NV Man Gets 15 to 50 Years for Shooting into Police Car, Injuring Officer

A Las Vegas man who was 17 when he fired three shots into a police vehicle in September 2015, wounding a police officer in what authorities called an ambush, has been sentenced to 15 to 50 years in Nevada state prison, reports the Associated Press .

A state court jury found Francisco Urias-Quintana guilty in July of multiple felonies including two counts of attempted murder for opening fire with a stolen handgun at a police SUV idling at a traffic signal at a busy crossroads about mid-day on a Sunday several miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas.

Officer Thomas Clevenger was wounded in the hand but jumped from the passenger seat and pulled a woman away from the line of fire while his patrol partner, Officer Sergio Orizabal, chased and caught Urias-Quintana. Neither Clevenger nor Orizabal fired a shot.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson called the shooting an ambush. Urias-Quintana said he found the gun and decided he just wanted to kill a cop, according to an arrest report.

Police Officer Larry Hadfield said Tuesday that Clevenger, 48, a 14-year police veteran, and Orizabal, 34, a police officer for 12 years, are still on the job.