Driver had high levels of meth in system when he struck, killed trooper

A carjacking suspect blamed for intentionally striking and killing a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper had many times more methamphetamine in his system than users known to show “violent and irrational behavior,” according to a toxicology report released Thursday.

Douglas Joseph Claiborne, 60, had 9,000 nanograms per milliliter in his bloodstream on July 27 when he struck trooper Micah May during a police chase through Las Vegas on Interstate 15, the report said.

Blood levels of meth between 200 and 600 nanograms per milliliter can “also illicit restlessness, confusion, hallucinations, circulatory collapse and convulsions,” according to the report prepared by NMS Labs in Pennsylvania.

The 270 nanograms per milliliter of amphetamine — a drug used to treat hyperactivity and obesity, sometimes known by the brand name Adderall — also found in Claiborne’s system, was nearly triple the “peak” level of 100 nanograms per milliliter discovered in someone who had taken a single adult dose 2½ hours before, the report said.

Shortly after the crash, which lodged a critically injured May in the stolen car, officers stopped Claiborne and shot him as he tried to grab the trooper’s gun, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Claiborne was hit 18 times, including eight gunshot wounds to the head, according to a redacted autopsy report prepared by the Clark County coroner’s office. Autopsy reports for both Claiborne and May were released Thursday.

The suspect died at the scene. May, 46, was flown in a police helicopter to University Medical Center, where he was declared dead two days later while on a ventilator, according to the coroner’s office, which noted that he was an organ donor.

Despite his proximity to Claiborne during the shooting, May was not hit by bullets, his autopsy report confirmed.

Claiborne carjacked a construction worker on the outskirts of Las Vegas, threatening the worker with a knife.

Troopers spotted Claiborne in the far south valley, and a chase ensued on Interstate 15 when he disobeyed orders to stop. The pursuit diverted onto North Las Vegas roadways and back onto southbound lanes of the freeway, according to Metro, which noted that Claiborne accelerated past 50 mph and was driving erratically.

North Las Vegas police unsuccessfully deployed stop sticks a half dozen times before May tried a seventh time near the Charleston Boulevard exit, Metro said.

May had placed the sticks on the highway and turned to run back to his cruiser, the coroner’s office said. That is when Claiborne drove around the sticks and hit May with the car, Metro said.

The pursuit ended when officers stopped him by crashing into his vehicle less than 3 miles later, Metro said.

Trooper Joseph DellaBella and Nevada parole and probation officers Derek Simmons, Garrett Dix and Luis Villanueva opened fire, Metro said.

Victor Bakke, a Hawaii attorney who represented Claiborne on and off for about 15 years, previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that his client, an Iowa native, who had an extensive criminal history, had a lifelong addiction to meth.

May, a 13-year veteran of the Highway Patrol, was survived by his wife and their two young children. Loved ones and colleagues described him as a humble, quiet leader and mentor who did not always enjoy the recognition.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.