A 19-year-old man who was fatally shot by Metro Police in the southeast valley Monday had no connection to a murder police were investigating when they entered an apartment to serve a search warrant, police said today at a briefing.
Assistant Sheriff Andrew Walsh said Isaiah Tyree Williams, 19, was shot by officers several times as they tried to serve a search warrant related to a November 2021 homicide. Two officers were injured in the exchange.
Police announced their presence by yelling “police department, search warrant” multiple times at about 5 a.m. before entering the apartment in the 3000 block of South Nellis Boulevard, Walsh said.
SWAT officers first broke a window at the apartment and used “loud distracts” while announcing the warrant. Simultaneously, other SWAT members were using a battering ram to gain entry through the front door.
After police made their way in, Williams — who was lying on a couch just right of the front door — immediately opened fire and struck officer Kerry Kubla, 50, “several” times, Walsh said. He was not specific on how many times Kubla was shot.
Four other officers returned fire until Williams stopped shooting. The 19-year-old Williams was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kubla was rendered aid at the scene and was transported to University Medical Center, where he is continuing to receive treatment for wounds to both arms and a leg, Walsh said. It was revealed a bullet had been lodged in his bulletproof vest, as well as gunfire taken to his holster and rifle barrel. He’s been with LVMPD since 2008, Walsh said.
“Officer Kubla was struck in both arms and one of his legs,” Walsh said. “He’s got a very long road ahead of him … He’s in our thoughts and prayers.”
The other officers involved in the shooting were identified as Sgt. Russel Backman, 46, and officers Brice Clements, 36, James Rothenburg, 39, and Alex Gonzales, 39. Backman has been with Metro since 1999, and the officers have served Metro since 2009, 2008 and 2006, respectively.
Clements was also transferred to UMC and later released for a shrapnel injury suffered in his left arm, Walsh said.
Kubla fired one round before he was shot, Clements fired 13 and the other officers each fired three rounds during the firefight.
In all, 23 rounds were disposed by Metro personnel. All officers were assigned to the Homeland Security division and SWAT team members, Walsh said. Williams fired 18 rounds from a handgun.
Had he survived, Williams would have been arrested on counts of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon on a first responder; battery with a deadly weapon on a first responder, assault on a first responder and three counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure.
Detectives learned after the shooting that Williams was not the suspect in the homicide from last November, and that the suspect — later identified as 23-year-old Wattsel Rembert — was not at the apartment at the time of the shooting.
Rembert was taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday, police said. He was arrested on charges of firing a fun into an occupied structure, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, 16 counts discharging a weapon where a person might be endangered and open murder.
The investigation stems from a Nov. 18 shooting in the 5000 block of South Boulder Highway, after a man was reportedly shot and died after he was transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. Police say the victim was sitting at a bus stop when he was approached by two suspects and shot after they had gotten into a verbal dispute.
Though Williams was not the intended target of the early morning warrant, Walsh defended the department’s decision to serve the warrant at such an early hour.
“You have to take into consideration the danger to officers, the danger to the community if you’re ever in that area and in that neighborhood,” Walsh said. “In the early morning hours, it’s much safer for the officers and it’s much safer for the community for us to do it at that time because there are less people out.”