‘Suicide by cop’ trial ends in lesser verdict

Bill Gang

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 11:29 a.m.

The man who fired at three Metro Police officers and two civilians in his attempt to die in a "suicide by cop" has been convicted at his District Court trial, although on charges less severe than the prosecutor had wanted.

Devin Monfils, 26, had been charged with five counts of attempted murder, but the jury on Friday decided that the evidence did not prove he had the intent to kill that is required under Nevada law.

The jury, however, convicted Monfils of two lesser counts of assault with a deadly weapon and four counts of firing a weapon into a vehicle. While attempted murder carries a two- to 20-year sentence, he could have faced a maximum sentence of 40 to 100 years in prison.

The assault counts are punishable by terms of one to six years in prison, and the other counts carry one- to five-year sentences. The maximum he now faces is 12 to 32 years behind bars, although probation also is a possibility.

District Judge Sally Loehrer will sentence the 4-foot-7 defendant on Feb. 24.

When he took the witness stand last week in his own defense, Monfils tearfully told a jury how he had been ridiculed by names such as "Smurf, Midget and Ewok" at his Seattle job with an airline company.

"People pointed and whispered and were cruel to Devin," Deputy Public Defender Lori Teicher said.

Monfils explained that he quit his job and came to Las Vegas, where he once had lived, only to decide that he wanted to end his problems and his life through suicide.

Monfils told the jury at his trial of the difficulties of living life at his size and of the difficulties of losing his father to a stroke.

He chose to employ what has become known as "suicide by cop" on the morning of Aug. 20 as he walked along Industrial Road near Tropicana Avenue with a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 percent, nearly three times the legal limit to prove drunken driving.

Monfils drew police to the scene by firing his snub-nose .38-caliber pistol at two passing vehicles -- one on Interstate 15.

He fired at Metro Police patrol cars when they arrived and they fired back and hit Monfils in his arm. He dropped his pistol and was apprehended before he could retrieve it.

On the witness stand, Monfils said he had no intent to harm anyone, only to provoke those he hoped would kill him.

Deputy District Attorney L.J. O'Neale argued to the jury that Monfils intended to kill because he shot at people and not into the air or at the ground.

He reminded the jury that one of the rounds from Monfils' pistol smashed through the windshield of a police car, narrowly missing the officer inside.

"Eight inches to the right and we would be in a murder trial," O'Neale said. "And another brave officer would have died."

Teicher countered that Monfils simply wanted "the police to do what he couldn't -- kill him."

O'Neale cautioned the jury not to ignore what he contended was the defendant's "murderous intent" because of Monfil's size or personal problems.

"It's not about what Devin Monfils went through. It's about what Devin Monfils put people through," the veteran prosecutor said.

But the jury decided it was not clear that Monfils intended to kill and acquitted him of the five charges of attempted murder while convicting him of the lesser counts.

There was not dispute in the trial that he had fired bullets at a Jeep on Interstate 15, hitting a windshield post but missing the driver, and shot at an off-duty CAT bus driver who stopped and called 911.

When Metro Police arrived, Monfils fired at them from behind a utility pole. One bullet shattered a windshield and the other lodged in a dashboard, O'Neale said.

In all, nine shots were fired by Monfils.