Jury acquits man shot by Las Vegas police

A 43-year-old man was acquitted Monday on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an officer-involved shooting.

Jose Aguilar was convicted of one count of resisting a public officer with use of a firearm, a misdemeanor, said his attorney Roy Nelson.

Aguilar’s attorney argued at trial that he had complied, or at least tried to comply, with the commands of officers before he was shot.

“The officers gave differing accounts of what they originally remembered,” Nelson said. “Through those accounts, they were trying to make it worse for Jose.”

Police said that in December 2013, Aguilar brandished a shotgun at Las Vegas police while he was apparently suicidal and had injected himself with dog insulin.

Aguilar was treated and released at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Aguilar’s roommate, Richard Steensma, 74, called police and said Aguilar was suicidal.

Officers arrived at the home at 3217 E. University Ave., near Harmon Avenue and Pecos Road, where they met Steensma outside.

Officers called to Aguilar through the open front door but did not go inside.

Police later heard Aguilar moving upstairs, and a sergeant saw him coming down the stairs with a shotgun, according to a police report.

Aguilar soon left the home with the shotgun in his hands. Police reported that Aguilar initially ignored officers’ orders to drop the weapon and waved it at officers before dropping it and lying beside it.

Officers told Aguilar to crawl away from the gun. But as Aguilar was crawling, he leaned toward the gun, and that’s when officers fired.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.