LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Three men were arrested Wednesday and charged for setting fire to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patrol vehicle during a protest in Las Vegas, according to officials.
Tyree Walker (23), Devarian Haynes (23), and Ricardo Densmore (24), all of Las Vegas, were each charged in a federal criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit arson and one count of arson.
The criminal complaint alleges that, shortly after midnight on May 31, 2020, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue responded to a fire involving a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) patrol vehicle.
The patrol vehicle was parked near the intersection of South Ninth St. and East Carson Avenue, during protests relating to Mr. Floyd’s death. A social media video captured the event, leading LVMPD investigators to Walker, Haynes, and Densmore.
The video, which was filmed by Densmore, showed Haynes pouring a flammable liquid from a gas can through a broken or missing front passenger side window of the patrol vehicle. Walker lit an object to ignite the liquid, and then Haynes dropped the gas can into the patrol vehicle.
All three defendants fled when they heard sirens from an approaching LVMPD vehicle.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.