Carson City District Attorney Garrit Pruyt has cleared a Carson City Sheriff’s Office detective from prosecution in the fatal August 28, 2024 officer involved shooting, concluding in a report released Tuesday that the officer acted in justifiable self-defense.
The suspect, Juan Herrera Mejorado, was shot twice by CCSO Detective Jonathon Vasquez during a standoff with deputies at a Koontz Lane residence after the man had stabbed his wife in the neck. Their two children were also in the home at the time of the stabbing.
The detective fatally shot Herrera Mejorado twice after the suspect appeared to have reached to his leg and put his hand in a balled position to hold a firearm, in which the detective determined at the time the man was reaching for a gun. This followed multiple commands in Spanish and English for the suspect to show his hands and surrender, according to the report.
Moments before the fatal shooting, the suspect had used his hands in a finger-gun gesture, aiming at the detective, according to the report. It wasn’t until the suspect reached down by his leg to where the detective believed the suspect was reaching for a gun, putting him and other officers involved in danger, in which he then shot the suspect twice. During the investigation, it was learned the suspect was not armed with a gun.
“Based upon the evidence that DCSO gathered during its independent investigation, and the application of Nevada law to the facts and circumstances surrounding the officer-involved shooting of Juan Herrera Mejorado on August 28, 2024, it is the opinion of this office that Detective Vasquez’s actions were justified, and a criminal charge premised on the death of Juan Herrera Mejorado cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Unless new evidence or additional information is discovered that materially changes the analysis and conclusions above, this office will not file criminal charges. The review of this matter by the District Attorney’s Office is hereby officially closed,” the report states.
Due to the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the District Attorney’s Office explained the decision, which was based on the investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and findings by Dr. John R. Black, a national expert on police use of force.
In the 30-page report, the DA’s office analyzed whether the perceptions of Detective Vasquez at the time of the incident were congruent with those of a reasonable law enforcement officer under similar circumstances.
To overcome a claim of self-defense, the District Attorney’s Office would need to establish beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that Detective Vasquez’s perception and action in conformity therewith were unreasonable under the circumstances.
“Following a comprehensive review of the totality of circumstances, Dr. Black concluded Detective ‘Vasquez reasonably perceived that Mr. Herrera represented a potentially lethal threat to himself and others in the immediate moments preceding and the moment of the use of lethal force, predicated by the behaviors of Mr. Herrera,'” the report states. “Dr. Black further opined, ‘applying the reasonableness inquiry against the normative standards reviewed in this analysis, I find that Detective Vasquez’s perception and decision-making fall within the range of reasonable officer perceptions and responses when evaluated against established principles of sense-making and decision-making under comparable high-stress circumstances.’”
Based upon a review of the evidence, Detective Vasquez only fired when he legitimately believed that Herrera Mejorado was drawing a firearm to shoot him or another deputy, the report states.
“To be successful at trial on a homicide-based charge, the District Attorney is required to present evidence that establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the act causing the death of another was not self-defense,” the report states. “Based on the presented factual circumstances, the evidence supports the conclusion that Detective Vasquez acted in justifiable self-defense. Detective Vasquez did actually and reasonably believe that he or his fellow deputies were in imminent danger and that Herrera Mejorado would either kill him or cause great bodily injury unless he defended himself and others with deadly force. Accordingly, Detective Vasquez’s use of deadly force against Herrera Mejorado was justifiable self-defense under Nevada law.”
Go here for the full report.