Felon accused in deadly I‑11 shooting has lengthy criminal history

The motorist accused of causing a deadly Nevada Highway Patrol shooting on Interstate 11 in Las Vegas is a felon with an extensive criminal history in Southern Nevada, court records show.

Sean Shirazi, 45, has a criminal record in the Las Vegas Valley dating back to 2013, according to both District and Justice Court records. His past includes 23 different arrests and traffic citations on accusations ranging from reckless driving to possession of drugs, weapons and driving infractions.

Shirazi was jailed on an involuntary manslaughter charge after a woman in his SUV was shot by a trooper Wednesday on I-11’s westbound lanes.

The Metropolitan Police Department said in an arrest report for Shirazi that troopers were investigating a crash near the Fourth Street on-ramp just after 1:30 p.m. when a motorist behind the wheel of a Toyota SUV, with the woman inside, recklessly drove through the crash scene and clipped a semi.

Troopers tried to get the driver of the SUV out of the vehicle but he ignored their commands and drove forward, authorities said, striking a trooper and pinning him against a fire truck. That’s when the trooper opened fire, Metro said.

The motorist continued to drive forward and struck another vehicle before fleeing the area. No troopers were seriously injured, authorities said.

Police said the SUV later showed up at Dignity Health–St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Sahara Campus, at 4980 W. Sahara Ave. There were two people in the vehicle and one said they’d been shot, police said.

Police said Shirazi was taken into custody at the hospital, then taken to University Medical Center where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest. The female passenger in the vehicle was shot in the torso and died at Dignity, police said. Her identity has not been released.

Police said when they interviewed Shirazi he admitted he was the driver of the SUV. He said shortly before the encounter with troopers, he’d met his female passenger on the street, asked her if she wanted to smoke drugs and she hopped in his vehicle. He went on to describe the shooting to authorities.

“When he saw the police on the freeway today, he began to panic because he didn’t want to go back to prison,” police said. “Shirazi stated the officer pulled out his gun and told him to ‘stop, stop!’

“The officer also told him to open his door, but instead Shirazi stepped on the gas and the officer shot him,” police said. “He stated the officer was telling him to open the door and get out of the vehicle, but Shirazi stated he did not want to go to jail.”

Shirazi said he did not intend to hit the trooper, then later claimed he did not remember hitting anyone.

Shirazi said prior to the encounter with troopers he’d consumed methamphetamine with his passenger, police said.

Along with involuntary manslaughter, Shirazi faces charges of battery and assault with use of a deadly weapon, reckless driving, resisting a public offical, disregarding the safety of a person and property, failure to render aid, failure to give information to the party of a vehicle accident, failure to properly maintain travel lane, duty to stop at the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended drivers license.

Shirazi is being held without bail.

Shirazi first served time in the Nevada Department of Corrections in June 2014 when he was sentenced to 19 to 48 months in prison for felony convictions of attempted possession of a stolen vehicle. He’s also served time in state prison for an attempted carrying of a concealed weapon conviction. In 2020 he was sent back to prison again for 24 to 72 months for being a convicted felon in possession of firearm.

Justice Court records show he has prior arrests in Las Vegas for possession of a stolen vehicle, convicted felon failing to register, petit larceny, carrying a concealed weapon, possessing gun by a prohibited person, possession of narcotics, obtaining credit card without owner’s consent, use of drug paraphernalia, drug trafficking, domestic battery and reckless driving. He has also been the recipient of multiple traffic citations including driving with a suspended license, operating a vehicle with expired tags, and driving without insurance.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.