Inquest jurors rule shooting a suicide

A Las Vegas police officer shot Angel Hinojoza four times, but the bullet that killed him came from his own weapon, a coroner's inquest jury ruled Friday.

The jury took just 20 minutes to find that Hinojoza's Sept. 5 death in a downtown Las Vegas alley was a suicide.

The verdict outraged Hinojoza's relatives, some of whom stormed from the courtroom and cursed at Las Vegas police officers watching the proceedings.

"Metro killed him. They know they killed my son," Regina Austin yelled on her way out.

The jury's ruling came after a day of testimony about the fatal confrontation between Hinojoza and officer Robert Williams.

About 30 minutes before the shooting, Hinojoza robbed the Community One Federal Credit Union branch on East Flamingo Road near Pecos Road, police said.

He walked into the bank about 5:25 p.m. and tried to cash a money order. He waited until all other customers left to pull out a black and silver handgun, jump over the counter and demand money, teller Carmen Romero-Cortes testified.

The tellers gave him their cash, and he left, but not before telling them, "Don't call the police because I'm going to kill myself," Romero-Cortes said.

Police got the bank robbery call at 5:39 p.m. About 15 minutes later, robbery Detective Roger Palmer was tailing a red Dodge Charger carrying Hinojoza near downtown.

Palmer, who was in an undercover car, called for a patrol car to stop the Charger. A patrol car with Williams and rookie officer Abram Gamboa responded and tried to pull the Charger over, but the car sped away, the officers testified.

As the cars headed north into a residential neighborhood on 15th Street, Palmer decided to end the chase with a technique that spun and stalled the Charger. As soon as the car stopped, Hinojoza jumped out and ran down an alley between two apartment buildings.

Gamboa chased after Hinojoza while Williams ran down a parallel alley.

As he ran, Williams heard someone yell "gun" over the radio. Moments later Hinojoza, who had dashed between two buildings to escape Gamboa, ran right in front of Williams.

Hinojoza raised his gun at Williams, the eight-year police veteran testified.

"When he pointed the gun at me, he was going to kill me," Williams said. "So I fired."

He said he had no time to give Hinojoza any warnings or orders to stop.

Williams fired five rounds from his .45-caliber Glock handgun. Hinojoza was hit in each leg, his neck and his right wrist.

He also suffered a gunshot wound to his right temple, but based on the size of the wound, the powder marks on the head and the .380-caliber bullet found with Hinojoza's DNA on it, homicide Detective Laura Andersen said she believed he shot himself with his Taurus handgun.

Dr. Alane Olson, the coroner's officer medical examiner, said the head shot was the only life-threatening wound. However, she ruled the manner of death undetermined because she didn't know if Hinojoza deliberately pulled the trigger or if the gunshot to his wrist forced him to shoot involuntarily, she said.

All of the bullet wounds were on the front or side of the body, she said.

Despite the day's testimony, Austin said she believed her son was shot in the back and didn't commit suicide.

"My son may have been a lot of things, but a coward he was not," she said.

Her son was a mama's boy who always had a smile on his face, she said. He robbed the bank because his criminal history prevented him from getting a job, she said.

Hinojoza served seven years in prison for a 2000 conviction for robbery with a deadly weapon. He was paroled earlier this year and got married in May.

Austin said she lost any faith she had in the justice system

"Metro shot and killed my son," she said. "Nobody can convince me otherwise."

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0281.