Killing of intruder leads to indictment

Bill Gang

Monday, Dec. 14, 1998 | 11:22 a.m.

One of the two men gunned down by Las Vegas homeowner Thomas Gaule after he found them in his house was owed money for work he had done cleaning up around the home, Metro Police have said.

Whether Ricky Tripp and his friend Jason Lamb broke into Gaule's home on Oct. 25 to await the homeowner's return and collect the debt or steal belongings from the house still is not clear.

Lamb was shot to death outside the home at 400 Lakehurst Road, near Alta and Buffalo drives, and Tripp died from a volley of shots 500 feet away, where he was chased by Gaule.

The shooting death of Tripp resulted Friday in the indictment of Gaule by a Clark County Grand Jury on a charge of voluntary manslaughter with the use of a deadly weapon.

Police said there is no question Tripp and Lamb broke into the home. Pry marks were found on a door and the instrument used to facilitate entry was found inside.

Gaule told police after the incident that he had been beaten and disabled with electronic stun guns but still managed to grab a gun and shoot his two assailants.

Lamb died in the driveway but Tripp managed to run to the corner of Lakehurst and Pinedale Avenue, just 100 feet from Helen Marie Smith Elementary School. There, authorities said, Gaule caught him and fired the fatal shots.

The distance from the home and the fact that Tripp was fleeing and no longer a threat to Gaule prompted the district attorney's office to present the case to the grand jury to allow the jurors too apply the community's beliefs and standards to the case.

The grand jury also was told of the debt owed to Tripp.

Gaule, although he was aware of the two-day grand jury presentation and had a legal right to present evidence in his own defense, declined to testify.

While the grand jury had no problem with the shooting of Lamb, it determined the slaying of Tripp was illegal retaliation. If convicted of the voluntary manslaughter charge, Gaule would face a 20-year prison term, although probation would be possible.

Gaule has been issued a summons and must surrender by Dec. 28. Arraignment is set for Jan. 11 in District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski's courtroom, and bail has been set at $10,000.