Slaying hits casino employees hard

David Kihara

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005 | 11:05 a.m.

News of the apparently random homicide of 60-year-old John McCoy, slots manager at the Rainbow Club and Casino, hit employees hard Tuesday, with many remembering him as a kind and generous person.

McCoy was driving home to his wife and 10-year-old daughter after his shift as slots manager at the Henderson casino when he was shot in the chest, then crashed his car into a wall in northwest Las Vegas, about a mile from his home.

He was pronounced dead at University Medical Center at 6:35 a.m., just over 6 1/2 hours after he was shot.

Police arrested two suspects shortly after the shooting.

George Baisch, a security guard at the casino, said he was devastated to learn that McCoy had been killed. They had worked together for five years.

"I was lying in bed this morning when my brother-in-law came in and said, 'You aren't going to believe this, but John is dead.' I just started crying," he said.

Danny Ausiello, a porter at the casino, said McCoy was an avid fan of science fiction and had owned a nightclub in Florida before moving to Las Vegas. McCoy had worked at the Rainbow for seven years.

"We're like a close-knit family here, and this is something that affects everyone," Ausiello said.

McCoy often worked the swing shift, from 3:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. or the graveyard shift from 11:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., he said.

Ausiello described McCoy as a very generous person who occasionally provided him with complimentary meals at the casino.

"If you needed 10 bucks, he would give it to you," Ausiello said.

The shooting was reported at 11:58 p.m. Monday. When police arrived at the scene, they found McCoy's car crashed into a wall. McCoy was slumped inside with a gunshot wound in his chest.

Witnesses gave police descriptions of the suspects and their vehicle, a brown Lincoln.

Moments later, North Las Vegas Police spotted the car just over a mile away arrested the occupants, Jamar Green, 20, for murder, conspiracy to commit murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and Terrence Bowser, 19, for murder and conspiracy. Police said they found a shotgun in the car.

Homicide Sgt. Rocky Alby said it doesn't appear to be a case of road rage. It also apparently wasn't a result of a simmering beef between enemies, and it is not believed to be related to drugs or gangs, he said.

"It looks random," Alby said.

The section of wall that McCoy crashed into was heavily damaged by the impact, and it was covered with a wood board on Tuesday.

Janet Gileno, who owned the property where McCoy's car crashed into, said she was awakened by a "big thud" about 11:45 p.m. She thought it was her gate slamming against a wall until a neighbor informed her that a car had barrelled through the wall and was in her backyard.

Gileno said she heard no gunshots and did not see any suspicious people on Monday night.

McCoy was not a violent person, and even though some initial news reports stated that McCoy died in a road rage incident, he didn't believe it, Baisch said.

"He's not the type of person who would do something like that," Baisch said. "He was not a violent person and as far as I know he would never pull a gun on anyone."

McCoy did have a gun in his car, but homicide detectives determined it probably wasn't a factor in the shooting, Alby said.

"It was concealed," he said. "He wasn't waving it around."

Neither Baisch nor Ausiello could think of a reason why anyone would shoot and kill McCoy.

"He never had a beef with anyone," Baisch said.

Sun reporter Jen Lawson contributed to this story.