Las Vegas man facing terror charge in standoff a Marine veteran
A man accused of making threats Wednesday afternoon in a 911 call, prompting a seven-hour standoff with Las Vegas police, is a veteran of the U.S. Marines.
Bail was set Thursday afternoon at $10,000 for Guy Nguyen, 32, who was taken into custody about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday by the Metropolitan Police Department at the St. Clair Apartments, 5450 S. Fort Apache Road. He faces one felony count of “making threats or conveying false information concerning acts of terrorism,” jail and court records show.
Nguyen, who has no criminal history in Clark County, made his initial court appearance Thursday wearing a pineapple-printed graphic shirt, the same one he was pictured wearing in his mugshot.
Should he post bail, Nguyen will be placed under medium-level electronic monitoring and banned from any use of social media, which, according to a prosecutor, Nguyen used as his primary channel to make his alleged threats.
A public defender on Thursday revealed that Nguyen served eight years in the Marines before he was honorably discharged, adding that he has been living in Las Vegas for more than four years.
The nature of Nguyen’s alleged threats remained unclear Thursday, although a prosecutor said during the custody hearing that Nguyen had posted on social media that he was “heavily armed,” instructing that “people need to go and hide.”
Metro officers and SWAT surrounded the Spring Valley area complex after Nguyen allegedly called 911 at 3:18 p.m. and “made threats,” proclaiming he was heavily armed. Metro on Wednesday said investigators believed Nguyen was armed with at least one rifle.
About an hour before Nguyen was taken into custody Wednesday night, Ricky Lundell, head coach for Bishop Gorman High School’s wrestling team, said he was lifting weights in his garage when he heard a knock at his door. It was about 9:30 p.m., he recalled Thursday in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Lundell said he opened his front door to find Metro officers and crisis negotiators at his doorstep.
“They came to check on me in case he called me or had come around,” according to Lundell, who said he has had several “issues” with Nguyen over the years.
The two met when Nguyen began volunteering with the Bishop Gorman wrestling team about three years ago, but Nguyen’s stint lasted “less than one season” before Lundell said he decided to let him go.
“I was worried,” Lundell said, thinking back on his decision. “Something seemed off.”
Lundell said the officers who showed up at his house did not say how they learned of his link to Nguyen, but said that he had not received any threats from Nguyen in the days leading up to the standoff.
Nguyen was not available for jailhouse interviews Thursday, according to Metro. He is set to appear in court Tuesday for a status hearing.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-Journal reporter Sabrina Schnur and staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.