Man shot by North Las Vegas police faces attempted murder charges
A Mesquite man who was shot multiple times by North Las Vegas police after hitting an officer with a car has been charged with two counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
According to North Las Vegas police, Auftan Green, 31, tried to strike officers while driving a black Honda Accord at a gas station at East Tropical Parkway and Nicco Way on Sunday.
Police on Wednesday released video of the encounter, which showed that Green fled in his vehicle while being questioned by police after a call went out about a suspicious vehicle at a gas pump at the station just before 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The brief video showed a chaotic scene at the gas station as civilians looked on.
The video
The video shows Green standing outside the vehicle as officers ask him questions, though he suddenly, as seen in the video, gets in the car and drives off.
A short time later, the car was driven back to the area of the gas pumps, where it narrowly missed a child and an officer, who had pulled the child to safety.
“Officers initially believed Green had left the area, but he circled the parking lot before returning at a high rate of speed,” said North Las Vegas officer Djuan Muldrew in a video statement released Wednesday night.
As the car veered toward another North Las Vegas Police Department officer — identified Wednesday as Joshua Vardoulis — the officer fired five rounds at the vehicle, police said.
Muldrew said Green was shot multiple times but survived. He was treated for his wounds at University Medical Center.
As of Thursday night, Green was being held at the Clark County Detention Center, according to online jail records. Vardoulis, who has been with the department since 2020, suffered a minor injury to one of his legs after being struck by the vehicle, police said.
Vardoulis has been placed on paid leave pending the results of an internal investigation, Muldrew said.
The call
When officers arrived at the gas station Sunday afternoon, Muldrew said, they noticed that a woman, three children and a dog were with Green in the car.
When Green fled, one of the children fell out of the vehicle. That child, a girl, suffered a minor injury.
While Green operated the vehicle, two children remained in the back seat, police said. The children were there when Vardoulis fired shots at Green, but the children were not struck by the gunfire, police said.
After a search of the car, police found methamphetamine, heroin and a firearm, Muldrew said.
With the two counts of attempted murder, Green was charged with three counts of child abuse or neglect, police said, and additional charges could be forthcoming.
The woman from the vehicle, identified Wednesday as Kristal Leavitt, was charged with five counts of child abuse or neglect.
Green’s criminal history in Nevada includes robbery, assault and drug-related charges, according to online records. Court records show that Leavitt has previously been charged with credit card fraud, battery and drug possession.
Following the confrontation Sunday, after they were all checked at a local hospital, police said, the three children were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services. The legal guardian for the children is a relative, police said.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
