Las Vegas woman files lawsuit after her child was shot in Henderson
A woman whose young son was shot by her ex-boyfriend in Henderson earlier this year has filed suit against the man’s then employer since he, according to the lawsuit, was driving a work vehicle at the time.
Myesia Tatum of North Las Vegas last month filed a negligence lawsuit against All Pro Hydrojetting and Pumping, a company that, as of earlier this year, employed Reginald R. Thomas.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal from Henderson Justice Court, Thomas was charged with 13 offenses including four counts of attempted murder, after he fired a weapon at Tatum’s vehicle on Boulder Highway near Galleria Drive in Henderson just before 1 p.m. on March 8.
Tatum’s lawyer, Las Vegas attorney McKay Whitney, said Tatum was driving with her three children in her vehicle when Thomas pulled out a gun and fired into the car, hitting Tatum’s young son in his right leg.
“She fled to a hospital after the gunshot was fired,” Whitney said. “She had been out looking at an apartment when Reginald showed up in the work vehicle. He was honking his horn and kind of going nuts. She decided to leave and then he pulled up next to her at a stop light.”
Driving a green work truck
According to a Henderson Police Department arrest report, Tatum told police that Thomas, driving a green work truck, pulled next to the 2018 Nissan Altima she was driving on Boulder Highway.
At one point, she told police, he pulled up alongside the Nissan and yelled out his window “I’m going to kill you” to Tatum. She said she “sped up, reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour,” in an attempt to get away from Thomas, the report said.
The child, whose name and age wasn’t released in the police report or the lawsuit, or by Tatum’s attorney, survived the shooting, according to the report. Through her attorney, Tatum declined an interview request.
Thomas, who pleaded guilty to a charge of battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm on Sept. 29, according to court records, was sentenced to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 12.5 years in prison, according to Nevada Department of Corrections records.
He’s serving that sentence at High Desert State Prison, about 45 minutes northwest of Las Vegas.
When reached by phone on Wednesday, Craig Popejoy, a district manager for All Pro Hydrojetting and Pumping, which has a location on Cecile Avenue in northeast Las Vegas, confirmed that Thomas was previously an employee with the company.
Popejoy added that Thomas is no longer employed by All Pro and that he couldn’t comment about the lawsuit.
None of the three children inside the vehicle at the time were from Tatum’s former relationship with Thomas, Whitney said. According to the police report, Tatum’s daughter was in the Nissan’s front passenger seat while her two sons were in the back.
The arrest
The police report states that Henderson officers, with help from the FBI, staked out Thomas’ workplace at 4955 Cecile Avenue in Las Vegas during the afternoon of March 8.
They witnessed Thomas return to his work headquarters in his work truck just before 5 p.m., according to the report. He was arrested about 90 minutes later.
The lawsuit alleges, in part, that the company acted negligently when it hired Thomas and notes that Tatum and her children suffered “bodily harm” and “emotional distress.”
The suit asks for punitive damages in excess of $15,000, along with special damages.
“It was like a horror movie,” Whitney said. “We’re not talking about teenagers either, these are young children. The two other siblings had to watch their brother bleed. We’re looking for this company to take responsibility for their driver.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
