LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) – A man in Las Vegas is accused of driving for nearly two hours with his girlfriend suffering from a gunshot wound before crashing after leading police on a chase.
Police said a friend of Julio Machado Vasquez called 911 early Jan. 19 to report Vasquez had “accidentally” shot his girlfriend and was refusing to take her to the hospital.
According to the police report, Vasquez 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 Vasquez claimed he didn’t know.
The arrest report states Vasquez 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 it was not Vasquez. She told police the couple had been together since high school, but it was a “toxic relationship.”
Police learned that Vasquez drove a blue Mustang and spotted him driving near the area of Sahara Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.
A pursuit started and police said Vasquez drove up to 70 mph, ignoring multiple traffic lights.
Eventually, Vasquez crashed the Mustang into a Nissan. The driver and passenger of that car both suffered injuries.
Vasquez’s girlfriend later died at the scene.
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. He’s charged with open murder of a deadly weapon.
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