Sparks, Nevada — On May 4, 2020, shortly before 8:00 pm, 36-year-old Ronal Adalberto Zendejas (hereinafter “Zendejas”) entered the office of Motel 6, located at 2405 Victorian Avenue in Sparks, Nevada, and rented a room for one night. For unknown reasons, his demeanor was rude and aggressive, and the front desk manager recognized that he was drunk. After renting the room, he punched the plexiglass separating the lobby and employee areas, and then punched the office window as he left. Shortly thereafter, Zendejas returned to the office and was angrier than he was before, but then left again. Just minutes later, Zendejas followed the general manager into the office, this time armed with a running chainsaw. The general manager retreated behind the counter, and Zendejas used the chainsaw to cut through the swinging half-door which separates the lobby and employee areas. The front desk manager took cover in the employee bathroom, while the general manager went into his apartment, which was connected to the office. Zendejas, who was still armed with the chainsaw, then entered the employee area.

Zendejas ultimately left the office and went to room number 102, which was next to the office. He contacted the occupant of that room, and swung the chainsaw towards him, causing the occupant to take evasive measures. During this dangerous interaction, Zendejas cut the door and door handle to room number 102. As these attacks were taking place, two calls were placed to 911 at approximately 8:08 pm, and Sparks Police Department (hereinafter “SPD”) officers responded, with Officers Thomas Radley (hereinafter “Officer Radley”) and Adrian Berumen (hereinafter “Officer Berumen”) being the first two to arrive. Once these officers arrived, people on-scene pointed to Zendejas, who was then sitting in his blue Honda Accord parked in the Motel 6 parking lot. The officers, who were dressed in full police uniforms, approached Zendejas, verbally identified themselves as police, and ordered him to stop and show his hands. Zendejas ignored their commands and rapidly reversed, and then drove out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed.

As he fled, Zendejas drove across all travel lanes of Victorian Avenue, over a curb, struck a metal street sign, and stopped on landscaping rocks. Officers Radley and Berumen chased after Zendejas, and Officer Berumen repeated his commands to stop the car, but Zendejas again refused to comply. Instead, Zendejas reversed his vehicle, dragging the street sign with it, struck Officer Berumen’s patrol vehicle, and crashed rear-end into the wall of a nearby car wash. Officers Radley and Berumen, recognizing the serious threat Zendejas presented to them and the public, continued to chase after Zendejas. As they got closer, Officer Radley again ordered Zendejas to show his hands and stop, but Zendejas began driving away from the car wash at a high rate of speed. Officer Radley, followed by Officer Berumen, responded by firing their duty handguns towards Zendejas. As the gunfire subsided, Zendejas’ vehicle drove into a parking lot next to a smog shop and crashed front-end into a wall. Additional officers arrived, approached the vehicle, and removed Zendejas from the driver’s seat. Zendejas did not survive the incident, and a subsequent autopsy found the cause of his death to be multiple gunshot wounds.