigned to the Virginia Executive Protection Unit. He had gone to Signature Flight Services terminal, adjacent to McCarran International Airport, to pick up Gilmore just before midnight.

"The governor was not around and did not witness the shooting," Metro Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said this morning. "We don't know whether the suspect was hit."

The suspect, who fled the scene in the rented 1999 Lincoln Continental, was described as a dirty, unkempt male.

Petersen said the Virginia trooper arrived at the terminal to meet the governor's plane. The governor came to Las Vegas to attend the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

Petersen said the trooper left the car at the front door of the terminal as Gilmore disembarked from the Virginia state jet and was about to enter the building.

When the trooper walked inside, the suspect walked out the front door, jumped in the car, put it in gear, and began to drive away.

The trooper ran after the suspect, identified himself, then pulled his service revolver and fired two shots, Petersen said.

The vehicle is a white 1999 Lincoln Continental bearing Nevada license plate number 132-JMK.

Petersen said the governor and the trooper were not injured.

He declined to release the name of the trooper.

The suspect was described as a white male in his 30s or 40s, with sandy brown hair and a two-to-three-day growth of beard. He was wearing a dirty dark coat over a dark shirt, with dark pants and work boots.

Metro's homicide unit is working with Virginia State Police in investigating the case.

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