LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Las Vegas man drove for nearly two hours with his girlfriend shot and led police on a chase before crashing.
FOX5 obtained the arrest report for Julio Machado Vasquez. He’s accused of open murder with a deadly weapon.
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The shooting happened morning of Jan. 19. Police said Vasquez’s friend called dispatch and said he “accidentally” shot his girlfriend and was refusing to take her to the hospital.
The suspect told his friend the gun was on his chest and the couple started to argue before she grabbed it.
Vasquez said he placed the firearm to his own head and said, “if you’re going to do it, do it right.” He fired the gun without the safety on, but “couldn’t find a hole in the car, walls or window.”
The caller asked how his girlfriend ended up with a bullet hole in the back of her head, but the suspect claimed he didn’t know.
According to the arrest report, the suspect drove around with his girlfriend injured from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Vasquez said he refused to touch her, check her pulse or go to the hospital in case he’d get spotted by cameras.
The caller said she heard moaning in the background and knew that was not Vasquez. She told police the couple have been together since high school, but it was a “toxic relationship.”
Police learned that Vasquez drove a blue Mustang and that he was near the area of Sahara Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.
A pursuit started when officers turned on their lights at the Mustang. Police said Vasquez drove up to 70 miles an hour and ignored multiple lights driving westbound on Charleston.
The pursuit stopped when the Mustang crashed with a Nissan at Palm Street and Charleston.
The Nissan had a driver and a passenger. They suffered injuries including a broken rib, collapsed lung and injured knee.
Vasquez was booked in absentia and was taken to UMC Hospital. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 27 at 8:30 a.m.
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