Man pleads guilty in shooting that paralyzed Las Vegas police officer

A man pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting and critically wounding Las Vegas police officer Shay Mikalonis at the conclusion of a Black Lives Matter demonstration in June 2020.

Edgar Samaniego, 21, admitted to shooting the 29-year-old officer and four-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, resulting in Mikalonis being paralyzed from the neck down. Mikalonis, who requires 24-hour care and breathes with the assistance of a ventilator, spent months in a rehabilitation center before returning to Las Vegas this spring.

Samaniego pleaded guilty to attempted murder with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm where a person might be endangered, and two counts of discharging a firearm from or within a structure.

He appeared in court Tuesday through a video call from the Clark County Detention Center.

Prosecutors told District Judge Carli Kierny that they did not offer Samaniego a deal to plead guilty. Samaniego’s trial was set to start later this month.

When Samaniego shot Mikalonis, the bullet pierced his spine and lodged in the right side of his face, prosecutors have said. Mikalonis was shot as he was handcuffing someone outside Circus Circus on June 1.

Authorities have said that Samaniego had not been participating in the protests prior to the shooting. By June 1, 2020, the night of the shooting, several Black Lives Matter demonstrations had taken place in Las Vegas. They were sparked by the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Samaniego admitted to firing at least three more shots from the Travelodge, a motel across the street from Circus Circus, after he shot Mikalonis.

Kierny ordered Samaniego to appear in court on March 1 to be sentenced. The defendant remained in the detention center on Tuesday with a $1 million bail.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.