Eric Holland.Photo: Clark County, Nev., Detention Center/AP/Shutterstock
Las Vegas police made a chilling discovery when they chased a man after he failed to pull over for a routine traffic stop — and found a severed head, legs and a torso in the back of a truck he allegedly stole, authorities say.
On Dec. 23, at about 3:42 p.m., patrol officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department tried to stop a man driving a truck when he took off, the LVMPD says in a release.
As the officers chased the driver through the streets of Las Vegas, the department’s air unit tracked the truck from above.
Officers tried to stop the driver, who fled a second time, according to the release. The air unit led officers to an apartment complex.
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“Officers approached the vehicle and observed the suspect, later identified as Eric Holland, 57, exiting the truck,” according to the LVMPD. Holland allegedly threw various items at the officers as he tried to get away, but he was taken into custody, the LVMPD says.
Officers discovered human remains in the bed of the truck, according to the LVMPD. They found a black plastic trash bag with a severed head inside that was giving off a “foul odor,” according to the criminal complaint.
Police found coolers found in the gold truck allegedly contained “two human legs” and “an apparent human torso,” the complaint says.
“Through the course of the investigation, LVMPD detectives identified Holland as the suspect in the homicide,” the LVMPD says in a statement.
The victim has been identified as Richard P. Miller, 65, of Las Vegas, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. His death has been ruled a homicide. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.
On Tuesday, a judge denied bail for Holland, who remains held in the Clark County Detention Center, online records show.
“Proof is evident and the presumption is great that Mr. Holland committed murder,” the judge said, the Associated Press andKTLAreport.
Holland has not yet entered a plea.
Holland’s public defender, P. David Westbrook, tells PEOPLE it doesn’t make sense that his client would lead authorities to the body parts if he had known they were in the stolen truck.
“They presented no evidence at the bail hearing that he had any knowledge of what was in the truck bed,” Westbrook says. “So, according to the evidence presented at the hearing, Mr. Holland appeared to be nothing more than a hapless car thief.”
Prosecutors must prove that Holland knew the body was in the truck “and that he actually caused the death,” he said.
Miller and Holland knew each other, say authorities, the Associated Press and KTLA report.
They have not provided details about an alleged motive.
Holland is a prior felon in Nevada, California and Texas,The Mercury Newsreports.
source: people.com
