Man tried to stab Las Vegas officer to get shot, report says

A man shot by Las Vegas police this month told investigators that if an officer had not shot him, he was going to stab the officer in the face, according to an arrest report released Wednesday.

Hector Orellana, 26, told police that he wanted the officer to kill him so he did not have to go to prison, the report said.

A witness told police that Orellana was holding a “shank” when he was shot, while another described the object as a knife, the report said. Investigators later determined that Orellana had been hoisting a plastic Bic pen.

Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Raul Rodriguez, who shot Orellana in the leg when he lunged at him with the pen, told investigators that “he was in fear for his life because he thought the suspect was going to stab him,” the report said.

The shooting unfolded about noon on March 14 near a homeless facility on Main Street in downtown Las Vegas.

When Rodriguez spotted Orellana and another man fighting, he stepped out of his car and tried to break it up, police said. Orellana then focused on Rodriguez, kicking him and throwing a punch, police said. Orellana then pulled out a pen from his pocket and raised it.

As Rodriguez was stepping back, he fell on the ground, police said. When Orellana rushed toward him, the officer shot at him three times, striking him once.

The fight and shooting were caught on surveillance cameras. Rodriguez was not wearing a body camera, which only lower-position officers are required to have.

After he was released from University Medical Center, Orellana told police that he would hear “voices” in his head that made him paranoid and that he felt like he was persecuted by people, the report said.

Those voices, he said, told him the officer was part of occult satanic and “Illuminati” groups. Initially, he wanted the officer to leave him alone, he said, but pulled out a pen because he knew he would get shot if he tried to stab Rodriguez.

Orellana told police that he had moved to Las Vegas from California in January to “avoid going to prison” for a pending DUI case there.

Las Vegas Justice Court Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman set bail at $100,000 on March 16 after Orellana had an outburst in the courtroom.

Orellana, who faces counts of assault and battery on a protected person and resisting a public officer, is next due in court March 30.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.