Suspect jailed in stabbing of man at Las Vegas bus stop

A man is facing a felony charge after authorities say he stabbed another man at a Las Vegas Valley bus stop in January during a dispute over money.

Melvin Richard Robinson, 64, is charged with one felony count of battery causing substantial bodily harm in the Jan. 26 incident. Las Vegas police said they were called to a bus stop at East Sahara Avenue and Paradise Road at 1 p.m. for a report of a fight.

When they arrived, they located a man who suffered 10 stab wounds. A doctor later determined none of the injuries was life-threatening.

The man told police “a male had attempted to rob him after refusing to give him his money.”

The man said he was sitting at the bus stop when he put 23 $1 bills on the ground and was asked by his assailant if the money was his. The man claimed that “unprovoked, the male then charged him and stabbed him numerous times.”

Robinson was arrested at the scene. He said the other man had tried to rob him, prompting him to defend himself.

“Well, what was I supposed to do?’ a police officer quoted Robinson as saying. “I was getting robbed!”

Court records show Robinson was arrested in January, then arrested again this week after he allegedly didn’t show up for a court hearing.

There has been a string of high-profile criminal cases reported on or near Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada bus stops in recent months.

In one incident, on Dec. 13, a military veteran in his 60s was riding a public bus when he was repeatedly punched in the head by another rider, causing the victim to lose his eye. Nathaniel Graves, 26, was charged with mayhem, battery resulting in substantial bodily harm and abuse of an older person. On Feb. 3, police said, an unidentified person punched a 71-year-old man on a bus in the central valley. It happened at Charleston Boulevard and Third Street as the victim argued with a man and woman about a seat on the bus, police said. The victim suffered a brain bleed from the attack.

In the most serious attack in the past year, 74-year-old Serge Fournier suffered what proved to be fatal injuries in March 2019 after authorities said a woman pushed him off an RTC bus. Cadesha Bishop, then 25, was charged with murder.

The RTC said it has an extensive security plan in place to protect customers. This includes more than 40 RTC officers patrolling the transit system. The RTC said it is also increasing its security budget by more than 35 percent to $11 million.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.