Check the Logs

It was late Saturday when Officer Alex Pena rolled into a section of Las Vegas that looks more like an afterthought than a destination, Harmon Avenue and Arville Street, where washes cut through the desert and tunnels collect what people leave behind.

The area came with “no trespassing” signs. That is not unusual.

What happened next was.

According to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrest report, Pena saw a man emerge from the wash wearing a tactical vest. The man, later identified as 43-year-old Mitchell Nettles.

Pena turned on his lights and sirens and tried to make a stop. But Nettles, the report says, did not behave like someone interested in being stopped.

Instead, he told the officer he worked for Internal Affairs and suggested he “check the logs.” He did not, however, provide identification or comply with attempts to verify hisself.

To the officer on scene, the exchange made no sense. When Pena moved to detain him, Nettles reportedly refused, shouted for the officer to back up, and ran.

What followed moved quickly.

As Pena pursued on foot, Nettles reached into his waistband and pulled what appeared to be a firearm. In response, Pena fired.

Nettles dropped the object but kept running. The chase continued across streets and into more open ground.

At Harmon Avenue, Pena fired again, striking Nettles in the left inner thigh. Still, Nettles did not stop.

He moved west along Harmon, then south toward a private road leading into The Orleans’ parking area. More officers arrived.

One deployed four bean bag rounds, one of which struck Nettles in the back. Even then, the report says, he continued to move before officers finally surrounded him and took him into custody.

The object Nettles had was a pneumatic gun bearing a “Glock” insignia.

Nettles went to UMC for treatment and later declined to speak with detectives. He also refused transport for a court hearing on Tuesday.

He is now held on $40,000 bail, facing charges of assault on a protected person and resisting a public officer. His preliminary hearing is on May 13.