LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man accused of vandalizing a southwest Las Vegas valley community and spraying paint on a police officer’s face was arrested Wednesday, according to police.
According to an arrest report from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, officers responded around 11 a.m. on April 23 to the Royal Ridge Estates, near Decatur Boulevard and Hacienda Avenue, after a woman reported seeing a man spray-painting the exterior walls.
The woman told police that the man, later identified as Mitchell Nettles, was spray-painting the property’s walls. When she called 911, Nettles approached her and her husband’s vehicle and sprayed it with paint. Police said she told her husband to drive away quickly, and Nettles began chasing them.
Officers arriving at the scene spotted Nettles walking along Decatur Boulevard, still holding a can of spray paint. When officers told Nettles to come to the front of their patrol car, Nettles ignored them and continued southbound. As officers continued to approach Nettles, he moved the hand holding the spray can in front of his body, blocking it from their view, police said.
According to the arrest report, when officers attempted to go hands-on with Nettles, he turned and sprayed a police officer in the face. He then ran into a parking lot where police caught him and took him into custody.
Due to Nettles stating he could not breathe, medical personnel were called.
Police said they later found extensive damage to Royal Ridge Estates’ walls and signage, with about 15 palm tree pillars, an address stone, and the main community sign spray-painted black.
An individual with management for the Royal Ridge Estates identified Nettles as the same individual responsible for a separate incident a day earlier, where a rock was thrown into the guard shack window and five security cameras were damaged, police said.
Nettles faces multiple charges, including battery on a protected person, property damage over $250 to $5,000, obstructing a public officer, destroying or injuring real or personal property, and violating conditions of a suspended sentence, according to police.
Police said he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
