{"id":189025,"date":"2021-10-14T04:36:52","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T11:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=189025"},"modified":"2021-10-14T09:56:20","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T16:56:20","slug":"fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strat Brawl Leads to Las Vegas Murder Charge, No Bail For Defendant"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Las Vegas man is to appear in court on Tuesday for allegedly murdering another man in the lobby of the Strat Hotel, Casino & SkyPod several weeks ago. The charge was brought to light this week.<\/p>\n

\"Michael
Michael Saunders, in a mug shot, pictured above. He faces a murder charge after he punched a man who was bothering Saunder’s fiancee at the Strat, police said. (Image: LVMPD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Initially, Michael Saunders was charged with battery for the Aug. 27 incident. But the charge was upgraded to murder after the victim died from his injuries, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Saunders is currently being held without bail. If convicted, he could face life in prison. He has previously been convicted for unrelated crimes in Nevada.<\/p>\n

The incident began at the Strat when Saunder\u2019s fiancee was waiting in line at the hotel-casino to check-in, the report said.<\/p>\n

\n

He heard her say \u201cStop touching me\u201d and \u201cGet away from me\u201d to a man later identified as Thach Nguyen, police said. He was standing behind her in the line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Saunders ran to the line and threw a punch at Nguyen, police said. Saunders did not say anything to the man.<\/p>\n

The force of the punch led Nguyen to suffer what Metro police described as bleeding of the brain, the Review-Journal<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

Within a few days, the victim died. The Clark County coroner\u2019s office is in the process of determining the official cause and manner of his death.<\/p>\n

Saunders was arrested the day of the incident. He was charged with murder on Aug. 31.<\/p>\n

The Review-Journal<\/em> also revealed that Saunders was convicted for domestic battery in 2008, according to court records. That charge stemmed from an incident in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\n

Five years later, Saunders was convicted on burglary, kidnapping, and robbery charges. He was sentenced to between eight and 20 years for those charges, the Review-Journal<\/em> said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Apparent Suicide<\/h2>\n

The Strat has seen other violent incidents in recent months. In one unrelated incident, an unnamed man jumped to his death last month from the top of the Strat. It was an apparent suicide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He was a 30-year-old resident of Henderson, Nev., the Review-Journal<\/em> said.<\/p>\n

It appeared he landed near a ground-level entranceway close to a sidewalk along Las Vegas Boulevard, according to Vital Vegas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Metro police did not provide a reason for him jumping.<\/p>\n

Fatal Birthday Party<\/h2>\n

In still another incident at the Strat, last December a man in his early 30s was found dead after gunfire erupted in a hotel room. Several shots were fired, police added at the time.<\/p>\n

The shooting happened during a birthday party<\/a> in one of the hotel towers. The people in the room appeared to know one another before the shooting, police said.<\/p>\n

The victim was later identified as Brandon Tucker of Las Vegas. His death was classified as a homicide following an autopsy by the local coroner\u2019s office, the Review-Journal <\/em>said. It appears that no one has been arrested in connection with the death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Las Vegas man is to appear in court on Tuesday for allegedly murdering another man in the lobby of the Strat Hotel, Casino & SkyPod several weeks ago. The charge was brought to light this week. Initially, Michael Saunders was charged with battery for the Aug. 27 incident. But the charge was upgraded to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":189028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFatal Punch at The Strat Leads to Las Vegas Murder Charge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Las Vegas man is to appear in court on Tuesday for allegedly killing a man in the lobby of the Strat. 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The defendant is held without bail.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-14T11:36:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-14T16:56:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/saunders2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"799\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail\/\",\"name\":\"Fatal Punch at The Strat Leads to Las Vegas Murder Charge\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fatal-punch-at-the-strat-leads-to-las-vegas-murder-charge-defendant-held-without-bail\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/saunders2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T11:36:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-14T16:56:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"A Las Vegas man is to appear in court on Tuesday for allegedly killing a man in the lobby of the Strat. 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