Slaying suspect goes before judge on video

Bill Gang and Keith Paul

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.

The man charged with gunning down his ex-girlfriend in a crowded downtown casino where she was a dealer made his first appearance today before a judge, although it was a brief visit via a video camera.

Larry D. Taylor, who surrendered immediately after Gloria Cohns was shot to death Wednesday, is scheduled to be formally arraigned Monday before Justice of the Peace Doug Smith.

At today's video hearing between the jail and the Clark County courthouse, Taylor was informed of the crime he allegedly committed and that there was sufficient information in police reports to justify holding him longer than 48 hours.

The Clark County district attorney's office said today that Metro Police have not yet submitted a package of evidence necessary to formalize the allegations and file charging documents with the Justice Court.

Assistant District Attorney Charles Thompson said the complaint should be filed later today in anticipation of Monday's hearing.

The charges are expected to include first-degree murder, which could result in prosecutors seeking the death penalty for the 37-year-old defendant because of the potential harm to other patrons in the Golden Gate hotel-casino.

That decision, however, likely won't be made until after a preliminary hearing in Justice Court to determine if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a District Court trial.

Determinations whether to seek death sentences in murder cases are made by a committee of prosecutors and generally approval is given in only about half of those.

Taylor had worked for about five years as an unarmed security guard for Official Security before Cohns joined the company as a security guard.

"Larry cared about his job and was very conscientious. Everybody liked him," Darryl Cronfeld, Taylor's former boss, said this morning. "They met at the same job site and his attitude toward work changed. He started to have a lackadaisical attitude toward work."

When other security guards called him on the radio he wouldn't be where he was suppose to be, but instead with Cohns.

"I personally met with Larry. When you have an employee for five years you counsel them," said Cronfeld, president of Official Security. "I also spoke with Gloria and told them your personal life is not on the job."

But they were still always together.

"It was sort of like they gravitated toward one another," Cronfeld said. "It was mutual."

Cohns only worked for Official Security for a few months before she was "let go," Cronfeld said.

But even after Cohns left, she would call Taylor at work all the time, he said.

A few months later, Taylor, who also was a kitchen worker at the time for the El Cortez hotel-casino, was fired.

The relationship apparently continued after they no longer worked for Official Security, but sometime later -- after Cohns and her three children were living with Taylor -- Cohns broke up with him.

Anne Cohns, 14-year-old daughter of Gloria Cohns, said Thursday that Taylor started getting very possessive of her mother.

"He didn't want her to go anywhere without him," Anne Cohns said. "It was kind of like he owned her."

Anne Cohns said her mother didn't have any contact with Taylor after they split up.