A local man was taken into custody following an altercation with local law enforcement.
As stated in a Nye County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Deputy Xavier Gideon was dispatched to the area of 100 S. Dahlia St. near the Family Dollar store just before 7 p.m. on Feb. 25, in reference to a fight in progress.
“Dispatch advised the reporting party was jumped by several males,” Gideon said in the report. “Upon arrival, I made contact with the victim and it was determined that he did not want to file a police report, but requested that I go with him in the desert to retrieve his personal belongings. While searching for the victim’s belongings, I could hear another male, later identified as Joshua Zaja, yelling out, “You better be the police.”
Gideon’s report went on to state that he informed Zaja that he was in fact a Nye County Sheriff’s deputy.
“While walking back, I could see Joshua walking toward me with a knife in his hand, with the blade facing toward me in a threatening manner,” the report stated. “I shined my flashlight on myself to expose that I was a deputy sheriff and wearing a Nye County Sheriff’s uniform. Despite me displaying my uniform, Joshua continued to advance toward me with the knife pointed at me in a threatening manner. When Joshua heard me talking on my radio, he immediately dropped the knife and obeyed my verbal commands.”
Gideon also noted that the sheriff’s office has had prior calls for service with Zaja involving the use of a knife toward others.
Zaja was arrested on suspicion of unlawfully advancing toward a police officer while displaying a deadly weapon in a threatening manner. He was transported to the Nye County Detention Center.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes