METRO POLICE
Monday, July 2, 2018 | 5:40 p.m.
The suspect in an officer-involved shooting last week in the east valley is a five-time convicted felon, police announced Monday.
Jessie Murillo, 35, was shot at by Metro Police officer Brent Horlacher, 28, a three-year veteran with the department, but was uninjured in the incident, Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank said in an online briefing. The bullet hit the wall Murillo was jumping over during a foot pursuit.
Murillo was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, felony evading and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Murillo has previous felony convictions, mainly out of California, including threaten crime with the intent to terrorize, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell, attempted burglary, and intent possession of a stolen vehicle, according to Metro.
The ordeal began when Horlacher, on patrol near east Desert Inn Road and Boulder Highway, ran the plates of a 2003 Dodge Durango for a registration check and discovered they were registered to a different vehicle.
When Horlacher attempted to conduct a traffic stop with his lights and siren, Murillo did not pull over and a vehicle pursuit ensued. Murillo traveled on the wrong side of the road into head-on traffic during points of the pursuit, Hank said.
Murillo eventually exited the vehicle while it was still moving, sending the Durango into a wall near St. Louis Avenue and Lamb Boulevard, and proceeded to lead Horlacher on a foot pursuit.
As Murillo was climbing a wall between homes on the 4100 block of St. Louis Avenue, Horlacher reported that the suspect pointed a handgun at him, to which he fired the single shot, missing the suspect.
Metro did not find a weapon on Murillo upon his arrest or after canvassing the area.
Horlacher’s body-worn camera was not on at the time of the shooting, but a secondary officer’s camera was on and a gunshot is heard in the distance. Metro is looking into why the camera wasn’t operating at the time.
Murillo was arrested two hours after the shot was fired, and police worry his weapon could be hidden somewhere in the neighborhood, as several pieces of his clothing were found throughout the neighborhood.
Metro has been in contact with those who live in the area to be on the lookout for the possible weapon, Hank said.
Horlacher is on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.
The incident represents the ninth officer-involved shooting of 2018, one less than the total at the same time last year.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
