Lab tests may shed light on death near club

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.

The results of lab tests are expected to help investigators determine what killed a 26-year-old Las Vegas man who died after struggling with security guards Sunday morning outside the Krave nightclub on the Las Vegas Strip.

The man who died, Peter James Lawrence, had been scheduled to be arraigned in District Court today on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, court records show.

The victim in that case had a protective order against Lawrence, and she is believed to be the same woman who Lawrence was trying to find at the nightclub on Las Vegas Boulevard at Harmon Avenue about 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Lawrence "had a problem with a woman inside the club and was being asked to leave," Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

When the woman stepped outside the club, Lawrence began running toward them from an adjoining parking lot, nightclub owner Sia Amiri said.

He was "wildly aggressive," Amiri alleged.

After a struggle, several security guards restrained Lawrence and put him in handcuffs on the sidewalk, Amiri said. Metro Police and medical personnel were called, but before they arrived, he became unconscious and died, authorities said.

Detectives interviewed the security guards and obtained the club's surveillance tapes, but the key part of the investigation will be the lab test results, which include toxicology tests and microscopic tissue analyses.

"The autopsy didn't reveal anything grossly obvious as to what may have caused his death," Monahan said. "At this point we are waiting for medical evidence to provide direction as to how to proceed."

It could take several weeks or months before the tests are complete.

Although Amiri said police have absolved the security guards of any wrongdoing, Monahan said it's too premature to say whether they contributed to his death.

"We anxiously await the (coroner's) full report," Amiri said. "It is unfortunate that incidents like this occur from time to time in Las Vegas or anywhere."

Lawrence was arrested last month on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, Sgt. Chris Jones said. Lawrence also has a prior arrest for battery domestic violence, police said.

He was released from the Clark County Detention Center on Oct. 15, a spokeswoman said, and a protective order was filed against him four days later.

Krave, which opened in early October and is geared toward the gay and lesbian community, employs its own security guards, spokesman Ed Sullivan said. They aren't armed.

"We don't believe in that," he said. "They are armed with their brains and their mouths ... The first line of defense is to calm someone down, talk to them, and if they are attacked they have the legal right to protect themselves."

The crowd at the club is generally well-behaved, Sullivan said. Club officials have no plans to increase security in light of this incident.

More than 7,000 security guards are employed at Southern Nevada resorts, casinos, nightclubs and other venues, according to the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association. if they are attacked they have the legal right to protect themselves.