Witnesses describe knife attack

Friday, Aug. 13, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

Two St. Therese Center volunteers testified Thursday that they saw 38-year-old Michael Tracy McLaughlin wielding a knife and attacking workers at a Clark County Social Services center in Henderson on Dec. 10, 2003.

Closing arguments were expected today in McLaughlin's trial for multiple counts of attempted murder and battery.

Edward Johanns, 55, said on the day that several people were stabbed and beaten at the social services center at 67 E. Lake Mead Drive, Johanns was volunteering at St. Therese Center, which is in the same building as the social services center. He said he encountered McLaughlin after "hearing furniture being thrown against the wall and a woman screaming 'help me.' "

Johanns said after running to the threshold of the social services center's lobby, McLaughlin approached Johanns and lunged at his face "with something metal in his hand."

Johanns said he turned away and was cut on the left side of his head by his ear, a wound that would later require seven stitches. Johanns said he lost his composure and fell to floor.

"There was a woman on the side of the wall and he (McLaughlin) was kicking and stabbing her," Johanns said. "The woman was telling him 'Please don't hurt me, I'll do anything you want, please don't hurt me.' "

Johanns said he recovered from his cut and went to grab a chair to use as a weapon to defend himself and the others from McLaughlin, but a woman was already grabbing it. He said McLaughlin then grabbed a chair.

"The man grabbed a chair and threw it at my head and I fell back," Johanns said. "I saw he was heading for the door that led to the back of the building, and I got up to try and cut him off because I didn't want him to hurt people from our agency."

Johanns said he called 91,1 and Henderson Police officers were on the scene within minutes.

Another St. Therese Center volunteer, Tim Stoddard, said he was "sorting through donations" when McLaughlin asked him where the bathroom was. Stoddard said McLaughlin appeared to have something in his pants pocket because his "leg was stiff."

Stoddard said McLaughlin came out of the bathroom three to five minutes later and headed to the lobby where Stoddard saw him "brandishing a knife, waving it at people."

Stoddard said McLaughlin was cursing at the people in the lobby. Stoddard noticed the social services center's 56-year-old receptionist, Kathy Atkinson, "profusely bleeding from her stomach and hands."

Stoddard said he took Atkinson around her desk and had her lie down. He grabbed a diaper and used it to "soak up the blood" from her wounded stomach. At the same time Atkinson called 911.

Atkinson, social worker Susan Rhodes, 55, and security guard Steve Glenn all suffered knife wounds, and were taken to University Medical Center's trauma unit. McLaughlin had injuries to his hands, apparently from the knives, and was treated at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, police said.

Deputy District Attorney Roger Cram brought the prosecution's case to a close by playing segments of some of the 911 calls made by people at the center to police the day of the incident.

Both men and women, out of breathe and frantic, could be heard telling 911 dispatchers that there was a man in the center's lobby stabbing people.

On one call the events transpiring in the lobby can be heard in the background. Amid the screams and cries of several people, a man was saying, "You want some? You want some?," as police car sirens begin wailing in the background and grow stronger as they apparently get closer to the center.

It was unclear if the man heard on the tape is McLaughlin.

McLaughlin decided he would not testify, and the defense rested without calling any witnesses.

McLaughlin's defense lawyers have not disputed that McLaughlin went on the rampage. Instead, they have argued that the charges of attempted murder are too severe.

Closing arguments are scheduled for today.

Authorities alleged McLaughlin was upset with the quality and amount of benefits he was receiving from the social services center. Three days prior to the alleged attack McLaughlin was told by his caseworker, Shean Abrams, that he qualified for medical assistance but not the rent subsidy he desired.

McLaughlin, who was living with a family member at the time of the incident, has a lengthy arrest record. He had previously been arrested and charged with possession of drugs, possession of a weapon, burglary, car theft, driving under the influence and resisting arrest, but most of the charges were either dropped or reduced to lesser offenses, according to court records. He was sentenced in 1999 to two to five years in prison for possession of a stolen vehicle, but records don't show how long he actually served.