Strip standoff suspect waives right to preliminary hearing, expected to enter plea
A man accused of holding a woman hostage and throwing furniture out of a Caesars Palace hotel room intends to plead guilty and has agreed to pay more than $55,000 in fines, his attorney announced during a court hearing Monday.
Matthew Mannix, 35, was arrested after a police standoff lasting for more than five hours at the Las Vegas Strip hotel on July 11, during which he was accused of threatening to open fire on officers and cut out the tongue of the woman police said he was holding hostage.
He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing, when a judge determines if there is enough evidence for a defendant to stand trial.
Instead, defense attorney David Roger told the judge that Mannix will be pleading guilty to a felony charge of malicious destruction of property and a gross misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment. He was initially charged with first-degree kidnapping, coercion with a deadly weapon, destruction of property and disregarding the safety of persons or property.
Mannix waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Monday and is expected to formally enter the guilty plea in District Court on Wednesday. Mannix, who has remained in custody since his arrest, gave a wide, toothy smile to a Las Vegas Review-Journal photographer during the court appearance.
As part of the pending plea agreement, Mannix also will be required to pay $55,292 in restitution to Caesars Palace.
Police have said Mannix broke windows in the hotel room and threw large pieces of furniture to the ground, 21 floors below. The woman he was accused of holding hostage told police she feared Mannix would throw her out the window, according to his arrest report. Mannix also was suspected of smoking methamphetamine in the room.
In a jailhouse interview with the Review-Journal last month, Mannix said the situation was a “huge misunderstanding,” and that the woman wanted to be in the room and helped him barricade the door.
Prosecutors previously have said that Mannix had been convicted of kidnapping and property damage in Colorado, and had four active protection orders against him. Mannix also is being held on a fugitive warrant out of Colorado for a probation violation, his attorney said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
