Complaint filed against former Goodman aide

Kim Smith

Tuesday, July 3, 2001 | 10:44 a.m.

The Clark County district attorney's office Monday filed a formal criminal complaint against a former aide to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, charging him with battery.

Attorney Lamond Mills entered a plea of not guilty on William Cassidy's behalf during an arraignment Monday in Las Vegas Justice Court. Cassidy's presence was waived.

Cassidy's trial was set for Dec. 7 by Justice of the Peace William Jansen.

"I think the case is unfounded and unfairly brought," Mills said Monday afternoon. "I have no question we will prevail in the end."

According to Metro Police records, officers were called to Desert Inn Road and Decatur Boulevard on June 1 after a report of domestic violence.

The incident began, police records say, at the China Town Plaza, 4215 Spring Mountain Road, where security guards said they heard a woman scream for help in the parking lot. The guards followed the car, and saw a man inside the car beating up a woman while another woman drove, the police report says.

When the car stopped at a red light at Decatur and Desert Inn, the guards separated the two and called police.

According to police records, the 34-year-old woman told police that Cassidy, her live-in boyfriend, had beaten her up and police noted they saw bite marks, scratches and bruising on her arms, neck and face.

The driver of the car told police that Cassidy, 50, was upset with his girlfriend for going out with her friends.

Cassidy insisted on riding with the driver to the plaza, the woman told police, and when they arrived, Cassidy put his arm around his girlfriend's throat, pulled her into the car by her hair and attacked her.

Cassidy told police that his girlfriend was in a "drunken rage" and slapped him, and he responded by crawling into a fetal position, the police report states.

The police report also notes that Cassidy appeared "extremely intoxicated" with a staggering gait, bloodshot watery eyes and an odor of alcohol on his breath.

Cassidy, who was booked on the misdemeanor charge of battery constituting domestic violence, resigned from the mayor's office later that day.