Man accused of killing Las Vegas police officer refuses to leave jail cell
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man accused of shooting and killing a Las Vegas police officer is refusing to leave his jail cell and has not showered in months, leading to a delay in his trial, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators reviewed.
Officer Truong Thai, a 23-year Metro police veteran, was responding to a domestic disturbance involving Tyson Hampton, 25, on Oct. 13, 2022, when Hampton allegedly shot him near Flamingo Road and University Center Drive, police said.
Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones delayed Hampson’s trial last spring. She had yet to schedule a new date as of Friday.
“More recently, the client’s mental health seems to have deteriorated and legal visits with his team, and social visits with his family, have become increasingly difficult and of much concern,” Hampton’s attorneys wrote in court documents filed earlier this week. “Mr. Hampton’s appearance continues to dramatically decline. He has not showered, groomed or changed his clothes in months (hair which is ungroomed and very matted). He appears lethargic and does not do much but sleep.”
In their request for a new trial date, Hampton’s attorneys had he “has been increasingly exhibiting paranoid and [bizarre] behavior” and was refusing visits.
As the 8 News Now Investigators first reported after the shooting Tyson’s mother-in-law warned dispatchers about her son-in-law minutes before he shot and killed Thai in a barrage of gunfire.
Hampton fired a total of 18 rounds during the shooting, police said. Hampton’s mother-in-law was shot in the leg. A man sitting in a car near the shooting scene was almost hit by a bullet, the report said. A bullet went through his windshield, almost hitting him.
As the 8 News Now Investigators reported, Hampton faced a gun-related charge two years ago and was known to pull out his gun during confrontations, court documents and police records said.
Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty should a jury convict Hampton.
Murder trials are often delayed in Clark County, sometimes by years.
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