Las Vegas teenagers charged with murder of former Bell Police Chief
Two Las Vegas teenagers are facing murder charges after they allegedly posted a video of them deliberately running over a former police chief.
According to police, the alleged murder happened over a month ago on Aug. 14 in a residential area about 10 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip. Investigators said that former Bell Police Department Chief Andreas Probst was riding his bicycle a little before 6:05 a.m. when a 17-year-old intentionally rammed him during what police called a joyride. The 64-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries and later died at a nearby hospital.
"We are devastated by the senseless murder of Andy. Andy's life was robbed by two individuals who did not believe that the lives of others matter," said daughter Taylor Probst.
Police said the suspects recorded themselves running over Probst and then posted it online. At least one of the teens can be heard saying "hit his [expletive]" while chuckling. The driver honked the horn at Probst before striking him, sending him over the car's hood. One of them yelled that Probst was knocked out to which the other responded "we need to get out of here."
Nick Farese, Deputy Chief at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, described the incident as a "cowardly act" that left him "appalled."
Detectives located the 17-year-old driver later on the same day as the crash but only booked him on charges related to the hit-and-run. They updated the charges to open murder when the video surfaced on social media about two weeks later. Police located the passenger, who recorded the video, on Sept. 19 and booked him into jail with open murder charges.
The two teens are accused of two other crashes, including another hit-and-run involving a 72-year-old bicyclist. In this collision, the passenger was driving at the time, according to the LVMPD.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he was "confident" that the driver and passenger will be tried as adults. Under Nevada state law, if a 16-year-old or 17-year-old is charged with murder, the case is automatically moved to the adult system, according to KLAS, a CBS affiliate.
"I have been intimately involved with this case for the last few weeks. I've been briefed. I have seen the same video that all of you have seen" said Wolfson. "Justice will be served in this case."
