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Benjamin Gerard Hawkins listens to testimony during a preliminary hearing in District Court Tuesday Feb. 28, 2012. Hawkins, a Gainesville, Fla., teacher who was on vacation, is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of another tourist after an altercation at O’Sheas in July.
By Dave Toplikar (contact) 
Published Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 | 1:36 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 | 2:49 p.m.
Benjamin Hawkins says it was self defense. But he will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter for punching a man who then fell, hit his head and died last summer in a Las Vegas Strip casino.
Following a preliminary hearing today in Las Vegas Justice Court, Judge William Jansen said there was enough evidence to bind Benjamin Hawkins, 38, over to District Court in the death of John Massie.
Hawkins is a former teacher who is now employed in an administrative position at a school district in Gainsville, Fla. He had been out of custody on $25,000 bail but the judge has now released him on his own recognizance.
Hawkins' tentative arraignment date was set for April 23 in Clark County District Court.
Hawkins had an altercation with Massie, a 46-year-old Utah man, at 12:40 a.m. July 6 on the casino floor at O'Sheas, authorities said.
Hawkins reportedly said he was defending himself and his family from Massie, who he said bumped into him in a restroom, insulted him racially and continued to be aggressive toward him.
Hawkins told police that he feared for himself and his family as he came out of the restroom and Massie and he had words, then Massie started coming up behind him.
A video played during the preliminary hearing showed Hawkins spinning around and punching Massie in the left side of his face. Massie went down and didn't get up.
Massie was taken to Desert Springs Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:08 a.m. July 6.
The coroner said the cause of death was not the punch, but an injury to Massey's brain when the back of his head hit the floor.
There are two versions of what Hawkins told authorities after the incident.
According to Oscar Velasquez, a security guard who was on the scene first, Hawkins told him that Massie had insulted him with the "N" word inside the bathroom and that Massie followed him outside and continued saying things to him, so Hawkins turned around and punched him.
However, Jeff Rosgen, a Metro homicide detective, said when he interviewed Hawkins, Hawkins said that Massie called him a black man but didn’t use the "N" word.
Rosgen said that Hawkins told him that Massie had bumped or touched him, then put his hands up in the air and made a comment about “a black man in a yellow shirt” that Hawkins considered to be racial and aggressive.
During Rosgen’s testimony, a video of the punching incident was shown on the prosecutor’s computer screen.
The judge, the attorneys, the defendant and members of the media, gathered around the prosecutor’s desk to watch the video. It showed Massie coming out of the restroom, stopping and putting his hands in his pockets.
Then it showed Hawkins coming out and walking past Massie, the two having words, then Hawkins taking a few steps over to his friend and his wife, who were at a blackjack table about five feet away.
Massie then took three steps, coming up behind Hawkins when Hawkins spun around and punched him.
Hawkin's attorney, Jack Buchanan, told the judge there was no battery because the video showed Hawkins was defending himself from what he saw as aggressive behavior by an intoxicated man.
However, Chief Deputy District Attorney Maria Lavell told the judge that the state had shown there was evidence of a punch being thrown and the coroner saying the death was a result of the effects of the punch.
After the judge ruled the case should go to District Court, Buchanan told reporters that Hawkins will continue to claim self defense, and his case will be ultimately decided by a jury.
Buchanan said he intended to call numerous witnesses when the case goes to trial.
Prosecutors had originally charged Hawkins with open murder, but earlier this month, at the request of defense attorneys, they agreed to reduce the charges to involuntary manslaughter. Involuntary manslaughter is a category D felony, which carries a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 4 years, according to state statute.
Guy was absolutely in his right, I wholeheartedly agree charges should be dropped.
"Guy was absolutely in his right, I wholeheartedly agree charges should be dropped."
what? You don't hit someone with their hands in their pocket. I don't care what was said to you. In civilized societies, this is how it works. Hawkins should have gotten security. He absolutely should be charged. You don't cold cock someone because they called you a "black man in a yellow shirt"...
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Actions have consequences. Massie knew it the moment he was clocked.
It will cost him about $150k to find out whether he will go free or join O.J. up in Lovelock.
These two Floridians found out the hard way they are not above the law.
Hawkins says he felt threatened, and who are we to second guess that. None of us were in his shoes. Cops have shot our neighbors in the back of the head for far less threatening gestures.
Remember what happened in Henderson on September 18th, 2010? HPD officer Edward Little was in his girlfriend's bedroom late at night when her husband, Ruslan Zhgenti, came home. No one knows what happened next but Little and his adulterous lover ended up alive and Zhgenti end up dead from four bullets fired from Little's gun. (More details here: http://wp.me/P2bnGV-1e).
Just like Massie, Zhgneti was dead. While in this case there is evidence of a punch being thrown. In the Zhgenti case there was evidence of shots being fired. Here we have the coroner saying the death was a result of the effects of that punch. In Zhnneti's murder we had the coroner saying the death was a result of the effects of the gun shots. Yet Hawkings stands trial and Little was never charged.
If Wolfson, our brand new DA, won't take Haking's word that he felt threatened, then he better apply the same standards to every pending FOIS his officer has right now. Either way, all Hawking has to do is push his trial back a bit. Today Wolfson told the public that prosecuting crimes over a year old are "not in the community's interest." So if Hawking can delay thing a little bit Wolfson's policy of not revisiting the past will kick in.
