Trial delayed for teacher accused of shooting at ‘Repo Games’ TV crew

By Dave Toplikar

Friday, Aug. 5, 2011 | 5 p.m.

A trial that was to have started next week for a North Las Vegas middle school teacher arrested in April after police say he opened fire on a reality TV show crew has been rescheduled to the end of October.

Carlos Barron, 40, was to have stood trial beginning Monday on two counts of attempted murder, plus five other felony charges, for allegedly firing shots with a handgun during a filming of Spike TV Network's "Repo Games" April 25 in front of Barron’s home. No one was injured in the incident.

Barron’s trial has been rescheduled at the request of his attorneys to begin 10 a.m. Oct. 31 before Clark County District Judge James Bixler, according to court records.

The Clark County School District said Barron was employed at JD Smith Middle School in North Las Vegas. He is being held without bail on the attempted murder charges at the Clark County Detention Center.

Police said they responded at 9:42 p.m. April 25 to Barron’s home in the 2900 block of Vigilante Court, where a “Repo Games” filming crew van and a security van were parked.

Witnesses from the security and filming crews told police Barron argued with security guards, telling them “this isn’t your (expletive) parking spot, move your (expletive) car.”

Barron allegedly punched a passenger in the van and pulled a handgun, then held the gun to a crew member’s head, witnesses told police. The rest of the crew took cover.

Barron fired the gun toward crew members but no one was hit, the report said.

When police arrived, witnesses said Barron had gone back into his home. Police surrounded the house for two hours until they noticed Barron trying to jump the wall behind the home, the report said.

Police ordered Barron to get on the ground, but he refused to do so until an officer released a patrol dog. After the dog bit Barron, he fell to the ground and officers took him into custody.

When officers began to question Barron, they noticed his slurred speech and difficulty standing up, according to the report. Officers asked if he was on medication and Barron said he was prescribed Zoloft and Xanax, which he had taken four hours earlier.

He told police he carried a gun because his car recently was stolen and he had been shot at during the theft. That incident prompted Barron to protect himself with the weapon, police said. Barron told police he also had other guns in the home.

“During my entire contact with Barron, he was making random statements, and sometimes threats to officers at the scene. I had to consistently stop Barron from going off topic and concentrate on telling me his side of the story,” the police report said.