Multi-state crime spree involving convicted ex-felon ends after pursuit in Mesquite

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Authorities say a multi-state crime spree involving a convicted ex-felon ended after a pursuit in Mesquite on Saturday afternoon.

According to a news release, the suspect, a convicted ex-felon, had allegedly committed several serious and violent crimes in Mesquite, Las Vegas and St. George throughout the week, including purse-snatching, firing a gun into a vehicle, vehicle theft and armed robbery.

The Mesquite Police Department says it was advised by the St. George Police Department that the suspect had committed an armed robbery and its officers were in pursuit of the individual on the I-15 in a black sedan.

The release states that as it became apparent the suspect would be fleeing into Nevada, Utah authorities requested assistance from Mesquite police in the pursuit. During the chase, authorities say that officers learned the male had also fired rounds into a vehicle during an incident in Las Vegas on Friday and was still armed.

As the individual crossed into Nevada, police said the man swerved his vehicle at officers who were prepared to deploy spike strips. After spike strips were ultimately deployed, the release says officers from St. George and Washington County Sheriff’s Office attempted to use their vehicles to immobilize the black sedan. As a result, police said the man drove off the side of the I-15 and into a casino parking lot where he carjacked a white SUV at gunpoint from an elderly couple.

Mesquite police located the suspect in the stolen SUV and pursued the vehicle onto a nearby golf course where the vehicle became stuck. The release says the suspect then continued to flee on foot while carrying a handgun.

According to the release, Utah authorities provided air support and advised officers of the suspect’s location as he attempted to hide in the thick brush. The air unit also informed officers that the man was still in possession of a handgun.

Mesquite police said that as officers positioned themselves around the suspect, they heard a gunshot and the man was found deceased as a result of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Had the suspect survived, authorities said he would have faced charges in Mesquite for felony evading, felony grand larceny of a vehicle, felony robbery with a deadly weapon, felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony assault on an officer, multiple counts of theft, as well as multiple felony charges from Las Vegas and St. Geroge.

The Clark County Coroner’s office will release the identity of the suspect.

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