LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Police say a man tried to carjack a vehicle carrying a woman, her three children and her disabled mother outside a Henderson hospital on Monday.
Police received a call just after 3 p.m. Monday about a domestic battery. Henderson police said the person in the hospital was a victim of domestic violence and sex trafficking.
Officers were dispatched to Henderson Hospital, where they were told the suspect, identified as Jose Alvarez, 35, had arrived at the lobby of the emergency room, according to police documents. While Alvarez was being escorted to a patrol car, he ran off. Officers pursued him and attempted to use a stun gun, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
The police report said Alvarez approached a crossover parked near a Dave & Buster’s location and tried to take the vehicle, saying, “I’m in trouble, I have to use your car.” In the process, the vehicle struck a person who was trying to load her mother’s wheelchair into the back of the crossover.
Police learned the victim’s three children and her mother were also inside the vehicle, according to the report. Fearing for their lives, the victim jumped into the back of the vehicle before it took off with her inside.
The victim was crying for Alvarez to stop and could hear the children screaming, the report said. She told police she saw her mother biting Alvarez’s arm. She attempted to call 911 but was unable to, as she was holding on and trying not to fall from the vehicle.
A police cruiser drove straight toward the crossover, colliding with the front driver’s side, the victim said. A witness estimated the vehicles were traveling under 25 mph when the collision occurred, according to the report. Officers said they feared that if the vehicle had reached Galleria Drive or Interstate 11, the incident could have caused severe injury or death. When the vehicle came to a stop, officers used a stun gun on Alvarez. The children jumped out, and officers helped the victim’s mother out of the crossover.
The victim had a cut on her forehead and knee and some swelling, police documents said. Her mother had a broken sternum and several cuts on her left hand, the report said.
Alvarez faces nine felony charges related to the Aug. 4 incident, including three counts of kidnapping a minor, two counts of kidnapping, one count of robbery, one count of battery with a deadly weapon, and one count of burglary of a motor vehicle. He also faces one misdemeanor charge of resisting a public officer.
In addition, Alvarez faces one count of coercion with force or threat of force, a felony, and one count of domestic battery (first offense), a misdemeanor, according to Henderson police. He made an initial appearance in court Wednesday, and is due to appear again on Aug. 11.
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