Police: Man shot on interstate was part of murder plot made by son

By Conor Shine

Published Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 | 2:29 p.m.

Updated Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 | 3:02 p.m.

A man shot in the neck while driving on Interstate 15 near Valley of Fire State Park earlier this week was targeted as part of a murder conspiracy, Metro Police said Friday.

Robert Bessey, 49, was driving southbound on I-15 at around 4:35 a.m. Wednesday when he passed a gold-colored SUV parked on the side of the road, police said. Bessey told police the SUV began following him and pulled up to his rear driver’s side window.

He then heard a loud pop as the window shattered and realized he had been shot and was bleeding from the back of his neck, police said.

Bessey was transported to the hospital and underwent surgery but has since been released, police said.

During the investigation, police determined that the incident was part of an attempted murder plot involving Bessey’s 21-year-old adopted son, Michael Bessey, according to an arrest report.

Robert Bessey and his wife, Amy Bessey, are in the process of divorcing, and Bessey said his adopted son had made threats to kill him over the divorce, the report said.

Surveillance footage showed Michael Bessey and a second suspect, 39-year-old Richard William Pearson, Amy Bessey’s brother, leaving a convenience store near where the shooting occurred at 3:30 a.m. in a gold-colored SUV, police said.

Police were able to track the vehicle to Amy Bessey’s North Las Vegas home, where Michael Bessey also lives. During a search of the home and car, police impounded seven guns, the arrest report said.

During questioning, Michael Bessey told officers he had been at home at the time of the shooting but later admitted that he and Pearson were the two men in the convenience store surveillance footage, police said.

Michael Bessey has been arrested and is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and battery with a deadly weapon.

Police still are searching for Pearson, who is described as a 5-foot, 6-inch white male with a shaved head and blue eyes.

Police are asking anyone with information about Pearson’s whereabouts or about the crime to call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.