Caesars Palace hostage suspect Matthew Mannix threatened landlord days before Las Vegas standoff - latest
Las Vegas police arrested assailant and rescued female hostage held in Caesars Palace hotel room
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The suspect in a dramatic hostage situation at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas threatened his landlord in Colorado before going on a drug binge that unfolded in Tuesday’s incident, according to police records.
Matthew Mannix, 35, had an outstanding warrant in his home state of Colorado before he allegedly took a woman hostage at the famous resort. The warrant stemmed from Mr Mannix allegedly threatening his landlord “not to mess with him” because he was “a killer” and a “hunter,” according to Jefferson County court records obtained by FOX 31.
The landlord also told law enforcement that Mr Mannix was in possession of a firearm, which led to four weapons being seized from his home. Due to his previous criminal history, which includes four protection orders against him, he is barred from owning any type of firearm.
Mr Mannix was contacted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office but failed to meet with deputies, prompting law enforcement to issue a fugitive warrant.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s affidavit for his arrest, both Mr Mannix and the hostage victim, who was not named but was described as having been in an on-and-off relationship with her alleged captor, were suspected of having experienced “drug-induced schizophrenia”.
A SWAT standoff was launched after Mr Mannix allegedly forced the woman into his room before threatening to “shoot someone” if they entered. Mr Mannix was taken into custody about five hours later.
He appeared in court on Wednesday where a judge set his bail at $750,000.
ICYMI: Armed man barricades himself in room at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as SWAT teams descend
A man who says he is armed has barricaded himself in a room at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, police say, where the individual is holding a female hostage.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said they received a complaint of a domestic disturbance at around 9.15am on Tuesday.
When they arrived at the hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, the man refused to come out and told officers he was armed, police said.
Vegas police said the man pulled a woman into his room “by force” and that she remains inside.
“She is still in the room at this time,” a police spokesman said on Tuesday morning during a press update. “The female has been heard from and is still OK.”
Bevan Hurley has the story.
Armed man barricades himself in room at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
Witnesses say an armed man broke a window at the Las Vegas Strip hotel and began throwing items including a television and minibar
Video shows broken glass on balcony of Vegas hotel as standoff continues
Dramatic video shows the damage from the ongoing standoff between police and a hostile man barricaded in a room at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
News 3 Las Vegas reporter Brett Forrest captured a video of broken glass and other debtris litering a balcony at the famed hotel, detritus from the angry hostage-taker bunkered in the tower above, who has been throwing furniture out of a broken window.
Down below, guests have been evacuated from the Caesars pool.
New details emerge about Vegas hostage situation
Slowly but surely, new details are arriving about the ongoing hostage standoff unfolding in Las Vegas.
The hostile man who forcibly took a woman hostage in his room at the Caesars palace is located on the 21st floor of the famed casino.
Police SWAT officers have control of the immediate area around the room, and guests on other floors weren’t evacuated or told to restrict their movements, according to The Associated Press.
Vegas police capture barricaded man and rescue hostage
A standoff between police and a man barricaded with a hostage inside a Las Vegas hotel is over.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on Tuesday afternoon a SWAT team entered the room in the Caesars Palace where the man was hiding, capturing the suspect and rescuing a woman who police said was forcibly dragged into the room earlier in the day.
“There will be a large police presence with vehicles as this investigation continues and units disperse,” the LVMPD said on Tuesday on Twitter.
Las Vegas SWAT team captures man who held hostage in Caesars Palace hotel room after tense standoff
Las Vegas police have arrested a man who was barricaded inside a Caesars Palace hotel room with a female hostage, ending a standoff that spanned most of the day.
“SWAT made entry into the hotel room and has taken the subject into custody,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on Tuesday in a statement on Twitter. “The female who was also in the room is safe and with officers.”
Earlier in the day, the man, who claimed he was armed, “forcibly” dragged the woman into his room, according to the LVMPD.
The assailant was seen throwing large pieces of room furniture out of a broken window in his 21st-floor room.
More details in our full story.
Las Vegas SWAT team captures man who held hostage in Caesars Palace hotel room
Suspect seen throwing large pieces of furniture out of 21st-floor window of Caesars Palace hotel room
No evidence of guns inside hotel room, despite man’s claims
Police have so far discovered no evidence of guns inside a room in the Caesars Palace where a man was holding a woman hostage, despite the assailant’s claims that he was armed, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
‘Business as usual’ on floor of Caesars after standoff
The air of panic at Caesars Palace has dissipated after police this afternoon captured a man holding a woman hostage inside his room and throwing furniture out the window.
“In the casino, it’s business as usual,” according to Associated Press writer John Marshall, who was on vacation with his family at the hotel-casino where the standoff took place.
How police ended the Las Vegas standoff
Las Vegas police have arrested a man who was barricaded inside a Caesars Palace hotel room with a female hostage, ending a standoff that spanned most of the day.
“SWAT made entry into the hotel room and has taken the subject into custody,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on Tuesday in a statement on Twitter. “The female who was also in the room is safe and with officers.”
Earlier in the day, the man, who claimed he was armed, dragged a woman “by force” into his room, according to the LVMPD.
The assailant was seen throwing large pieces of furniture out of a broken window in his 21st-floor room.
More details in our full story.
Las Vegas SWAT team captures man who held hostage in Caesars Palace hotel room
Suspect seen throwing large pieces of furniture out of 21st-floor window of Caesars Palace hotel room
WATCH: Police describe tense scene during Caesars Palace standoff
It took a SWAT team and a group of Las Vegas crisis negotiators to end a standoff that spanned much of Tuesday at the Caesars Palace hotel and casino.
Earlier in the day, the Las Vegas police provided an update on what led up to the tense incident.
Bystander describes terror at Caesars Palace as assailant threw furniture out of window
North Carolina real estate broker Alyssa Hellman told The Independent she was at the Caesars Palace pool with her wife when she heard a loud bang at about 1.30pm.
She said she looked up to see that a window had been broken on about the 10th floor, and a man inside started throwing furniture out onto the concourse.
“We heard a bang and then one of the windows was broken open, and the guy was throwing things out. Lamps, a TV and a minibar. He’s drawn the curtains now,” Ms Hellman said.
Ms Hellman said guests were evacuated from the pool area, but staff did not explain what was going on.
The couple had retreated to a safe distance and said everyone around them seemed “pretty calm and content”.
“We’re tucked back hidden away, closer to the Bellagio,” she said.