Slain man was Henderson contractor

Jen Lawson

Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 | 9:57 a.m.

The 64-year-old man shot and killed Wednesday in his Henderson office was a contractor who dealt with local government on multimillion-dollar public works projects, records show.

Last year Danny Lee Cates, owner of DLC Construction, was awarded two contracts totaling $3 million for the development of a western-themed park on Warm Springs Road and Interstate 15 and for the construction of a federally-funded day care center in North Las Vegas.

An employee discovered Cates shot to death in his office about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Henderson Police were saying little about the murder. No arrests have been made, said Officer Todd Rasmussen, police spokesman.

Cates' homicide stunned Glenn Glasshagel, chief financial officer of 21st Century Technologies, an investment company that put money into Cates' projects.

"It came as a complete shock to us," Glasshagel said. "As far as we knew he had no enemies, but obviously something went awry.

"He was an all-around standup individual, totally professional and forthright. He was one of the good guys."

After his contracts with Clark County for the 7-acre Western Trails Neighborhood Park and the day care center were announced in November 2004, Cates said in a statement, "Over $3 million of work beginning this month is a sign of things to come for DLC."

He primarily contracts for public works projects such as airports and public buildings. Major clients include Las Vegas, Clark County, the state, state Parks Department and Henderson.

Officials in California blamed Cates in the early 1990s over the delayed opening of the Lancaster Performing Arts Center in California, according to articles that appeared in the Antelope Valley Press.

Construction of on that $7.8 million, handled by the now-defunct Cates Construction, was stalled after the Palmdale, Calif.-based firm ran into financial troubles. Cates' firm had been paid about $6 million for the contract to build the 750-seat theater, the paper reported.

In three separate lawsuits, subcontractors later claimed Cates owed them roughly $750,000 for the installation of kitchen equipment and modular buildings at several other projects.

Cates Construction had successfully handled construction of four schools, a 380-bed minimum security prison and a physical education facility at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, Calif., according to reports.