GOLDEN, Colo. — A man jailed on kidnapping and other charges after a Las Vegas Strip standoff on Tuesday where furniture was thrown from a 21st-floor window at Caesars Palace also had a warrant issued for his arrest this week in Colorado.
Matthew John Ermond Mannix, 35, of Golden, was arrested after he was accused of taking a woman hostage for more than five hours Tuesday and claiming that he had a gun, according to his police arrest report.
Mannix was wanted on a warrant in Jefferson County, Colorado, from a July 7 incident on suspicion of:
- Dangerous weapon possession (Class 5 felony)
- Weapon possession by a previous offender (Class 5 felony)
- Violation of parole (Class 1 misdemeanor)
- Theft of $300 to $1,000 (Class 2 misdemeanor)
The warrant was issued on Monday – the day before the Las Vegas standoff. 9NEWS has requested more information on the incident from Jefferson County courts.
Also the day before the standoff, Mannix had a temporary restraining order granted against him in Arapahoe County. The person who requested the order wrote, "Threatened that we should not call the police that he is a very dangerous man" and "many illegal weapons were recovered, Matthew is armed with a handgun and still threatening friends."
The person wrote in the request for the restraining order that Mannix had texted them in June, saying, "I hope you [expletive] die" and "I hope you rot in hell."
In June 2022, Mannix pleaded guilty in Jefferson County to one count of second-degree attempted kidnapping, a Class 5 felony, and was sentenced to four years of probation, according to court records.
A conviction on the kidnapping charge in Nevada carries the possibility of life in prison. Records did not show whether Mannix had a lawyer hired or appointed to his defense.
Las Vegas Police said on the standoff that, “The male made threats to arriving security (that) ‘if they enter the room he will shoot someone,'" and “advised arriving police officers and security, ‘if you don’t leave it will end badly.'”
Through the door, the woman also told police the man had a knife, the report said.
Police said a knife was found, but did not report finding a gun, and said Mannix identified the woman as his girlfriend. He was scheduled for an initial court appearance Wednesday on felony charges including coercion with the threat of force, destruction of property and resisting arrest.
“When taken into custody, both (Mannix and the woman) were clearly under the influence of narcotics and experiencing drug-induced paranoia,” police said in the report. “It appeared the two ... had binged illegal narcotics for the past several days.”
The woman was not injured and was questioned by detectives, police said.
No other injuries were reported during or after the standoff in a room of a high-rise tower of the flagship Caesars Entertainment Inc. property at the heart of the Las Vegas Boulevard resort corridor.
Guests were evacuated from a swimming pool area below as broken glass, hotel room furniture and items including a coffee maker, hair dryer, pillows and a chair fell from a window about two-thirds up the 29-story Palace Tower. The tower is one of six at Caesars Palace, which has nearly 4,000 rooms.
Hotel employees told a writer with The Associated Press who was staying on the fifth floor that the incident was on the 21st floor and that guests on other floors were not evacuated or restricted from movements.
The writer, John Marshall, said gambling continued uninterrupted in the casino, although hotel security officers and police were visible in the guest valet area.
In a statement following Mannix's surrender to police SWAT officers, Caesars Entertainment referred to the standoff as “a security incident inside a guest room” and credited Las Vegas police and company security officers.
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