Henderson police identify detective involved in shooting

The Henderson Police Department has identified a detective who shot at a man Tuesday night while a multi-agency drug task force was serving a search warrant in northeast Las Vegas.

Anthony Sanchez-Martinez, who joined the Police Department in February 2015, is assigned to the narcotics unit’s investigative services division. He remains on paid leave pending the outcome of the department’s investigation into his use of force, according to a release Thursday night.

Police have said he was working with the Southern Nevada Heroin Task Force when the shooting occurred on the 6500 block of Curacao Drive, near Mt. Hood Street and East Carey Avenue.

The task force is made up of Henderson and Las Vegas officers, as well as U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.

After the search warrant was “successfully executed” and Henderson’s SWAT team had cleared the scene, a man approached the house armed with a handgun while the task force was finishing up its search, police have said.

Police said he ignored orders to drop the gun as he walked toward the house, prompting Sanchez-Martinez to open fire. It was not clear how many rounds the officer fired.

The suspect, 27-year-old Daniel Gana, was not struck. It also was not immediately clear if Gana was connected to the case being investigated Tuesday night.

Police said he did not shoot at officers, but the department has not clarified whether he pointed the weapon at police prior to Sanchez-Martinez opening fire.

Gana faces charges of assault on a protected person with a deadly weapon, jail records show.

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