TomD
It is hard to say a reaction was not warranted. Here, the article describes the video - Hawkings had retreated with his wife and friend to or near a black jack table. Massie then took three steps toward Hawkings - a reasonable person could assume that an intoxicated man, under these circumstances with the encounter in the bathroom, was about to cause Hawkings harm.
Nonetheless, it is still questionable to what degree if any Massie created a sense of fear in Hawkings such that he felt obliged to respond with physical force.
He angry. Not scared.
Hands in the pockets? And what is inside, a knife? It takes a split second to pull out a knife and stick it in someone's back.
Restrooms aren't the place for any normal discussion. Threatening talk in a restroom is an out of control personality. How does one 'call security' in the restroom? That's a laugh.
Massie created fear before they walked into the casino and began an attack from behind. No one with good intent on their mind would run up behind someone they just threatened. With only a second to decide, there is no time left for stately analysis.
I've had bums start yelling, then start running at me. At a few steps away, the only instinct would be to stop them cold. That's why I now carry a bat in the front seat, for the wild dogs that come out of no where. I want them to think before they come any closer. If thinking doesn't occur, I have the right to defend myself.
Something about Las Vegas turns people into idiots, two tourists barely in town and ones dead and the other knuckleheads facing manslaughter charges.
Were there any witness's to the alleged altercation in the restroom we are assuming that there was one, It might be the only altercation was at the tables, And Did Mr. Hawkins follow Mr. Massie into the restroom.
@VegasDlight
Maybe we'll see the video at some point and be able to make a determination. Until then, you only have the word of Hawkins. The other guy can't defend himself. He's dead. As I stated, when he left the men's room he should have went to security if he felt threatened or harassed. I find it hard to believe he felt threatened by a guy with both hands in his pocket. Stop this nonsense he could have had a knife. He didn't. You can't assume that and just haul off and punch the guy right in the head. Mr. Hawkins had options. He chose violence. Now he pays the price. Money. Jail time. Loss of career. Probably wasn't worth it over a minor verbal altercation.
@SunJohn
After taking a leak, he walks out of the men's room and talks to security. THAT'S the way it works. You don't take things into your own hands with violence because he was called a bad name. I fear some of you guys have no clue how to diffuse a situation like this.
Yea.....someone called me a "black man in a yellow shirt" time to beat some AZZ!!!!
Why isn't this punk locked up ALREADY????
Naturally, there will be little to no end of the comments here, but let's review what little information the article provides:
"...to watch the video. It showed Massie coming out of the restroom, stopping and putting his hands in his pockets.
Then it showed Hawkins coming out and walking past Massie, the two having words, then Hawkins taking a few steps over to his friend and his wife, who were at a blackjack table about five feet away.
Massie then took three steps, coming up behind Hawkins when Hawkins spun around and punched him."
Why gig Massie stop there? Why did he stop and wait for Hawkins?
The article doesn't say he kept his hands in his pants or where the video showed his hands when he approached from behind.
What it does say is the guy who threw the punch walked past the other guy and joined his wife and friend. Then Massie pursued Hawkins.
If Massie had not pursued Hawkins, Massie would not have been hit. Of course, Hawkins could have elected to take a different course of action. So could have Massie, but he didn't.
It's another sad end to a sad situation in a country where too many people's first reflex appears to be to fight to the death over the smallest of perceived slights. Of course, is that all that surprising considering the examples set by politicians who haven't the slightest idea how to lead by example.
Of course, as others have pointed out, unless the police are indeed above the law, law enforcement officers in Las Vegas regularly shoot people bcz they "perceive a threatening gesture." In fact, nearly every officer involved shooting has the officer who pulled the trigger testify at the Coroner's Inquiry that he did so only after the dead person make what the officer "perceived as a threatening gesture." It's almost like the officer's are coached and rehearsed for the line.
Whatever position the guy was defending, apparently, the guy felt it was worth dieing for.
district attorney steve wolfson...
IS A CLOWN!!!
prosecutes teachers defending themselves...
and doesn't prosecute cops who beat the $#!^ out of innocent civilians...
hey stevie boy...
you sir...
ARE A FRICKIN CLOWN!!!
TomD1228: I agree with you fully.
He,s toast.
whatever the reason this idiot still needs to do some time though.it's the right thing here,at least 3 years.
toast? He's wearing such a nice scarf (in doors, in court). How could anyone apply guilt to such a sharply dressed defendant.
"Massie then took three steps, coming up behind Hawkins when Hawkins spun around and punched him" Just based on what I read in this article, Massie approached him from the rear. How would Hawkins know that Massie was there if Massie wasn't making it obvious that he was behind Hawkins in a threatening way? What does Hawkins have eyes in the back of his head?
Sorry to hear that Massie died, but to hold Hawkins on any charge but self defense, sounds to me like the over zealousness of a district attorney.
The judge should dismiss this case.
Doesn't matter who SAID what. What matters is who DID WHAT? Violence is NOT acceptable. We all have fears and face verbal abuse but that is no excuse for VIOLENCE.
With the action of Police Officers we must have a presumption that they are acting in our best interest. There ARE people out there who intentionally assault and kill officers. However, once there is a serious question about an officers ability to SERVE THE PUBLIC, it is time for that officer to move on to some other work WITHOUT EXPECTING a continuous income from the taxpayers.
Self defense. He should be let go.
Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Goes something like that. If he didn't sucker punch him, I might believe him. If you feel threatened by someone, you do not turn your back to them unless your going to run from them.