NLV police video shows slaying suspect breaking cuffs, escaping

John Locher / AP

Minutes before he snaps the hinges off his handcuffs, the murder suspect looks around the North Las Vegas police interrogation room, his eyes focused on the ceiling through which he would later escape.

He stands up, leans over the table he is attached to and begins to twist the handcuffs with enough torque that they break, his right hand freed from the metal bar affixed to the table, according to video showed by city police Chief Alexander Perez on Wednesday. His shackled feet are seen dangling from the ceiling.

Alonso Perez, 25, was rearrested at an east valley apartment complex without incident about 8 p.m. Tuesday, three days after the escape, police said.

He’s accused in the Aug. 27 fatal shooting of 31-year-old Mohammed Robinson, who was gunned down during an argument at the McDonald’s parking lot in the 3000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North, police said.

The escape

On Friday morning, a task force made up of local and federal authorities arrested Perez about 10 a.m. and brought him to the North Las Vegas police detective bureau in the 3500 block of Cheyenne Avenue.

The surveillance video played Wednesday at the same bureau shows Perez standing up at 12:06 p.m. and breaking the handcuffs a few seconds later.

He doesn’t immediately flee and during an encounter with a detective about 12:30 p.m., he pretended he was still handcuffed. About 15 minutes later, he is seen climbing through the ceiling using a chair. He breaks tiles and comes back down in a hallway inside the station before he bolts toward a back door.

Perez would’ve encountered a locked door if he hadn’t escaped through the ceiling, police said.

Near the police station, Perez found a work truck with the keys in the ignition and stole the vehicle. It wasn’t until 1:10 p.m. that detectives realized he was gone.

No one was injured and police released photos of Perez that night in an effort to find him, deeming him armed and dangerous. Details on the arrest were not released, but it appears that community tips led to the recapture.

He was apprehended not far from where police found the truck Saturday.

“We’re not perfect, the police are simply not perfect,” Chief Perez said. “However, we will learn from our mistakes.”

History of violence

Alonso Perez was booked at the Clark County Detention Center Tuesday night on counts related to the murder case, an unrelated June battery incident and a July shooting, according to court and jail records.

On July 25, Perez and his girlfriend of five years had pulled into a motel in the 2100 block of North Nellis Boulevard, which they had rented weeks prior, according to a Metro Police arrest warrant document.

Since the couple had been arguing when they arrived about 1:15 p.m., the front-desk clerk did not let them into the electronically locked office, police said.

As Perez walked back to his sports utility vehicle, he turned around, pulled out a gun from his waistband and fired five rounds into the building, police said. No one was injured.

Perez’s girlfriend and her mother identified Perez a day later and the girlfriend told police she didn’t know he owned a gun.

Perez would go on to kill Robinson, who died moments after the Aug. 27 shooting, police said.

Records show that Perez was also wanted on a misdemeanor battery case from June 6, court records show.

Policy change

“We are very aware that mistakes were made,” Perez said. “With that, we have taken steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Agency policy dictates that when a slaying suspect is being interviewed, one detective interviews that person while another monitors the suspect from a live video feed streamed in a viewing room, Perez said.

The suspect was not being watched the entire time and the policy and procedures were being beefed up to guarantee that it doesn’t happen again, he said.

The live feed from the interview room will also be streamed through every desk at the station, he said. An internal investigation was also launched.

Robinson family

Detectives have kept in contact with Robinson’s family from the day Perez escaped until they notified them of the recapture, police Chief Perez said. “They’ve been exceptional with us and that’s been really appreciated.”

Alonso Perez was booked on counts for the three cases that include, murder, escape by a felony prisoner, auto theft, firing into an occupied building, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and battery, jail records show.

He’s scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning.

“I wish it hadn’t happen,” Chief Perez said about the escape. “But it did, and now we take steps for preventing it from happening again.”