Police arrest armed man in officer-involved shooting

Tiffany Gibson

Metro Police investigate a shooting Thursday afternoon in the northeast Las Vegas Valley, near Nellis Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue.

By Tiffany Gibson

Published Thursday, May 13, 2010 | 3:27 p.m.

Updated Friday, May 14, 2010 | 2:21 p.m.

A 41-year-old man shot by a Metro Police officer Thursday after pointing a 40-caliber handgun at two officers has been arrested in connection with resisting arrest and assault with a deadly weapon.

Andrew Trujillo was booked into the Clark County Detention Center in absentia while being treated at University Medical Center, where he was in serious but stable condition on Friday. He also faces one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of carrying a concealed weapon, according to court records.

Police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said officers responded at 2:47 p.m. Thursday to the scene of a drive-by shooting at a bus stop near Las Vegas and Nellis boulevards. A man at the bus stop was shot in the face with a pellet gun or a BB gun and taken to a hospital with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, Morgan said.

The arrest report said witnesses described the vehicle involved in the drive-by shooting as a gold Chevrolet Suburban. While en route to the scene, two officers heard over police radio that a vehicle in the Heritage Estates apartment complex, near Lamont Street and Colton Avenue, matched the description of the car used in the drive-by shooting, an arrest report said.

Police said the officers drove around the apartment complex and spotted a parked gold Chevy SUV. The officers tried to make contact with a man standing between the vehicle and a blue pickup truck, the report said.

Officers thought the man, identified as Trujillo, might be the suspect sought in connection with the bus stop shooting and approached him, the report said. The man then took off running and officers chased him through the apartment complex, police said.

Police said the officers told Trujillo to stop but he kept running. A third officer then joined them in the foot chase, the report said.

Officers said the man then pulled a firearm from his waistband and threw it. The weapon bounced off a wall and landed at the suspect’s feet, police said.

The man stopped running and turned toward one of the officers while picking the gun up, authorities said. The officer felt like the suspect might shoot at him so he fired six shots, striking the man three times, police said.

Police didn't find the pellet gun or BB gun used in the bus stop shooting. Authorities haven't determined whether the two incidents were related. Police said the incident doesn't appear to be gang-related.

Records indicate Trujillo is an ex-felon with arrests for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, battery with a deadly weapon, attempted possession of a controlled substance and a first offense of carrying a concealed weapon.