Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Man sentenced in 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend strip club shooting

Arvin Kenti Edwards to serve four- to 10-year sentence for Minxx Club shooting involving ‘Pacman’ Jones

The Shooting, 2007: Four Bullets Later

Tom Urbanski was shot four times on February 19, 2007 while working as a bouncer at Minxx strip club in Las Vegas. He and his wife, Kathy, tell the story of their following year.

Sun Topics

The alleged gunman in a high-profile 2007 strip club melee and shooting in Las Vegas that involved NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones will begin serving out a four- to 10-year sentence this week in the Nevada State Prison System.

Arvin Kenti Edwards, 32, of Renton, Wash., who entered a no-contest Alford plea last fall in the case, has been sentenced by Clark County District Judge Valorie Vega to serve 24 to 60 months for one count of attempted murder and a consecutive term of 24 to 60 months for the use of a deadly weapon.

Vega gave Edwards credit for 1,201 days served. He has been in the Clark County Detention Center since July 30, 2008. Edwards maintains he is innocent but agreed to the plea deal because he was worried the court would not give him a lenient sentence if he were convicted.

Edwards could have faced as many as 186 years in prison if convicted of all seven felony charges initially filed against him after the shooting.

The charges included three counts of attempted murder, three counts of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm and one count of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

According to police, Jones, a cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals, instigated a melee that led to shootings Feb. 19, 2007, outside the Minxx Gentlemen's Club and Lounge, 4636 Wynn Road.

The incident took place during a wild and controversial NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, which resulted in 403 arrests, mostly for violence and prostitution, and led many Strip employees to feel intimidated by the tourists who came to the games.

Jones was "making it rain," or throwing wads of dollar bills from a large plastic trash bag onto a stage. He then became angry when the strippers picked up the money, and a brawl broke out, police said.

Police said Jones and his entourage were ejected from the club.

Officers said Jones then met with Edwards and moments after they parted, Edwards opened fire with a handgun outside the club.

Three people were injured, including bouncer Tommy Urbanski, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a bullet lodged in his spine.

Police said Edwards hounded Jones for $15,000 after the shooting.

Jones told authorities he didn't order the shooting and declined to pay. But he said he reimbursed a friend who paid the money for him because he was worried Edwards would pursue him if he wasn't paid.

In February, Jones was sentenced to a year of probation on a gross misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct as part of a plea agreement with the Clark County District Attorney's office.

Judge Douglas Herndon handed down a 12-month suspended sentence for Jones in the Clark County Detention Center, but granted him probation for a year.

Jones will also have to complete 200 hours of community service, enter an anger management counseling program, stay off any non-prescribed drugs and be subject to random urinalysis testing, Herndon said.

He also said Jones would have to stay out of trouble during the probationary period. Herndon set a status check for 9 a.m. Aug. 25, to see how he is complying with the requirements.

He said Jones did not have to return to court himself at that time, as long as his attorney could show that he is completing the requirements of the sentence.

Jones originally faced two felony charges of coercion, which each carried a possible sentence of one to six years. He has denied any role in the shooting.

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