Men accused of ramming police cars to face more charges
Prosecutors said Monday they expect to add more charges against three men accused of stealing vehicles and ramming them into police cars.
Hugo Carbajal Jr., 27, Francis Carbajal, 26, and Edgar Medina, 35, already face 47 counts including burglary, grand larceny and assault with a deadly weapon.
Prosecutor Giancarlo Pesci told Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa that he anticipated adding more charges as authorities continue to investigate the case.
Saragosa set a preliminary hearing for early next month.
The Carbajals and Medina are suspected of being the ring leaders among six men who committed 20 to 25 felonies a night for the past few years, mostly auto thefts and burglaries.
Police said that while searching the Carbajal home they found stolen property, including all-terrain vehicles, tools, go-karts, .50-caliber rifles and other weapons.
Recently, police believe, the group stole vehicles, rigged them by putting something heavy on the accelerator and aimed them toward cars belonging to the Bureau of Land Management, Metro and the Nevada Highway Patrol. Those incidents — six total — began April 29 and occurred until late July.
Three other men, Ivan Gonsalez, 29, Abel Elizalde, 29, and James Farnan, 23, also face felony charges in connection with the repeated ramming of police cars.
The vehicular missiles didn't always hit their mark. One rammed into an officer's neighbor's car. And on July 22, police said, the group aimed a vehicle stolen in Mesquite the night before toward an officer conducting a traffic stop near Bermuda Road and Starr Avenue, missing the officer and striking a pole.
Five days later, police said, the group used a stolen truck to ram an NHP car parked in a trooper's driveway at Desert Shores, near Cheyenne Avenue and Rampart Boulevard. The car was hit so hard it went inside the house, and the truck caught fire.
In late July, Metro released surveillance video of the group it said was ramming police cars. Citizen tips helped lead to arrests less than two weeks later.
Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker
