Officer cleared in 5-year-old shooting

Monday, May 21, 2001 | 9:40 a.m.

A Metro Police officer who fired a shot that put a gunman in a coma for five years said he had a responsibility to use deadly force, given that the man already had shot another law enforcement officer and was a threat to other officers and motorists.

A Clark County coroner's inquest jury took just 18 minutes -- the second-fastest deliberation in the history of the local process -- Friday to find Metro Police intelligence Sgt. Larry Burns justified in his actions during a Jan. 19, 1996, highway incident.

Miguel Angel Gomez, 49, died on March 31 at the North Las Vegas Care Center of complications from a gunshot wound in his head. Gomez never regained consciousness after he was wounded during a standoff on Interstate 15 near the Apex exit, where two officers were shot -- one by a bullet fired by another officer.

"I certainly had the responsibility to do that," Burns told the jury, saying the lives of dozens of officers and innocent motorists were threatened by the handgun Gomez fired in two volleys -- seven shots the first time and two after a brief respite. "He was attempting to take my life. ... We fired in a defensive posture ... The reason for firing was clear."

The four-man, three-woman jury fell just three minutes shy of returning the fastest coroner's inquest verdict in local history, Clark County Coroner Ron Flud said. It was the longest period on record between the shooting of a citizen and an inquest involving the officer who pulled the trigger, Flud said.

Flud said that while no family for Gomez could be found and no civil suits were filed, the inquest created a record and maintained the consistency of practice in the investigative process for police-involved fatal shootings

Local attorney James Ordowski was the hearing master. Assistant District Attorney Mike Davidson and Deputy District Attorney Jim Miller questioned several witnesses, including officers who were involved.

In addition to Burns, three other SWAT officers -- Jerry Montes, Christopher Petko and Troy Wilson -- fired at Gomez. Burns faced the inquest because forensic evidence showed that his weapon fired the fatal round. All officers previously had been cleared by the department of any wrongdoing in the shooting.

"I was in fear of my life," Wilson said, noting he was standing in front of Burns at the time of the incident. "I fired four rounds and stopped because the action of the suspect stopped."

Wilson testified that during a 30-second period when shots were not being fired, he got close enough to see that Gomez was still holding the gun with the hammer cocked.

"We made the decision that deadly force was necessary before he used deadly force (against officers)," Wilson said.

Clark County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lary Sims said an autopsy he conducted April 2 found that the official cause of death was a gunshot wound in the head that brought on complications, including a bladder infection.

The standoff began when Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Antony Skordoulis stopped to help a one-legged man who was standing on the side of the interstate near a stopped car and holding a sign that read, "need gas."

Skordoulis told the man -- later identified as Gomez -- he would take him for gasoline after he checked him for weapons. But before Skordoulis could frisk him, Gomez pulled a gun and shot the trooper in the leg, police said. Skordoulis fired and radioed for help. Gomez retreated to his car and locked himself inside.

Metro SWAT officers blocked Gomez's car and ordered him to get out. When he refused, they fired tear gas. Gomez left the car and shot at the officers several times, police said, noting that SWAT Officer Paul Dapra was shot under the left arm.

Gomez, who police say was convicted in West Virginia for obstructing police and in California for battery of a police officer, was taken to the University Medical Center and later moved to the extended care facility, where he lingered until death in "a persistent vegetated state," Sims testified.