LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A man on parole for a murder conviction in California faces an attempted murder charge in Las Vegas after a confrontation in a parking lot on Saturday left one in critical condition.
Anthony Wayne Reed, 55, is accused of attacking a man in a parking lot outside the IHOP at 1809 Las Vegas Blvd. near St. Louis Avenue.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Las Vegas Metro police responded to reports of a man having a medical episode at an IHOP at 1809 Las Vegas Blvd. The victim’s friends said he had lagged behind as the others went inside, and was on the ground when one of the others came back to find him.
Police say evidence at the scene and surveillance video from several locations in the area revealed a confrontation with a man who fit Reed’s description.
According to the arrest report, the video shows Reed swinging at the back of the victim’s head with a sharp object that looked like a pick. Police say the object stuck in the victim's head and had to be removed with force by Reed.
When he was arrested, Reed admitted to police that he had punched another man near the IHOP because he was “talking trash to his sister and he had to defend her." According to the arrest report, Reed denied having a weapon at the time of the attack and denied stabbing the victim, claiming instead “I am not a stabber, I shoot.”
According to the arrest report, the victim’s injury was so hard to detect that it wasn’t found until he was examined a third time in a hospital room. Crime scene analysts were only able to locate a very small amount of blood on the collar of the victim’s white t-shirt, and could not locate a break in the skin initially.
The report indicates that family members of the victim were informed that nothing medically could be done, and the victim would "likely expire."
Police took Reed into custody at approximately 9 p.m. on Saturday, in the 1800 block of Moonglow Peak Ave. He is charged with one count of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 30.
He is currently on parole after a first-degree murder conviction in California, and he had been in contact with his parole supervisor.
