Original charges dropped against man shot at by Nevada Highway Patrol

The Clark County district attorney’s office dropped the original charges against a man who was shot at last week as he ran from Nevada Highway Patrol troopers “due to no probable cause found,” according to court records.

The Highway Patrol has said that the man, 28-year-old Steve Garcia, had been throwing rocks at troopers early on Oct. 4 as they were investigating reports of a possible medical episode on the Eastern Avenue offramp of U.S. Highway 95.

Garcia was arrested that day on four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, three misdemeanor counts of discharging a deadly missile in connection with the rock throwing and a narcotics charge. He was accused of being under the influence of a drug.

But, Las Vegas Justice Court records show, Garcia, in an amended case, now faces one misdemeanor count of providing a false statement to obstruct a public officer after the district attorney’s office declined to prosecute him on the original charges. He was released Oct. 5 from custody on his own recognizance.

The district attorney’s office could not be reached Friday for comment.

The Highway Patrol on Friday identified the trooper who fired her weapon as Jineal Jack, a 14-year veteran.

It is unclear whether Jack had activated her body camera or if she was wearing one at the time of the shooting.

Body camera footage was released Friday in a news release, but both videos came from two other troopers, including from one who deployed his Taser on the man.

Highway Patrol spokesman Jason Buratczuk said in the release that the agency would not be taking any questions, citing an active internal investigation.

Troopers encountered Garcia about 12:20 a.m., about 10 minutes after they arrived near U.S. 95 and Eastern, according to Buratczuk.

Footage captured by the body camera of the trooper who deployed his Taser showed him arriving near the intersection of Eastern and Cedar avenues, just north of the highway, as Garcia walked along a sidewalk.

“Come here. Come here,” the trooper instructed when he got out of his patrol vehicle. “Do not make me go hands-on with you.”

At the same time, a second video showed, another trooper and Jack approached Garcia from the opposite direction.

As the troopers surrounded him, according to the videos, Garcia took off running but did not get far before Jack fired one round.

She missed.

“Oh my god. Did I just shoot him?” Jack is heard saying in both videos.

The other trooper then stepped in and shocked Garcia with his Taser, causing the man to fall to the ground. Garcia is seen in both videos lying in fetal position, screaming, as they handcuffed him.

Garcia is due Monday in Justice Court for a status hearing in the amended case. He had not been formally charged as of Friday, records show.

Jack, the trooper who fired her weapon, has been placed on paid leave pending the investigation into her use of force.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.