Meth use found in man killed in crash after police pursuit

A man killed in a May crash after a Las Vegas police pursuit had used methamphetamine, a coroner's toxicology report revealed Monday.

Ivan Carrillo, 26, of North Las Vegas died May 19 after his Honda Civic collided with officer Aron Carpenter's patrol car. Carrillo's test results showed "acute methamphetamine intoxication."

Police have recommended criminal charges against Carpenter and a second officer to the Clark County district attorney's office. Carpenter could face felony reckless driving and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Andrew Charles Ubbens, who was driving a separate patrol car, could face misdemeanor reckless driving.

Both officers ignored their sergeant's commands to stop pursuing Carrillo, who was suspected of drunken driving.

A representative at the district attorney's office said the case is being reviewed and a decision on whether to press charges probably won't be made before the end of the week.

Sgt. John Sheahan, a police spokesman, said it didn't matter if Carrillo had used drugs -- it was the officers' conduct that was in question.

"And in this case we decided it wasn't just wrong, it was criminal," he said.

The seven-minute pursuit ended at 10:26 p.m. near Lone Mountain Road and Lamb Boulevard when Carpenter's police vehicle collided with Carrillo's car, sending it into oncoming traffic, where it collided with a Ford Contour and a Dodge Ram 1500. The Dodge then hit a Pontiac Grand Prix. The driver of the Contour was injured and hospitalized.

According to a police report, Carpenter and Ubbens ignored three separate commands to discontinue the pursuit. Ubbens attempted to end the chase by using the Precision Intervention Technique, also called PIT, to bump Carrillo's car and spin it out of control. However, Carrillo regained control and continued to drive north on Lamb.

Ubbens initially told Metropolitan Police Department homicide investigators that he did not use PIT on Carrillo's car, but he later changed his story.

"It was only after the first interview had concluded and Officer Ubbens had time to think, did he request to change his statement," the report said.

At speeds faster than 40 mph, PIT can be considered "deadly force." Forensic tests later determined that Carrillo was traveling between 60 mph and 72 mph at the time Ubbens hit him.

Carpenter allegedly radioed to his sergeant that he and Ubbens had broken off the chase, when they had not.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie said last week that employees can be fired for lying during an investigation, but he wouldn't comment further on the incident, saying it was being investigated internally.

Later in the chase, Carpenter's vehicle struck Carrillo's and spun it into traffic. Although the two cars hit in precisely the way a PIT is done, Carpenter maintains he was not trying to do the maneuver, police said.

Carpenter steered to the right because he perceived that Carrillo was moving into his travel lane, the report said.

Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy agreed with police.

"They were clearly in pursuit at one point ... but at the moment the final incident occurred, it was a motor vehicular accident," Murphy said last week.

A coroner's inquest will not be convened because Carrillo's death from blunt force trauma to the head, chest and abdomen was ruled accidental.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.