Suspect in fiery standoff near Las Vegas Strip drove on sidewalks to evade police, arrest report says

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The man accused of engaging in a fiery standoff Wednesday near the Las Vegas Strip almost struck tourists and officers as he tried to evade police, according to an arrest report.

According to an arrest report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the man, identified as Wilson Reyes-Gonzales, initially evaded police after he was observed closely following behind a taxicab near Linq Lane and Winnick Avenue.

Police wrote that Reyes-Gonzales refused verbal commands and continued to follow the taxicab. When an officer attempted to block the vehicle driven by Reyes-Gonzales, identified as a Scion, police said the man then began driving on curbs and a sidewalk “in a highly populated tourist destination” to continue to avoid authorities.

After doing so, Las Vegas police said the man continued to drive recklessly again, this time following closely behind a black Dodge Charger. Police wrote in the report that he then returned to the Linq and began driving recklessly through the parking garage.

During this time, according to police, Reyes-Gonzales reportedly drove through and damaged the security arms at the entrance and exit of the Linq’s parking garage.

Police wrote in the report that Reyes-Gonzales was then able to evade officers again by driving recklessly around marked units and made his way back to Las Vegas Boulevard.

[Suspect in custody following fiery standoff near Las Vegas Strip]

When police attempted to stop Reyes-Gonzales as he drove through the valet at Bally’s, the arrest report says the man then drove over a curb, almost striking a tourist who was walking on the sidewalk with a stroller and a police officer who was standing at the back of his patrol vehicle on Flamingo Road.

After Reyes-Gonzales continued driving recklessly eastbound on Flamingo through Koval, police said they then conducted a precision immobilization technique (PIT) on the man’s vehicle.

With officers surrounding his vehicle, police said in the report that the man then began gassing his vehicle, which caused the tires to spin and a large cloud of smoke to appear, blocking the vision of officers. Police wrote in the report that they believed Reyes-Gonzales was “attempting to ram his way through officers.”

Police said that as they continued to give verbal commands, Reyes-Gonzales ignored the instructions and kept gassing the vehicle to cause the tires to pop and spin on its rims.

The report indicates that officers continued to deliver verbal commands in both Spanish and English for approximately 30 minutes without any response from the suspect.

Police said in the report that after this, the man’s vehicle caught fire and officers were forced to make entry and remove Reyes-Gonzales from the driver seat of the vehicle.

According to the report, during the incident, one of LVMPD’s marked patrol units caught on fire, which they said caused substantial damage to the front end of the vehicle.

Police said in the report that once extracted, Reyes-Gonzales was transported to Sunrise Hospital. However, once in custody, police stated that he refused to speak with officers or provide his identity.

The report states that after obtaining a possible identity of the man, officers were able to confirm his identity through Reyes-Gonzales’ family members.

Reyes-Gonzales was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.