Las Vegas security guard arrested for off-duty killing of homeless man

Karsten Merrick, who was booked into Clark County Detention Center, works as unarmed security for Designated Defense and Marquee Dayclub, according to his arrest report. Merrick told police he was seeking approval to carry a weapon while working.

One of his jobs with Designated Defense was to provide security around the Clark County Detention Center and courthouse, moving homeless people away from the area, he said in an interview documented on his arrest report.

The Metropolitan Police Department received a call around 4:30 a.m. May 8 that a man was “down” on the 800 block of South Sixth Street, the report said.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found a man lying on his side under a blanket. The officers removed the blanket and found that the man, later identified as William Barger, had two gunshot wounds on his torso, according to Merrick’s arrest report.

Barger was pronounced dead at the scene, the report said.

An employee at a nearby smoke shop told officers that he had heard a gunshot and recognized the victim as “Will,” a regular customer, according to Merrick’s arrest report.

After reviewing nearby surveillance footage, Metro detectives concluded that Merrick was the only person seen walking to and from the scene at the time the shot was heard by the smoke shop worker, police said.

When police conducted a background check of Merrick, they found that he had been previously arrested for battery domestic violence, the report shows.

The victim in that case told police that Merrick gets “out of control” when he takes medication for a disorder.

In an interview with police, Merrick said he had been diagnosed with a mental illness but did not name it. He told officers that he takes medication but does not need it, believing the pills to be “a way for his parents to control him,” according to the report.

In the interview, Merrick told police he had gone to work at the Marquee Day Club on the day before Barger’s death. He stated that he then celebrated his sister’s birthday at the Palms pool and went home around 9 p.m, the report said.

Merrick denied any knowledge of the shooting and said he couldn’t explain why he would be in the area at that time, according to the report.

Designated Defense declined to comment on Merrick’s arrest. The Tao Group’s Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram and @estellelilym on X.