A 21-year-old Moab man was arrested last week for attempted murder and numerous other charges, after he allegedly pointed a gun at his girlfriend and pulled the trigger.
However, police say the gun didn’t go off because suspect Phildrid Nez reportedly forgot that he unloaded the weapon earlier that day.
The incident allegedly occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 17 – the same day that Nez pleaded guilty in 7th District Court to a class B misdemeanor charge of attempted violation of a jail release agreement.
In that case, Nez admitted that he called his girlfriend from jail, despite the fact that he signed a no-contact order. Under the terms of his Feb. 17 sentence, Nez agreed not to have any contact whatsoever with the 25-year-old woman.
However, the woman told police that Nez dropped by her house soon after his court appearance in the earlier case, which also involved domestic violence.
When he arrived there, she said, he grabbed her and behaved inappropriately toward her. She accused him of sexual assault, and Nez’s behavior became increasingly erratic, according to a police report on the incident.
The woman told police that Nez said he knew he was guilty of sexual assault. He told her to “call the cops” because he wanted them to file more charges against him, she said.
Nez then dragged the woman into the bedroom and proceeded to assault her, according to the police report.
At one point, he grabbed the woman’s phone and announced that he would call the cops on himself. The woman, meanwhile, grabbed her gun, locked herself inside her car and told Nez that she was going to pick up a friend; she also told him that he needed to leave the premises.
When she returned, Nez was gone, but he eventually showed up again, according to the police report. Before she opened the door, the woman grabbed her gun, and then reminded Nez that he isn’t allowed on the property.
However, police allege that Nez pushed his way inside the home and then seized the muzzle of the gun. All of a sudden, he turned the gun on himself and told the woman to pull the trigger.
At that point, the woman said he took the gun from her and threatened to kill himself. When she tried to call police, Nez allegedly took the phone away from her and threw it onto a couch.
The woman retrieved the phone and sat by Nez for a few minutes. Eventually, she headed into the bathroom and barricaded herself inside. From there, she sent text messages to her friends, urging them to call the authorities.
When officers arrived at the scene, Nez allegedly kicked the bathroom door in, pointed the gun at the woman’s head and pulled the trigger. Police say Nez forgot that he emptied the chamber earlier that day, so the gun did not discharge.
After police made contact with Nez, he allegedly refused to cooperate with them. In response, police say they tackled Nez onto the kitchen floor and “tazed” him before they finally secured him inside a patrol car.
Nez was ultimately booked into the Grand County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, forcible sexual abuse, aggravated kidnapping, interruption of a communication device, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
He remains in custody on $100,000 cash-only bail. As of press time , no court date had been set.
Police allege that suspect attacked girlfriend
