DA declines prosecution after Clark County public review into Derek Larson death

A Clark County public fact-finding review on the death of Derek Larson detailed the law enforcement investigation after the District Attorney eclined to pursue criminal charges against the officers involved. Chief Deputy District Attorney Parker Brooks presented the law enforcement evidence and Detective Robert Chavez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department—orce Investigation Team (FIT) described the timeline, witness interviews and physical evidence.

The hearing was convened under Clark County Ordinance chapter 2.12, which requires a public review after the District Attorney nnounces a preliminary determination not to prosecute. Richard Tenasi was appointed by the county manager to serve as ombudsman for the public and for Larson—amily questions, and he questioned Detective Chavez during the review.

Detective Chavez summarized a timeline that began just after 1:47 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Feb. 6, 2024, when Officer Anthony Canales initiated a traffic stop. Chavez said Canales reported that the subject pointed a firearm at him during a subsequent foot pursuit. Officers Wesley Moran and Jay Masten responded as backup, engaged the subject in an alleyway near the 2500 block of Sherwood Street (between Sahara Avenue and Liberace Way), and discharged their weapons.

Chavez told the review that Masten—ired from a patrol rifle and that investigators recorded 11 rounds fired from his rifle and eight rounds from Moran—rom his handgun during the incident. Crime-scene measurements presented at the review showed that one volley by Masten occurred from about 49 feet away, Moran—rom about 32 feet, and a later volley by Masten from about 26 feet. Chavez said autopsy findings listed the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds and the medical examiner etermined manner of death as homicide; the medical examiner recorded 15 gunshot wounds and toxicology showed amphetamines and methamphetamine in Larson—lood.

Detective Chavez described the decedent s a 46-year-old Las Vegas resident, and said the firearm recovered was a polymer 9-millimeter pistol without a serial number (commonly described in the record as a "ghost gun"). Chavez said the magazine held 10 rounds and one round was in the chamber when the weapon was recovered.

Chavez summarized civilian witness interviews: one witness identified as "CC" told investigators he saw Larson walk up near a couch in the alley holding a "Glock-style" handgun and then move south through the alley, pointing the direction to officers. Another witness identified as "CF" told investigators Larson had told her days earlier that he would rather be killed by police than return to prison. A passenger, referred to as "Didi," told investigators Larson said he would run if stopped and that, after a collision with a parked car, Larson ran from Officer Canales; Didi did not see a gun.

Detective Chavez said Officer Canales, who did not fire his weapon, provided a statement and radioed that the subject had pointed a handgun at him during the foot pursuit. Chavez explained that Canales fell during the pursuit, briefly lost camera view because his shoulder-mounted camera shifted, then resumed pursuit and later met Moran and Masten in the alley.

Chavez told the public that both subject officers were offered voluntary interviews under state and departmental procedures but declined to give recorded investigative statements to FIT. He said both officers participated in scene walk-throughs. During those walk-throughs, Chavez said, Masten described firing additional rounds after Larson had fallen because Masten believed Larson—egan to move his left arm toward a weapon; Moran described seeing Larson with a pistol and said he ordered Larson to drop the gun twice before firing.

The review included body-worn-camera and air-unit video excerpts. The audio and video presented included officers repeatedly ordering a suspect to "drop the gun," the radio calls for a foot pursuit, and the arrivals of backup. Chavez noted that body cameras are stored in Coordinated Universal Time (Zulu time) on the vendor servers, so on-screen timestamps may differ from the local PST clock. He also explained that some recorded footage begins with audio delayed by about 30 seconds due to the camera—uffering feature.

Chavez said investigators could not establish exactly when any firearm was removed from a case or satchel and acknowledged that it was not possible from the evidence presented to be certain whether the gun observed on the ground after the shooting was the same firearm reported earlier as being removed from a satchel. He said investigators canvassed nearby video sources (including casino and store cameras) and recovered screenshots that showed the subject—ehind or near a van and holding a firearm.

At the review, Chavez answered questions from ombudsman Richard Tenasi about FIT procedures, the timing of the FIT report (prepared in July 2024), and his authority to arrest if probable cause were found. Chavez confirmed FIT provided a report to the District Attorney nd to the ombudsman; he said the District Attorney—iled no charges in the case and no officer arrests were made.

Tenasi asked whether any officers knew of witness statements indicating Larson had expressed a desire to be killed by police; Chavez said officers did not have that information before the shooting. Tenasi also asked about the number and timing of shots heard on the footage and about whether the officers—ommands were audible on the body-worn cameras; Chavez said the commands were audible.

The review closed with the procedural statement that the purpose was to present the public with the essential facts and that the review itself does not determine criminal guilt or civil liability. FIT etective Chavez confirmed the FIT report would be made public following the hearing, and the presiding officer stated the recorded video and transcript are available on the Clark County website.

No formal vote or policy decision was taken during the public fact-finding review; the District Attorney lready had announced a preliminary determination not to prosecute the officers.