By Estelle Atkinson
Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas police revealed new details in a briefing Monday about a stolen vehicle chase that ended in a shooting by an officer, sending a man since charged with attempted murder to the hospital on Thursday.
On Thursday morning, Metropolitan Police Department officers received a call about a stolen vehicle that police located at an east Las Vegas Valley gas station, Assistant Sheriff Jaime Prosser said in Monday’s briefing.
When Jose Contreras-Munguia, 25, climbed into the driver’s seat, the car took off at high speed as Metro air units watched and followed, police said.
According to Prosser, Contreras-Munguia was driving recklessly before he pulled into the Tides on Tropicana apartment complex at 4800 E. Tropicana Ave., near South Nellis Boulevard.
Contreras-Munguia and a woman who had been in the passenger seat both got out and fled on foot, Prosser said. “I got about seven officers in foot pursuit of this guy right here by the pool,” an officer could be heard saying in air unit video footage shown during the briefing.
Officer Jordan Richards, 33, was one of the officers chasing Contreras-Munguia. Surveillance shows Contreras-Munguia trying to enter the complex’s management office while armed with a handgun that Prosser said had been stolen.
The door was locked, Prosser said, and Contreras-Munguia could not get in. When Richards rounded a nearby corner, surveillance footage and Richards’ body-worn camera footage shows Contreras-Munguia pointing the handgun at Richards.
“Let me see your hands. Drop it,” Richards said while pursuing Contreras-Munguia, bodyworn camera footage shows. A few moments later, when Richards rounded the corner, he fired eight rounds at Contreras-Munguia, Prosser said.
“As far as I know, we did not have any knowledge that he was armed until the time Officer Richards turned that corner and was face-to-face with the firearm,” Prosser said.
Contreras-Munguia was taken into custody and transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center for treatment, police said. The woman sitting in the car’s passenger seat was also taken into custody and charged with obstruction of a police officer, Prosser said.
As well as one charge of attempted murder, Contreras-Munguia faces charges related to possession of a stolen vehicle, resisting a public officer, possession of stolen property and possession of a gun by a prohibited person.
The stolen license plate was discovered by an automated license plate reader, Prosser said. “It’s definitely worked in our benefit,” she said. “We were able to apprehend a violent, fleeing suspect who clearly had disregard to human life.”
Thursday’s shooting was Metro’s 11th shooting by an officer this year and fourth nonfatal shooting. By this time last year, Metro had six total shootings by an officer, four of which were not fatal.
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