PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A suspected car thief accused of firing shots at random before being shot by police near downtown Phoenix last month is now out of the hospital.
Investigators say Manuel V. Vasquez, 40, was discharged from medical care on Thursday and booked into the Maricopa County jail.
On Oct. 10, officers were investigating a stolen vehicle call near 4th Avenue and Osborn Road when they heard gunfire. Phoenix police say that officers went to a nearby apartment complex and found Vasquez standing next to a Honda Civic, with a rifle lying on the roof.
Bodycam video shows officers telling Vasquez to show his hands before he grabbed the rifle and drove off.
“He has a rifle,” an officer is heard saying in the first bodycam clip. “He’s taking off. Black Honda Civic.”
Manuel V. Vasquez, 40, was released from the hospital and booked into jail more than a month after he was shot by Phoenix police.(Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office/Phoenix Police Dept.)
Officers began pursuing Vasquez through downtown Phoenix as he fired two shots from his vehicle, according to court documents.
The lead officer was staying far behind Vasquez’s car, “fearing she would be shot by Vasquez,” a portion of court documents states. Detectives said that during the pursuit, he continued firing along city neighborhoods from inside his car.
Video shows officers boxing in Vasquez’s vehicle as he approached 16th and Portland streets. Police say he rammed his Civic into a patrol SUV and reached for the rifle, which was sitting on the center console. Bodycam shows an officer firing at least six shots at Vasquez, who was still in the car. He was struck in the chest, causing him to drop the rifle.
Authorities searched his vehicle and found a loaded rifle with a scope attached, as well as a loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine. Vasquez was hospitalized for over a month before being released this week.
He was booked for one count of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, one count of discharging a firearm in city limits and one count of unlawful flight from law enforcement. No officers were hurt during the shooting.
Investigators say Vasquez was still on parole for a 2019 conviction out of Texas, where he was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance. In that case, he was convicted to 12 years in prison.
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