Henderson Police body-camera footage
Joshua Watkins, an alleged armed burglary suspect, runs through a storage unit business moments before he was shot by Henderson Police on Jan. 11, 2021.
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 | 6:35 p.m.
Surrounded by Henderson Police, an armed burglary suspect first tried to escape out of a storage unit business by car, then on foot. But as he jumped on the hood of an officer’s marked car, a second officer opened fire, hitting him in the leg.
Joshua Watkins finally left Life Storage, 1011 Stufflebeam Ave. near U.S. 95 and Galleria Drive, by ambulance before he was booked on counts of armed assault on an officer and possession of a gun by a felon, Henderson Police Deputy Chief Michael Denning said Wednesday in a recorded briefing.
Additional information on Watkins’ case could not immediately be found on court logs online, but Denning laid out what led to the shooting.
Watkins had been identified as a suspect in a string of burglaries, and plainclothes detectives were conducting surveillance on him on Jan. 11.
Ready to take him in, they trailed him to the storage business, near Galleria Drive and U.S. 95, Denning said.
When Watkins spotted backup police on marked vehicles, he tried to drive away, according to footage shown by Denning.
The exit was blocked, and that's when Watkins put his car in reverse through the business’ parking lot. He jumped out and took off running, a fully loaded .45-caliber gun gripped in his right hand, when he found himself boxed in.
The foot chase continued until he encountered an occupied K9 officer’s vehicle, said Denning, who noted that an officer chasing him shot him once in his right leg as he tried to jump onto the hood of the SUV.
Denning said Watkins threw his gun atop a storage unit around the time of the shooting.
Watkins was treated at a hospital before he was taken to jail. Police did not outline how they linked him to multiple burglaries he was wanted for.
An online search of his name through Henderson Detention Center didn’t provide a result.
