Las Vegas police ID suspect in beating, robbery of woman in elevator
Police have identified the man suspected of beating and robbing a woman in downtown Las Vegas about two weeks ago, but officers have yet to make an arrest.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives identified the suspect as James Moore, who is “believed to be homeless,” according to a Tuesday statement from the department. This month, Metro had asked the public’s help to identify the man in the robbery, which happened about 9:20 p.m. Jan. 15 in an elevator on the 300 block of Fremont Street, near Ogden Avenue.
Metro identified Moore as a 44-year-old man, but court records and Nevada Department of Corrections records indicate he is 43. Court records show that he had pleaded guilty in two battery cases from 2016.
He faces charges of robbery and battery by strangulation, both with an enhancement because the victim is an older person, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records.
The man and the woman, whom police described as elderly, were in an elevator together before the robbery.
When the elevator door opened and the woman tried to leave, the man put her in a headlock. The man threw the woman to the floor and punched her “numerous times” in the face, police have said.
The robber took the woman’s purse and hid it in his sweater, police said. The woman’s purse was later found nearby by security personnel.
The suspect was previously described as 5-foot-11 to 6-2. He was last seen wearing a black-hooded sweater, black pants, black shoes, black eyeglasses and a black baseball cap.
Police on Tuesday said Moore “frequently wears eyeglasses.”
An arrest warrant in the January robbery was requested on Friday, court records show.
According to court records, Moore has been previously arrested at least twice in Clark County. He was arrested after he punched a man and stole his phone on Nov. 24, 2016, at the Fremont Street Experience, court records show.
A day after that robbery, Moore hit a then-54-year-old man multiple times with a hammer, according to court records. Moore had a competency hearing in that case and was determined fit to stand trial.
He later pleaded guilty to a felony count of battery with use of a deadly weapon and another felony count of battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, court records show. He was sentenced to a minimum of a year and four months to a maximum of six years in prison, court records show.
He also pleaded guilty in the robbery case to a lesser charge of misdemeanor battery.
At the time of the robbery Moore is suspected in, he was on parole in the felony battery case, according to Nevada Department of Corrections online records. His sentence is due to expire in May.
Anyone with information can contact Metro’s downtown investigations unit at 702-828-4314. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
