Man threatened Nye, Esmeralda deputies with replica gun before being fatally shot

A Las Vegas man was fatally shot after pointing what was reportedly a replica gun at Nye and Esmeralda deputies on Friday along U.S. Highway 95, just south of Tonopah, according to a recorded video statement on Monday.

A 911 call was made about 10:30 p.m. on Friday pertaining to an altercation in Tonopah involving Ingmar Von Strandberg, 30, of Las Vegas, who was said to be heading south on U.S. Highway 95 in a white van, Capt. David Boruchowitz said in the statement. Strandberg, who made threats to kill himself and others during the incident, according to the caller, was located just after the incident stopped along the highway.

“An Esmeralda County deputy located the vehicle stopped on the side of the road on U.S. 95 and mile marker 37 in Esmeralda County,” Boruchowitz said in the video.

The Esmeralda County deputy found Strandberg inside a white van at the location and attempted to negotiate with him to get him out of the van. Nye County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jonathan Justice arrived at the scene just after, Boruchowitz said.

“During the negotiation, Strandburg advised deputies that they were going to have to kill him and stated he was going to come out with a gun,” Boruchowitz said. “After several minutes, Strandburg exited the vehicle with what appeared to be a handgun in his hand and pointed it at Deputy Justice.”

Deputy Justice and the Esmeralda County deputy returned fire and stuck Strandburg. Boruchowitz said Strandburg sat back up after that and again pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the deputies who returned fire for a second time. Justice fired approximately 13 rounds during the incident, according to Boruchowitz.

“After the shooting, it was discovered that the weapon that Strandburg used in this shooting was a

Sig Sauer P365 replica pellet gun,” Boruchowitz said. Boruchowitz showed a side-by-side comparison during the video release, stating that the pellet gun “looks virtually identical to an actual Sig Sauer P365.”

Deputy Justice was wearing a body-worn camera, but the battery died just prior to the shooting, Boruchowitz said.

“Because the sheriff ensures we run redundant systems, the deputies dash camera footage captured the entire footage,” he said.

Deputy Justice has been with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office for eight months and is currently assigned to the northern command’s patrol division. Pursuant to standard protocol, Boruchowitz said, Deputy Justice is on paid leave.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety is investigating the shooting.

This is the first officer-involved shooting of 2021, according to Boruchowitz.

“By this time last year, we had two officer-involved shootings; both of which were fatal,” he said.

Contact Editor Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com