On June 7, 2020, Nikolas Fernandez, the brother of a local police officer, drove his car through a crowd of protesters on Capitol Hill. He got out of his car, after protesters physically stopped him from driving, and shot a protester. He was originally charged with first-degree assault. Prosecuting attorney, Leesa Manion, announced a deal for Fernandez to plead guilty to reckless driving.
Fernandez approached a makeshift barricade, with people yelling at him to stop. A protester named Dan Gregory reached through the open window, grabbed the steering wheel and punched Fernandez. Lawyers used the “he was afraid for his life” approach and chalked it up as self defense for him exiting the car with the gun and shooting a protester.
Fernandez has agreed to a sentence of 24 months probation, a 30-day driver’s license suspension, plus “mandatory court costs and fines.” The reckless driving charge normally carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Fernandez, the brother of an East Precinct officer, passed through the protest barrier and yelled at officers, “I just had to shoot somebody, they tried to jack my car.” According to the report, Fernandez told police his vehicle stalled and wouldn’t start after the shooting so he “exited the car with his gun in his hand yelling at people to get back away from him.”
Investigators said Fernandez used the Glock 26 on his passenger seat to shoot Gregory in the shoulder. According to charging documents, Fernandez later told officers he might have pointed the gun at other people before he ran into the police line to surrender. Many are unhappy with the decision of the prosecutor and points to the power that law enforcement have with the prosecutors office.
