Suspect in casino shooting tried to cash bad check, police say

A security guard was shot twice at Sante Fe Station on Thursday after police said a man attempted to cash a fake check.

Michael Kasper, 33, of Henderson was arrested Thursday charges of attempted murder, battery, being a prohibited person in possession of a gun and possession of a bad check, according to jail records.

Kasper is suspected of trying to cash a fake city of Las Vegas check for $1,981.76 around 2:26 p.m. Thursday at the casino, 4949 N. Rancho Drive, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department. The cashier suspected it was a bad check based on two similar fake checks she had seen alleging to be from the city recently.

A payroll person from the city told the cashier that they had never issued a check to Kasper. The cashier told police that’s when she called a security guard to detain Kasper.

Witnesses told police Kasper started fighting with security and pulled out a gun. While the security guard was trying to get Kasper on the ground, he fired two shots, striking the security guard, the report said.

Police said at the scene that the security guard was taken to University Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Kasper pleaded guilty in 2007 to burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to District Court records. In 2009, Kasper pleaded guilty to felony charges of robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon. He was ordered to pay more than $5,000 in restitution and serve at least two years in the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.