Affidavit: City worker threatened coworker with gun
A city employee has been placed on leave and charged with a felony after threatening another city worker with a handgun while the two men were working at a job site.
Manuel A. Sanchez, 21, of Las Vegas, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A warrant for his arrest has been issued, and according to Mayor Louie Trujillo, Sanchez has been placed on administrative leave, but will likely be fired.
“There is zero tolerance for violent behavior on the worksite,” Trujillo said. “That’s strictly not tolerated, and we’re moving through this as expeditiously as possible.”
The incident occurred Friday morning north of city limits at a job site where City of Las Vegas utilities crews were working to repair a water main.
Just before 11 a.m., the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a City of Las Vegas safety manager who said two city employees had gotten into a verbal argument that resulted in Sanchez threatening to kill a coworker. The safety officer said Sanchez then retrieved a black handgun from a city-owned vehicle and again confronted the other man, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant obtained by the Optic.
The Las Vegas Police Department initially responded to the call, but because the incident took place outside city limits, the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation, Sheriff Chris Lopez told the Optic.
According to the affidavit, a city crew was working at the job site near North Road when Sanchez arrived. The man Sanchez allegedly pulled a gun on told police he and several other workers were working in a hole they’d dug when Sanchez parked his city vehicle “extremely close” to them.
The man confronted Sanchez about his actions, and according to the man, Sanchez became agitated and aggressive before he said, “I’m going to f—— kill you.” The man said Sanchez walked to the passenger side of the city vehicle and removed a black handgun from the glovebox.
In an interview with police, Sanchez denied threatening the man or pulling a gun on him, and police did not locate a firearm during a search of the city vehicle. However, three separate witnesses told police they’d seen Sanchez retrieve a gun from the passenger side of his city-issued vehicle and approach the man with the gun near his waist.
All three witnesses said Sanchez arrived at the job site and honked, and that their coworker confronted him about it. After arguing for a few minutes, witnesses said Sanchez threatened to shoot the man, and then he retrieved a handgun.
Sanchez had not been arrested as of this writing, and an arrest warrant was still outstanding.
