Jury to decide whether shooting of boy justified

A seven-member jury will decide today whether a North Las Vegas police officer was justified last month in killing a 16-year-old boy whom police said was brandishing a toy gun.

Rookie officer Anthony Bailey, 23, has said he repeatedly commanded Billy Finks Jr. to drop what looked like a chrome handgun before opening fire on the Western High School student.

But the other witness to the Feb. 27 shooting on a dead-end dirt road near Decatur Boulevard and Rancho Drive has been telling a different story.

Within days of Finks’ death, the boy’s 15-year-old friend Demario Payton scribbled onto four notebook pages an account that contradicts police’s version.

Payton, who has been subpoenaed to testify today, wrote that Finks complied with the officer’s commands, tried to surrender by putting his hands in the air and was not holding the toy when he was shot.

An attorney representing Finks’ family has said Payton has told private investigators that he was shot at and that the toy gun police investigators found next to Finks’ body was in the glove compartment at the time of the shooting.

Police have said the claims do not jibe with evidence.

Lt. Art Redcay said Payton’s assertions are not consistent with what he told detectives after the shooting, when the boy was questioned at police headquarters without an attorney or parent present.

"If Mr. Payton wants to tell the truth he can, or he can tell this story that’s something completely different," Redcay said.

Both versions likely will be examined during today’s inquest into Finks’ shooting, and information on Finks’ criminal history and details about what led to the shooting will be made public.

Jurors will learn that Finks used drugs just before the incident and that while examining his body, investigators found a pipe with marijuana residue inside one of his pockets, Deputy District Attorney Jim Miller said.

"He had a substantial amount of marijuana in his body when he was shot," Miller said.

Miller said he and Assistant District Attorney Mike Davidson plan to question 15 witnesses about the incident.

Police began pursuing Finks and Payton in a car Finks was driving about 8:40 a.m. at Cheyenne High School, 3200 W. Alexander Road.

A man on a bicycle approached a group of Las Vegas and Clark County School District police officers at the school, pointed out car the boys were in and told officers the vehicle had nearly run him off the road.

The boys sped away as police approached the car, Redcay said. While fleeing, Finks and the boy passed a police officer who determined from a records check that the car was stolen. The officer broadcast a description of the car and its direction.

Bailey spotted the car at Alexander and Decatur and followed it south to Roberta Lane, a dead-end road just west of the North Las Vegas Airport.

When the boys came to the end of the road, the officer pulled up behind the car. The officer then got out of his car, drew his sidearm and positioned himself behind his patrol cruiser’s open door.

Bailey told investigators the boys ignored several of his shouted commands to remain in the car. When Finks exited, he turned with his hands held together near his chest with the chrome barrel pointing at the officer, Redcay said.

Bailey told investigators Finks ignored several shouted commands to drop the gun before the officer fired two shots from his .40- caliber handgun at the boy. The boy was struck once in the chest.

Death threats made against Bailey after the shooting prompted police to ignore a department policy requiring the identification of officers 48 hours after shootings. Bailey’s name was not released by the department until Thursday.

Because the threats are perceived as credible, Clark County Courthouse officials and police will be taking extra security precautions during the inquest to protect Bailey.

Court administrator Chuck Short said Bailey will enter the courthouse through a tunnel from the Clark County Detention Center, and extra bailiffs will monitor the courtroom.

Other protective measures will be taken, but revealing them could make them ineffective, Short said.