Police, security to beef up weekend patrols at casino

Jen Lawson

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 | 8:54 a.m.

North Las Vegas Police will be on hand at Texas Station this weekend to provide extra security in light of a shooting there last Friday.

Extra security guards and ushers will also be present at the resort's Regal Cinemas movie theater Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon.

"We are doing this in an effort to be proactive and help assure guests that they are safe coming onto our property," Gina Lateef, spokeswoman for Station Casinos Inc., said Wednesday. "We want to be prepared."

Just after 10 p.m. Friday, North Las Vegas and Metro Police were called to Texas Station on a report of gunfire. The property is near North Rancho Drive and West Lake Mead Boulevard, on the jurisdictional border of both police departments.

A newer model Mercedes was seen leaving the area, and police pulled it over a short distance away. Officers found several guns in the car and arrested four juveniles for possession of dangerous weapons.

Police discovered that the driver, Jonathan Tolliver, 20, was wanted on a federal murder warrant for the killing of 20-year-old Gilbert Henry near Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard on Sept. 13, 2004.

Soon after the shooting at Texas Station, two people checked themselves in at University Medical Center seeking treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. More charges could be pending against Tolliver and the juveniles, police said.

North Las Vegas Police, Metro and federal authorities are trying to detemine if this shooting is connected to an earlier shooting at the Century Rancho Santa Fe theater on Rainbow Boulevard and Rancho Drive, almost five miles from Texas Station.

In that incident, a fight broke out inside the theater about 9 p.m. and spilled out into the parking lot, where several shots were fired. No one was hurt.

Both shootings are believed to be gang-related.

The North Las Vegas officers will be paid overtime by Station Casinos, which is commonly done when a private business expects large crowds or a potential for violence.

"We obviously have the same goals (as Texas Station) regarding safety," Officer Tim Bedwell, spokesman for North Las Vegas Police, said. "We'll put police officers wherever they need to be."