Man charged in fatal stolen-car shooting acted in self-defense, attorney says
A man accused of confronting purported car thieves, shooting and killing one, acted in self-defense, his attorney argued in court this week.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested Christopher Hall, 51, on a murder count in the death of Rodrigo Maya Blanco.
Maya Blanco, 28, was shot in the head on Dec. 21 in an east Las Vegas apartment complex in the 1200 block of Tree Line Drive, the Clark County coroner’s office said.
Attorney Warren Geller on Wednesday outlined Hall’s defense in front of Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman, who set bail at $10,000.
The judge said she had “concerns about the case” but did not elaborate.
Geller argued that Hall had feared he was going to get mowed down by the vehicle Maya Blanco was driving.
“This isn’t a situation where someone sought out that day to go out and hurt someone,” the attorney said.
Tracking stolen vehicle
A family member of Hall’s had his SUV stolen at the Meadows mall and reported it to police, according to Geller and a Las Vegas police arrest report released Wednesday.
The family began tracking the SUV through the GPS of a phone left inside and asked Hall for a ride and help finding the SUV, police said.
Hall and his family arrived at the complex, about 9 miles from the mall, before police showed up, Geller said.
A person who was “disassembling” the stolen car took off running, Geller said.
Police said that person took off running while Maya Blanco got into a nearby pickup and was trying to leave when Hall opened fire about 7:45 p.m.
“The round traveled through the closed driver’s side window and struck the single occupant,” police wrote.
Hall told police that he “panicked” and opened fire, according to his arrest report.
One of Hall’s family members told police that she had bad eyesight but that she believed he was afraid of being hit by the vehicle, the report said.
Two other family members said that the pickup had backed out of a parking spot “at a high rate of speed.”
Another witness told police that Hall was never in the path of the pickup, the report said.
‘Backpedaling away’
After Wednesday’s hearing, Geller summarized Hall’s version of events.
“(Maya Blanco) pulled out in reverse, very rapidly, causing my client to have to jump to the side,” Geller said.
“And then (Hall) continued backpedaling away from the vehicle, and then it turned its wheels sharp to the left and began to accelerate into a turning pattern right in his direction.”
Geller added that Hall “fired a single shot in self-defense as he was backpedaling away.”
Clark County prosecutors argued for no bail, alleging that Hall had chased down the victim and that he was a danger to the community.
Geller said Hall only fired once, disassembled his gun and flagged down police, who had been circling the area searching for the stolen vehicle.
He said Hall is a military veteran with 13 years of service who did three tours in Iraq.
Hall told Zimmerman he owned 13 firearms, which he was ordered to surrender as part of his bail.
‘Small grain of help’
Maya Blanco’s family could not be reached for comment, but his cousin posted a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral, and to repatriate his body to Mexico.
Maribel Ramirez Maya wrote that he left behind a wife, two children and a third on the way.
“He was an excellent father, son, brother, cousin and friend,” she wrote in Spanish. “Like family, we ask for your small grain of help in these difficult moments.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
