‘She thought he was going to kill her’: Man suspected of strangulation at Plaza arrested

Antonio Cortez Hernandez, 21, faces charges that include attempted murder and battery by strangulation. He was arrested on last week for the September attack, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report released by the Las Vegas Justice Court this week.

A doctor conducted a strangulation examination, police said, and “determined it to be a near fatal strangulation due to the amount of force used and the neurological effects (the victim) was experiencing.” The victim was admitted to the ICU.

“She thought he was going to kill her in that hallway,” police said.

Amy Maier, a Plaza spokesperson, said in a statement: “The Plaza Hotel & Casino is cooperating fully with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on this matter and cannot comment further as it is an ongoing investigation.”

‘A black shoelace’

On September 22, police said they got a 911 call about a battery at the Plaza Hotel & Casino from a woman who said a man choked her outside of her hotel room, then fled.

The victim, who is not named in the report, told police that she and a man were sitting outside the Plaza smoking marijuana when a man asked if he could use her phone. She agreed.

The man “was taking a while,” so she got her phone back and returned to the 11th floor, where she was staying, according to Metro.

As walked to her room, the other elevator dinged and the man who had borrowed her phone approached her again, police said the victim told them.

She let him use her phone a second time.

But he couldn’t remember the numbers he’d previously called, so the woman went inside her room to get paper and an eyeliner to write them down. When she returned, police said, “She noticed he had a black shoelace wrapped around his hand, which was not there before.”

‘Encircled her neck’

Eventually, the eyeliner ran out and she told the man — whom police eventually identified as Cortez Hernandez — he’d have to memorize the last few numbers, according to the report. The man got upset and he pursued her while she walked, then ran, from him, police said.

At the end of the hallway, Cortez Hernandez cornered her, according to Metro, “encircled her neck with the black shoelace and began to squeeze.”

She screamed, police said, but became unable to breathe. The victim said the man told her over and over to shut up. Still, “she continued to kick and fight,” according to Metro.

Another guest eventually chased the attacker away.

Police arrested Cortez Hernandez after researching a phone number provided by the victim. He also had outstanding warrants for domestic battery and larceny, police said.

Court records indicate he has a hearing scheduled for October 23.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.