Fourth fleeing suspect in two months shot by Metro Police

For the second time this year and the fourth in the past two months, Metro Police officers used their weapons against a fleeing suspect.

Police shot a Utah man who they say waved what looked like a handgun at officers early Sunday morning.

The shooting occurred after a car chase ended on southbound U.S. 95 near Cheyenne Avenue, police said, and Mark J. Simonich, 36, got out of his car brandishing what turned out to be a BB gun replica of a semi-automatic handgun. Two officers fired at Simonich, striking him several times. He was taken to University Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition this morning.

Simonich has an outstanding felony arrest warrant for a parole violation in Utah, Metro Police spokesman Lt. Marc Joseph said.

Patrol officers first encountered Simonich shortly after midnight near Washington Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, where he was driving in a car without the lights turned on, police said.

When police tried to pull Simonich over, he refused to stop, beginning a pursuit that took police north on Rancho Drive and eventually to Ann Road, Joseph said.

From Ann Road, Simonich got on U.S. 95 headed south, but police had anticipated the move and set up tire spikes in the southbound lanes of U.S. 95 near Cheyenne.

The spikes punctured the car's tires, forcing it to come to a stop just off the freeway's shoulder. Simonich then stepped from his car and waved the gun at the two officers, police said.

Local charges against Simonich are pending, and the names of the two officers involved in the shooting are being withheld for 48 hours, which is standard Metro procedure. Joseph did not know how fast the cars were traveling during the pursuit or if a police helicopter was called in to help police follow Simonich.

The shooting was the second this month involving a Metro officer. On Jan. 6, Officer Brian Glitch shot a 16-year-old boy as the officer was dragged alongside the teen's car.

The teen, who faces obstruction, resisting arrest and drug-related charges, was shot in the shoulder and is recovering from his injury

Glitch told investigators he saw the teen selling drugs in the parking lot of a convenience store in the area of Sierra Vista Drive and Cambridge Street.

Glitch reportedly tried to grab the keys from the ignition of the car the teen was in. At the same time, according to police, the teen put the car into gear and started to drive away with the officer's head and shoulders inside the car.

Another officer-involved shooting occurred Dec. 29 about 8:50 p.m. when Detective Jeffrey Vialard fired three shots in the parking lot of the Fiesta hotel-casino as he was dragged alongside a minivan driven by 18-year-old Brandon Broyles, said North Las Vegas Police, who are investigating the shooting since it occurred in that city's limits.

Broyles is accused of driving off when undercover officers -- who were wearing vests identifying them as police -- tried to arrest the teen and two others inside the minivan. Vialard's hand got tangled inside the minivan when he tried to pull out one of the suspects who apparently picked up a shotgun from the minivan's floor, police said.

Broyles has been recovering from his injury at University Medical Center. The fourth recent officer-involved shooting occurred Dec. 5 when Metro Officer Dennis Devitte, who was off duty at the time, shot and killed 19-year-old Emilio Rodriguez during a robbery attempt at Mr. D's sports bar on Rainbow and Oakey boulevards.

Rodriguez was one of three gunmen who burst into the bar. Devitte was shot several times during the gun battle. Five customers inside the crowded bar were shot by the gunmen, police said. The two other gunmen fled the bar and have not been apprehended.

A coroner's inquest into Rodriguez's death is scheduled for Thursday morning.

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