January 12, 2012 Nevada bank robber kills himself at the Virgin River Gorge www.privateofficer.com
ST. GEORGE UTAH Jan 12 2012 — The Virgin River Gorge remains closed tonight as the St. George Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit and the Arizona Department of Public Safety Hazmat Team responds to the vehicle of a man who shot and killed himself in the gorge earlier in the day after reportedly robbing a Mesquite bank and threatening to have a bomb.
Arizona DPS Sgt. John Bottoms said he ordered the closure of the gorge after receiving corroborating information from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Mesquite Police that the suspect had hazardous materials in his car. It is unclear how long the gorge would be closed while the vehicle is being investigated.
Bottoms said the EOD Unit arrived after investigators received more information about the bomb threat and other possible hazardous material that could be in the car. The Arizona Hazmat team is expected to arrive at the St. George Airport at 10:30 p.m. and be transported to the scene to begin an assessment, Bottoms said.
Mesquite Police Public Information Officer Jeffrey Smith said Troy Eugene Williams, 43, of Florida, reportedly held up the Nevada Bank and Trust at 599 W. Mesquite Blvd. at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Bank employees told police the robber announced he had a gun and bomb but didn’t brandish any weapons, Smith said.
Williams reportedly left the bank with $2,800 and was seen getting into a white sedan in the Mesquite Bluffs Apartments parking lot, Smith said.
Mesquite Police dispatchers quickly sent out a bulletin to all surrounding law enforcement agencies in an attempt to catch the suspect, Smith said.
At approximately 1 p.m., Bottoms and another officer saw a vehicle fitting the description heading north on Interstate 15 and pulled the vehicle over at approximately mile marker 20 in the gorge, Bottoms said.
As Bottoms and the officer approached the driver, they heard him make some comments, then watched as he placed a handgun to the side of his head and shot himself, Bottoms said. The officers were not injured.
Beaver Dam Fire and Rescue pronounced the driver dead at the scene, Smith said. Mesquite Police officers arrived at the scene and confirmed using bank surveillance photos that the driver was the same individual who robbed the bank, Smith said.
All southbound I-15 traffic heading toward the gorge is being rerouted to Old Highway 91 through Ivins and to exit 8 in Arizona, Bottoms said.
Smith said Williams had been living in Las Vegas and was recently reported as a missing/endangered person considered armed and dangerous by Las Vegas Metro Police.
Tags: 43, Nevada bank robber kills himself at the Virgin River Gorge, of Florida, Troy Eugene Williams
- Leave a comment
- Posted under suicides
