LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man accused of hitting a Henderson police sergeant with a stolen car, resulting in a shooting Monday, faces charges for a similar incident from last fall involving a Las Vegas police cruiser, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Henderson police arrested Johnathan Gaston, 43, on Monday after they said he “suddenly accelerated his vehicle toward [a sergeant] who was standing near the driver’s side door of his patrol vehicle,” documents said. The sergeant then fired five rounds at the Gaston, hitting him.
Gaston faces charges of attempted murder of a police officer, battery with a deadly weapon and other charges, records said. The sergeant was treated for a head injury and received 11 staples, police said.
At the time of Monday’s incident, Gaston was on house arrest on burglary and gun charges following his September 2024 arrest in Las Vegas, records said.
On Sept. 23, Gaston allegedly accelerated a stolen car into a police cruiser, documents said. Officers responded to a report of a driver, later identified as Gaston, sleeping behind the wheel of a running car at a gas station.
“I heard the engine rev prior to impact, indicating that he had hit the throttle prior to impact,” an officer wrote in Gaston’s arrest report.
The license plate on the car did not match its VIN number, police said, adding the vehicle was stolen in August.
After his arrest, Pro Temp Judge Judge Lauren Diefenbach set Gaston’s bail at $23,000 during an initial hearing on Sept. 24. A second pro temp judge later raised the amount to $25,000 with the stipulation Gaston wear an ankle monitor should he post bail.
Gaston later absconded from house arrest as early as October and failed to appear in court, records said. It was also not clear what happened to Gaston’s ankle monitor after he failed to appear in court.
Court records spell Gaston’s name as “Johnathan” and “Jonathan.”
During his initial court appearance Wednesday, a judge did not set bail due to Gaston’s bench warrant in his September case, records said. An arraignment was scheduled for Jan. 21.