Riverside County probation officer fatally shot by police during standoff at Las Vegas hotel
A former Riverside County Probation Department officer who was being investigated on allegations of being in possession of sexual content involving a minor was shot and killed by police during a standoff in Las Vegas last week.
It happened at around 5:40 a.m. on Dec. 8 at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa, located in the 9700 block of S. Las Vegas Boulevard, near the I-15 Freeway, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
"This recent event was reported as a suicide attempt," said LVMPD Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren during a media briefing on Dec. 12. He identified the suspect as 26-year-old Indio resident Cesar Reyes II.
Officers were called to the hotel after employees called to report a "potential suicidal individual," though the initial welfare check was actually done by hotel staff upon request from Reyes's family. They were concerned after allegedly discovering a note at his home that detailed his intent to die by suicide, Koren said during the briefing.
"Upon attempting entry, they found the safety latch engaged and reported hearing the sound of a firearm being racked from inside the room," Koren said. "As a precaution, the hotel staff backed away from the room and contacted LVMPD for assistance."
Police attempts to make contact with Reyes proved unsuccessful upon their arrival, at which point they deemed the situation a barricade and contacted the department's SWAT unit and crisis negotiators. Despite hours of attempted contact, police say Reyes did not respond to them.
"SWAT officers ultimately used an explosive breach to open the door to the room," Koren said. "Upon opening the door Cesar emerged armed with a shotgun and attempted to flee down the hallway. During his escape he tripped over one of our police robots, causing him to drop the shotgun. At that time, Cesar then quickly stood back up, picked up the shotgun and continued to charge down the hallway."
They made multiple commands to Reyes to stop, but when he didn't, one of the SWAT officers opened fire. He was struck by a bullet and arrested subsequently. Police allegedly recovered two guns, a pump-action Winchester shotgun and a Glock 26 9mm handgun, Koren said. He said that there was no ammunition in the shotgun.
Despite attempted life-saving measures from police, Reyes was pronounced dead at the scene.
If he survived, LVMPD said that Reyes would have been charged with two counts of assault on a protected person with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting a public officer with a firearm, police said.
The Riverside County Department of Probation confirmed that Reyes was an officer within their organization who was placed on leave after he was arrested for being in possession of obscene matter relating to a juvenile. They did not provide further details.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has been identified as LVMPD SWAT Officer Zachary Adam.