Man who led police on airport chase agrees to plead guilty

Like a scene from an action movie, police chased a Las Vegas man across the runways and taxi-ways at McCarran International Airport for nearly 20 minutes in March before forcing him into a culvert as his car headed for the nose gear of a Boeing 737.

Speeds approached 70 mph and planes were diverted from the east-west runways, Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said. At one point a police vehicle was rammed and officers were preparing to shoot the driver if he couldn't be stopped short of the loaded jetliner.

But even after the 42-year-old Las Vegas man's car was disabled, the incident wasn't concluded, Booker said.

The charges against Jonathan Brough III allege he fought with officers, and it took several to subdue him. One officer injured a hand in the melee.

They strapped the enraged man to a gurney before transporting him to a hospital for a blood test that Booker said showed a high level of methamphetamine in his system. The prosecutor noted that Brough had to be sedated before hospital workers would consider releasing the restraints.

Brough faces a variety of felony charges, but on Tuesday he agreed to resolve his criminal case by pleading guilty to a felony count of failing to stop on the signal of a police officer and a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs.

He waived his preliminary hearing in Justice Court and is scheduled to formally enter his plea Sept. 21 in District Court.

Booker said the incident began when the driver forced his way past a security guard at a construction gate leading to the McCarran runways, yelling, "I gotta go. I gotta go."

The guard called authorities and six or seven security vehicles and Metro Police cars responded to pursue Brough's car around the airport grounds by the C and D terminals, the prosecutor said.

Booker emphasized there was no breakdown of the security system at the airport and the guard did everything he could do at the temporary construction gate to prevent the access.

Brough was released a short time after his arrest and failed to return for his court appearance, Booker said. A bench warrant was issued by Justice of the Peace James Bixler.

The FBI arrested Brough in Indiana and returned him to Las Vegas to face charges.

Booker said federal officials determined they could only charge Brough with misdemeanor counts, while there are felony state laws that apply.

archive