Dispute at North Las Vegas tow yard escalated into fight, shooting

A bullet fired through the back window of a pickup truck struck a 28-year-old man in the head as his father drove away from a North Las Vegas tow yard last week, according to an arrest report for the tow truck driver accused of firing the shot.

“He heard one gunshot and then his son slumped over the center console bleeding from the head,” said the arrest report for the suspected shooter, identified by North Las Vegas police as tow-truck driver Jason Damon Harris, 28.

After the single round was fired on Thursday evening at Fast Towing, 4220 Donovan Way, the report states, the suspect picked up the shell casing, hid it in his shirt pocket and drove home, where he was later arrested.

Harris, who had towed the victim’s truck earlier that day, had been arguing with the son and father over towing prices, which escalated into a physical fight with the victim.

In an interview with police after his arrest, the report shows, Harris would say that “he won the confrontation but continued to argue with the younger man as he escorted both men to their vehicle.”

“He admitted to being so angry from the fight that he shot at the truck as it drove away,” detectives wrote in the report, noting that Harris at first had claimed he opened fire in self-defense after the barrel of a silver revolver emerged from the truck.

Victim, father not armed

But police said neither the victim nor his father were armed.

The victim’s father sped away and pulled over on nearby Berg Street to call 911. From there, his son was rushed to University Medical Center in critical condition, police have said.

On Friday afternoon, police spokesman Eric Leavitt said the victim remained hospitalized and “fighting for his life.”

Condition not known Monday

His condition Monday was not known, although court and jail records show that the charge of attempted murder with a deadly weapon against Harris had not been upgraded to a murder charge.

Harris also faces charges of battery resulting in substantial bodily harm and shooting into an occupied structure. He remained held Monday on $230,000 bail at the Clark County Detention Center awaiting a status hearing on Thursday morning.

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