LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Channel 13 has obtained the arrest report for Shawn Handley, a Las Vegas man suspected of ramming a car through a Dollar Tree and stabbing his ex-girlfriend inside the store.
On March 23, around 7:34 a.m., the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) received a call sharing that "someone had driven a vehicle through the Dollar Tree and heard gunshots."
Another person reported seeing an individual on a bicycle talking with the person inside the vehicle before the incident occurred, and a third caller looking at cameras inside the store said that a man was seen battering a woman in the back of the store.
The first caller notified officers upon their arrival that their coworker, Lakia Pope, was stabbed. According to police, "patrol officers located [Pope] to the read of the Dollar Tree with multiple stab wounds to her person." Pope was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The suspect, Handley, was identified as "[Pope's] ex-boyfriend and the father of her children." The person on the bicycle seen speaking with Handley earlier was identified as Handley and Pope's juvenile son. Both individuals were found by LVMPD and brought in for interviews to aid with their investigation.
Lakia Pope's interview with LVMPD
In an interview with Pope, Metro learned that she and Handley had engaged in an argument on March 21 "regarding their son." During that dispute, Handley allegedly "threatened to go to her work" and harm her. Pope shared that she called out of work on March 22, but that Handley still showed up to her workplace that day.
Pope called her mother on March 23 to warn her that Handley would likely come by the store that day, and advised her to contact law enforcement. Pope reported seeing Handley at a nearby restaurant in the area, but said "she was able to get into Dollar Tree before he saw her." Pope confided in a fellow manager in the store about her situation, and said she would call the police if he appeared and did not leave.
Pope's son called her and asked if his father, Handley, was at the store, to which she said "he was going to come to the store." Pope then received a text from Handley saying that he would ram his car into the Dollar Tree if she did not answer him. Later, Pope saw her son and Handley "in a verbal altercation" outside, and called her son into the store.
It was at that time that Pope said Handley drove his car into the Dollar Tree, and she fled to the back of the business, asking a delivery driver if she could take refuge inside his truck. According to Pope, Handley pursued her and started stabbing her until a Dollar Tree employee pushed Handley off of her and disarmed him.
In a second interview with police, Pope shared that her son showed up after she had been stabbed and yelled at Handley before chasing after him. She reported hearing a gunshot after they left.
Interviews with both Pope and her son revealed a history of domestic disputes, with one involving Handley and Pope's older son "shooting at each other" in North Las Vegas.
Pope's son's interview with LVMPD
NOTE: Channel 13 has chosen not to name the son because he is a juvenile, and no criminal charges have been filed against him at this time.
Pope's son found out from his mother that his father had sent him a threatening text message on March 23. He shared with police that he obtained a handgun and took his bike to the Dollar Tree where Pope worked.
The son said he found his father parked outside the business, and confronted him to tell his father to leave Pope alone. The arrest report states that the son said he fired into his father's car "to protect his mother."
After Handley drove into the Dollar Tree, the son chased him into the store. During the interview, he said he "witnessed blood on his mother" at that time. He then reported that "he then chased his father and shot at him multiple times... but he [did] not think he hit him."
It does not appear that LVMPD made any arrests related to the alleged shooting at this time.
Shawn Handley's interview with LVMPD
Handley shared with police that following a "rough patch" with Pope involving their living situation, their youngest son was "kicked out of the residence by [Pope] due to an argument." He said that he went to speak with Pope at her workplace since she had been "ignoring him."
On the day of the incident, Handley said his youngest son approached him on his bicycle, and told him to leave. Handley believed that his son had a firearm in his bag at that time. He said he then drove his vehicle into the front of the store, and heard "multiple gunshots" that he believed came from his youngest son.
Handley told LVMPD officers that he was trying to avoid his son and was not pursuing Pope, but that he, Pope, and another man "got into a 'scuffle,'" in which Pope might have been accidentally cut by a black utility knife he had on him. Handley reported that he was chased by his youngest son, who shot at him several times.
LVMPD's findings
Metro determined that probable cause existed to arrest Handley for the following:
- Attempted murder with a deadly weapon
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm
- Burglary of a business
- Destruction of property
- Assault with a deadly weapon (multiple counts)
Handley is being held on a $750,000 bail. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on March 26.
