Las Vegas man accused of stabbing police dog suspected in 3 home break-ins
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas man faces several charges after allegedly stabbing a police dog and attempting to break into several homes in west valley neighborhoods on Monday.
Richard Goff, 33, was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan police on Oct. 16, just hours after the first of three home break-ins occurred, according to the police arrest report.
Las Vegas police K9 recovering after stabbing in west valley
Four victims spoke with police describing their encounters with the suspect, who they alleged attempted to break into homes, and in some cases entered homes prior to the K9 stabbing in Spring Valley.
A man and woman at a home in the 6300 block of Newville Avenue called the police shortly before 5 a.m. after allegedly spotting the suspect armed with a hammer pounding on the front door. The woman told police she could hear the suspect yelling, “Give me the keys to your car,” the report stated.
According to video surveillance at the home, the suspect was allegedly seen attempting to rip the doorbell camera off the wall. When he was unable to do so, the suspect was seen taking the hammer to it and smashing the camera. He was also described as saying, “Give me the car keys, one, two, car keys now.” When no one responded to the suspect, glass shattering off of the camera could be heard. The suspect then said, “I have a f— gun, give me the f— car keys now,” the report stated.
The male victim then told the female victim to, “Get the gun,” and the suspect responded, saying “Oh I got one,” and began to kick the front door with his leg, the report stated.
The male victim then told police the suspect started kicking the door, and it eventually gave way and opened into the home. The male victim described being on one side of the door and attempting to keep it shut while the suspect was accused of pushing the door with his foot, according to the report.
The suspect then allegedly used the hammer and hit the front door with it, causing further damage, the report stated.
The female victim then told police she grabbed a gun and told the suspect to leave, at which time he was seen leaving the area. However, after he left she noticed that the windows of her vehicle were broken, according to the police report.
About 30 minutes later police received a call from a security guard on patrol in a neighborhood near the first incident.
The security guard told police he received an alarm at 5:14 a.m. that a house he was patrolling in the 6500 block of Treadway Lane had been broken into. When he arrived at the home he said he saw items scattered outside the home, and the front door was wide open, according to the report.
The security guard said he heard shuffling inside the home and went back to his patrol car to call 911. While waiting for officers to respond, the suspect is accused of coming out of the home and up to his patrol car and stating, “I’m robbing this house, I have a gun, you need to leave,” the report stated.
The security officer told police in his statement that he felt threatened, so he left the area and waited for officers to arrive.
Once an officer arrived at the scene he stated in the report that he noticed the suspect matched the description of the previous burglary attempt earlier that morning in the 6300 block of Newville Avenue.
The officer then gave the suspect verbal commands but instead, he said that the suspect pointed an unknown object at him and yelled, “Bang, bang, bang,” and ran back inside the residence, according to the report.
Police then learned the homeowner was not at home but out of state at the time of the incident.
Officers searched the home and cleared it of any “unwanted persons,” the report stated. It was then that they discovered the back sliding door was shattered and that the suspect was not in the home.
An officer outside of the home spotted a man matching the description of the suspect and attempted to stop him, but the suspect was able to get away.
Shortly before 7 a.m., officers responded to a third home in a neighborhood near the previous two incidents, which was in the 6500 block of Shasta Circle.
The homeowner said that he spotted the suspect entering his home through the unlocked back sliding door while he was getting coffee at around 6:45 a.m., according to the report.
The homeowner told police the suspect put his finger to his lips and said “Shhh,” as he walked into his home. The suspect told the homeowner to go upstairs and asked him if anyone else was home. The homeowner told the suspect no one else was home and the suspect then went downstairs and began looking around the kitchen. The suspect then asked the homeowner for his keys but the homeowner responded telling him he didn’t have keys, the report stated.
The homeowner then saw the suspect grab a large butcher knife from his kitchen and point it at him, according to the report. The homeowner also told police the suspect was seen putting the butcher knife and a pair of scissors in his front pockets.
The suspect then discovered the homeowner’s car keys downstairs. The homeowner told police he was eventually able to escape out the back sliding door when the suspect wasn’t looking.
Once the homeowner was outside he alerted officers who were already there and let them know the suspect was armed with a knife.
After police told the suspect to come outside, he exited the home holding the butcher knife and refused to drop the knife, the arrest report stated.
Officers then deployed the K9 police dog Raider to assist.
Once the dog made contact with the suspect, police stated that the suspect began to stab the dog on his back with the knife, the report stated.
Officers then came to Raider’s aid and used a taser to get the suspect into custody without further harm being done to the dog, according to the arrest report.
The suspect then identified himself to police as “Ricky Goff” and was taken into police custody, the report stated.
Goff faces several charges which are listed below.
Residential burglary
Assault on a protected person
Torture/injure/poison/attempt to kill police animal
Home invasion
Kidnapping
Resisting a public officer
Burglary of motor vehicle
Destroying or injuring a person or property
Attempted home invasion
K9 Raider was taken to a veterinarian clinic by his handler. The dog underwent surgery for a large stab wound to his back and is recovering, according to police.
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