LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A police pursuit of a car with a stolen license plate ended with an officer shooting an armed man at an east Las Vegas apartment complex last week.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Monday outlined the events of the shooting on Thursday, Oct. 17 in the area of Nellis Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Police had previously identified the officer who fired his duty weapon as Jordan Richards, 33, who has been with LVMPD since 2014.
Richards fired his weapon while chasing a man suspected of driving recklessly in a stolen vehicle. Body-worn camera video played by police showed Richards' encounter with the suspect, since identified as 25-year-old Jose Contreras-Munguia.
In the video, you can see Richards — who was chasing Contreras-Munguia through the complex — come around a corner and find Contreras-Munguia pointing a gun at him. The investigation revealed Richards fired eight rounds, Asst. Sheriff Jamie Prosser said at Monday's press conference.
After the shooting, Contreras-Munguia was transported to Sunrise Hospital for treatment and has since been arrested on multiple felony charges, including:
- attempted murder of a protected person
- resisting a public officer with a firearm
- possession of a stolen vehicle
- own or possession of a gun by a prohibited person
Prosser said Contreras-Munguia also had an active warrant for his arrest for possessing, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle.
Prosser also outlined additional details about the events of the shooting, which she says began at approximately 9:48 a.m. as a report of a suspicious vehicle bearing a stolen license plate.
LVMPD's air support was monitoring the vehicle, a white Honda sedan, as it sat at a convenience store near the intersection of Tropicana and Nellis.
Video from the helicopter showed Contreras-Munguia was not the only person in the car. Officers noted there was also a woman in the car's passenger seat whom police have yet to publicly identify. She would later be arrested for obstructing a police officer, Prosser said.
Air support followed the vehicle as it was driven away from the convenience store. In previous statements, LVMPD officials said the car was being driven recklessly and at high speeds through a residential area.
The car was pursued into the apartment complex, where police said both people got out of the car and ran. They were pursued on foot by multiple officers, including Richards.
Additional video from inside the complex showed Contreras-Munguia attempting to enter the leasing office while armed, but finding the door locked. Shortly after, Richards came around the corner and Contreras-Munguia was shot.
Prosser noted this shooting is LVMPD's 11th officer-involved shooting in 2024 and the fourth non-fatal police shooting this year. At the same time last year, officers had been involved in six shootings, four of which were not fatal.
Since the Oct. 17 shooting, Metro officers were involved in another shooting. No one was injured in that most recent incident.
