James B. Slagle
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL
December 1, 1973
TWO DIE IN BANDIT CHASE
Three Captured by Vegas Dragnet
A North Las Vegas Police Officer was killed and another man died Friday as a result of a devastating collision between the officer’s patrol car and a pickup-camper rig during a high speed chase of three theft suspects.
Officer James Slagle, 24, was killed about 1:45 p.m. when his car smashed into the rig at Lake Mead Boulevard and Pecos Road. He was the first North Las Vegas officer ever killed in the line of duty.
Carl Hoffman, 60, of 1500 Lava Circle died about 5:20 p.m. in Sunrise Hospital.
George Bunk, a clerk at the Vegas Village north store at 1501 Las Vegas Blvd. North, was with Slagle at the time of the crash but was not seriously hurt. He was treated and released later from North Las Vegas Hospital.
The three suspects were arrested about 4:25 p.m. in the washroom of the Acacia Mobile home Park at 1832 Walnut Road after perhaps the most thorough dragnet ever between combined North Las Vegas and Metropolitan Police units.
All three were charged with two counts of open murder and booked in North Las Vegas Jail. Detectives there said the three were cooperating during questioning and police were not able to determine for certain their identity immediately.
The murder charges were brought because Slagle and Hoffman died during pursuit of suspects involved in a felony. The three were involved in the theft of $600 from the Vegas Village store and Slagle had pursued them from the scene after he was flagged down by Bunk.
Slagle’s death also opened the possibility the three could face the death penalty if convicted. The killing of a police officer in the line of duty is a capital offense in Nevada.
Police said the pursuit began after store clerks at Vegas Village ran after a man who had grabbed the $600 from a cash register.
Bunk chased him into the North Las Vegas Police jurisdiction and at the same moment the suspect was getting into a car with a male and female in it Bunk saw Slagle driving by, waved him down, and told him about the theft.
The chase proceeded down Las Vegas Boulevard and then east on Lake Mead Boulevard. Ironically, the chase swept past the North Las Vegas Police Station moments before the impact that killed Slagle about three miles down the road.
Other pursing North Las Vegas units found the suspect’s car abandoned near the Lawless Center Laundromat at 4100 E. Lake Mead Blvd. a short time later.
Units from the metropolitan department then joined in the search for the suspects because they had crossed back into Las Vegas jurisdiction. Two helicopter and four canine units joined in the search that at one time included more than 50 officers.
Police said private citizens also assisted in the search.
Included in the dragnet was a house-to-house search that centered in a region that bordered from Lake Mead Boulevard on the south to Carey Avenue on the north; Pecos on the west, and Nellis Boulevard on the east.
Plaque Location & Image
Center Wall Column 11 Row H View The Plaque