Three Men Plead Guilty to Setting Fire to Police Vehicle During May 2020 Protest in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Three Las Vegas men pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to and setting fire to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) patrol vehicle during a protest in downtown Las Vegas in May 2020.
Tyree Walker (23), Devarian Haynes (23), and Ricardo Densmore (24) pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 22, 2022.
According to court documents and admissions made in court, on May 31, 2020, LVMPD officers were assigned to the downtown area for crowd control at protests relating to George Floyd’s death. Walker, Haynes, and Densmore each admitted to participating in setting fire to a marked LVMPD patrol vehicle parked near the intersection of South Ninth Street and East Carson Avenue. In addition, the defendants also admitted that they created a substantial risk of harm to others in the vicinity, knowing there was ammunition in the patrol vehicle that could have caused an explosion.
Walker, Haynes, and Densmore each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison, a term of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the ATF, the LMVPD, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, and the FBI-led Criminal Apprehension Team in conjunction with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
