Kidnapping suspect shot by police had removed ankle monitor, report says
A 37-year-old kidnapping suspect who was shot and injured by police last month is facing new charges after he was accused of removing an ankle monitor in April while on house arrest in connection with a previous police chase.
Jeffrey Hair was shot during a standoff with police on June 23 near Charleston and Lamb boulevards, where Hair was accused of holding a woman hostage and threatening to kill her.
During a press conference last week, Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Jamie Prosser said the woman, who was in a “domestic relationship” with Hair, had texted Henderson police just after midnight to report she had been kidnapped.
Hair led Boulder City and Henderson police on a car chase down U.S. Highway 95 to Searchlight and back to the Las Vegas Valley, Prosser said.
Metro officers were later able to stop the vehicle at Charleston and Lamb boulevards, when two other men ran from the car, she said. Hair continued to threaten the woman during the standoff and pointed a gun at her, according to police. Officer Jonathan Collingwood then shot and injured Hair.
On Thursday, prosecutors charged Hair with escape by a felony prisoner and tampering with an electronic monitoring device in a separate case, court records show. According to a Metro arrest report released Monday, Hair had failed to check-in with his house arrest officer in April and then removed his ankle monitor.
Court records show that Hair was on house arrest after pleading guilty in connection with an hourslong police chase in January that ended in Laughlin after crossing into Bullhead City, Arizona. He was accused of attempting to run over a state trooper and driving under the influence while in a stolen car during the pursuit.
When he was arrested in January, he had a clean driving record, despite a history of traffic violations that were reduced to parking tickets, part of a widespread practice in Southern Nevada of reducing traffic charges that was the subject of a Review-Journal investigation last year.
Hair pleaded guilty in March to charges of DUI, assault with a deadly weapon and failing to stop on the signal of a police officer in connection with the January case, court records show. A bench warrant for Hair was issued on June 6, two weeks before the second police chase, after Hair failed to appear in court for a sentencing hearing.
According to Hair’s arrest report, police tracked Hair to a Lowe’s after he failed to appear for a house arrest check-in. But when officers went to the store they could not find Hair.
His ankle monitor later regained signal near Buffalo Drive and Deer Springs Way. When police arrived at the address they found the monitor, but could not find Hair in the area or at his last known address, the report said.
Hair was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition after he was shot following the police pursuit last month. He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, disobeying a police officer to endanger others, resisting a police officer with a firearm and three counts of kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
