Las Vegas man takes ax to woman’s car with child inside, police say

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - A Las Vegas man is charged with allegedly taking an ax to a stranger’s car while her child was inside, according to authorities.

Christopher Vera, 33, is being held on $24,000 bond at the Clark County Detention Center as of Wednesday on charges of burglary of a motor vehicle, child abuse, injury a vehicle resulting in damage of more than $5,000 and assault.

According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers responded to a home in the city Monday around 4:20 p.m. for a report a person with a knife.

“Details of the call stated the victim was observing (Vera) damaging her vehicle with what appeared to be an ax,” the report reads.

Officers arrived to find Vera inside his home and saw the vehicle in question with major damage. Vera eventually came out of his home on his own and appeared to be unarmed.

“Officers began giving (Vera) clear verbal commands to walk towards them. (Vera) ignored officers’ commands to walk towards them and he began pacing back and forth in front of his residence.”

After about two minutes, Vera walked backward toward the police and was taken into custody without incident.

“He began stating he was attempting to rescue a child that was inside the vehicle and that is why he was hitting the vehicle with an axe [sic].”

The woman who made the call told investigators she had no relationship with Vera, and while she was in her garage heard him inside his own home shouting and saw him look out of his window.

Vera’s behavior caused her to pack up the car to leave, placing some belongings and her child in the car.

“...when she turns around and observes (Vera) swinging and striking a handheld axe [sic] at her vehicle, all the while (redacted) is still inside the car,” the report reads.

The woman grabbed her daughter, at the time in close proximity to Vera while he was still swinging the ax, and ran inside their own residence.

The woman said she saw Vera outside continuing to hit her car with the ax. She then watched him walk away from the car taking a box of clothes from it.

The woman said she feared Vera would have killed them had they not gone inside their house, the report states.

Vera’s next court appearance is Thursday.