Brother describes heroic nature of man shot in casino

Monday, April 5, 2004 | 9:47 a.m.

The brother of Lester Staniowski, the 51-year-old Henderson cab driver who was shot and killed while trying to prevent a gunman from firing at a bartender inside the Eureka Casino Thursday night, credited his brother's heroism to his training as a military police officer.

"The eyewitnesses to the shooting have explained to us that Les was shoulder-to-shoulder with the guy who pulled out the gun and fired shots at the bartender," Ed Staniowski said over the weekend as he gathered in Las Vegas with other family members for his brother's funeral. Most family members had flown in from Canada.

"Most people would have run the other way, but Les, with his knowledge of firearms and his desire to always try to protect his friends, grabbed the guy and wrestled him to the ground," Staniowski said.

Les Staniowski was seated at the bar next to the gunman, 51-year-old Rolando Lappin-Mendez, around 6:45 p.m. Thursday when the man became angry after gambling away his money, police said.

Lappin-Mendez got into an argument with the bartender, left the bar and returned moments later with a handgun, police said. He pointed the gun at the bartender and fired several times, police said.

Les Staniowski, whose brother described him as "a relatively active man and in pretty good shape," grabbed Lappin-Mendez and was shot and killed.

Lappin-Mendoza ran to the parking lot, where he was shot and killed by police after pointing his gun at two officers, police said.

Ed Staniowski said his brother's wife and two sons are "having a lot of emotional ups and downs" as a result of the killing.

"There's a lot of hurting in our family right now. It's going to take a lot of time," he said. "But we're very proud of Les. He was a very special person. It took a special man to react as quickly as he did and to put his life on the line like he did."

Ed Staniowski said he wanted to thank the people of the Eureka Casino as well as the Las Vegas Valley in general for all the expressions of support. Many people have told the Staniowskis how heroic Les' actions were, he said.

Services for Staniowski were to be held at 4 p.m. today, with public viewing at 3 p.m., at Desert Memorial Cremation Society, 1111 Las Vegas Blvd. North.