DUI arrest for man, life-threatening injuries for victim, police say

When Pedro Lopez-Villasenor plowed into an oncoming BMW, leaving its driver with life-threatening injuries, it wasn’t his first suspected DUI, police said.

Officers arrived at the scene of the crash on Saturday to find drugs and guns in Lopez-Villasenor’s gray 2022 Dodge Challenger, they said. The 29-year-old Las Vegas man did not have a driver’s license.

The BMW’s driver, identified as Richard Harvey, suffered a broken arm, a fractured spine and internal injuries.

The Metropolitan Police Department said that Lopez-Villasenor has been arrested on suspicion of being behind the wheel while impaired in February 2013, May 2020 and August 2021 in Las Vegas and in August 2019 in Henderson.

According to the Metro arrest report, this is how the crash on Saturday played out., and what happened in the immediate aftermath:

About 7:30 a.m., Harvey’s black 2015 BMW 328i was heading north on South Fort Apache Road, north of Le Baron Avenue, in the Mountain’s Edge neighborhood.

At the same time, Lopez-Villasenor was driving his Challenger south on Fort Apache when he veered into the northbound lanes to pass the southbound traffic.

“A violent collision occurred when Mr. Lopez-Villasenor swerved into the BMW’s path of travel,” the arrest report said.

Police determined that Lopez-Villasenor had been driving 90 mph at the moment on impact though that part of Fort Apache is a 35 mph zone.

Both cars ended up in the desert just west of South Fort Apache.

Officers noted that Lopez-Villasenor’s eyes were bloodshot and that his breath smelled of alcohol. In an interview with police, Lopez-Villasenor “denied being the driver and claimed to be asleep” when the crash happened.

Lopez-Villasenor was in critical condition with a broken leg and internal injuries. His passenger, a man identified as Treiton Maybee, also had critical injuries described as a broken leg, broken pelvis and internal injuries.

Because of Lopez-Villasenor’s injuries, a sobriety test couldn’t be given, police said. Blood samples were taken at the hospital.

In the arrest report, police pointed to Lopez-Villasenor’s “extensive DUI arrest record.”

Reports allege that Lopez-Villasenor had been asleep at the wheel of his parked pickup in 2013, with the key in the ignition, after a crash and that he was accused of trying to flee another crash at Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane in 2020. In 2021, he was accused of trying to give somebody else’s name after police stopped a Dodge Ram that had no lights on at 3:20 a.m. In that incident, which happened near Mandalay Bay, police said in the arrest report that they found guns and cocaine in the vehicle.

The details of the alleged DUI in Henderson weren’t yet clear because the arrest report wasn’t available.

Court records show multiple charges and convictions over the years.

In the most recent arrest, officers found a part of an AR-15, a 9 mm ghost gun pistol, a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol, two pistol magazines and some bullets, a 1-pound bag of marijuana, a 23-gram baggie full of an unidentified white powder, some small loose baggies and a pill container with about 45 unknown white pills.

Because of prior convictions, Lopez-Villasenor is barred from owning or possessing any guns, gun-related accessories or ammunition.

Lopez-Villasenor, who was still hospitalized as of Tuesday according to court records, faces charges including two counts of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily harm, driving without a valid driver’s license as well as gun and drug charges.

A preliminary hearing was set for 9:30 a.m. March 30.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.