Another possible fatal punch probed

Jen Lawson

Friday, Sept. 17, 2004 | 11:05 a.m.

The death Tuesday of a 36-year-old Henderson man has been ruled a homicide and his neighbor is being investigated for throwing a punch that authorities said contributed to the death.

Henderson Police forwarded the case to the district attorney's office to see what, if any, charges should be filed against 63-year-old William Colandrea in connection with the death of William Andrew Thurston.

The incident might have been self-defense, police spokesman Keith Paul said, but the district attorney's office will make that determination.

This is the third case in three weeks in which a person has died after getting punched.

Police said Thurston and Colandrea's girlfriend began arguing outside about 4 p.m. Sept. 3 on Palleta Lane near Eastern Avenue and Robindale Road, where they lived. It's not clear what the fight was about, Paul said.

"The conversation became heated and there were vulgarities," he said.

Colandrea came outside and the pair began yelling at each other.

"Thurston challenged Colandrea to fight him," Paul said.

Colandrea allegedly punched Thurston once and he fell backward, hitting his head.

He was taken to the hospital, where he died Tuesday, 11 days after he had sustained the head injury. A medical examiner determined he was the victim of a homicide, a coroner's office spokeswoman said.

"The deputy (district attorney) in the case is reviewing it for potential charges," District Attorney David Roger said.

The two other fatal punching incidents recently happened in Las Vegas.

On Monday, a group of friends were watching "Monday Night Football" at the Shelter Island apartments at 3770 Swenson Ave. when 41-year-old Robert Maestas got into a fight with Robert Couch over a cigarette, the police report says.

Couch allegedly threw a lighted cigarette at Maestas, hitting him in the crotch, police said. In response, Maestas punched him once in the face, witnesses told police.

Couch began to bleed badly from the nose and mouth, and Maestas, who is homeless, left the apartment. The other people in the apartment tried to render first aid but Couch kept bleeding, the police report says.

The others went to bed and left Couch on the sofa. When they woke up, Couch was having trouble breathing, so they tried to help him by re-positioning him upright on the kitchen floor next to the refrigerator.

Several hours later they noticed he had stopped breathing and called 911. Officers arrived and found Couch dead.

Maestas was found near the apartment building and police arrested him on a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

On Aug. 28, Christopher Samoulis, 28 was beaten in the parking lot of a convenience store in east Las Vegas, police said. When police arrived the suspect had fled.

He was taken to the hospital, where he died Sept. 6. The coroner's office determined he died of head trauma and the death was a homicide, a spokeswoman said. No arrests have been made.