Las Vegas Hookah Lounge Once-Accused Shooter Gets Plea Bargain

Posted on: May 18, 2022, 03:03h. 

Last updated on: May 18, 2022, 03:45h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The man who had been accused of over a dozen violent charges in a Las Vegas hookah lounge mass shooting pled guilty today (May 18) to a single weapons charge. Under the plea bargain, Lee Wilson could be sentenced anywhere from 21 to 54 months, with most earlier charges dropped.

Lee Wilson appeared earlier this year in Las Vegas court
Lee Wilson appeared earlier this year in Las Vegas court, pictured above. He received a plea bargain today following a hookah lounge shooting. (Image: KTNV)

Originally, Wilson, 44, was facing a single count of murder and 12 counts of attempted murder. If convicted on those charges, it could have meant decades in prison.

In April, his charges changed to 12 counts of attempted murder, two counts of discharging a gun from within a structure or vehicle, and a single count of being a felon in possession of a gun, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Convictions on those also would have led to many years in prison.

Appearing in court today, Wilson pled guilty to the one charge: ownership or possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, KLAS, a local TV station, reported, citing court documents. He likely will be sentenced by a judge in September who will specify how many months he must stay in prison.

On Wednesday, Las Vegas District Judge Kathleen Delaney also lowered Wilson’s bail from $500,000 to $75,000. If he makes bail, he will be put on supervision until he is imprisoned. Earlier, a judge ordered him to be held without bail.

The site of the Feb. 26 shooting, Manny’s Glo Afterdark Lounge,was near the Las Vegas Strip. It was about a mile from the Sahara Las Vegas.

Up To Five Shooters Possible

There might have been as many as five suspects who shot firearms at the lounge, Metro police believe. Wilson, so far, is the only one who ever was charged.

The incident began as a birthday party. A dispute broke out.

Demetreus Beard, also known as “Avion,” was on a couch and was shot several times. He was rushed to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, but soon died, the Clark County coroner’s office reported. Many partygoers ran out of the lounge when the gunfire began, police said.

Among the 13 who were injured, but survived, is Wilson. He previously told a judge he was shot six times during the incident.

Still in Wheelchair

Wilson appeared in court on Wednesday, again, sitting in a wheelchair. He has required surgery and other treatments for his injuries, Josh Tomsheck, Wilson’s attorney, claimed.

Tomsheck is a Las Vegas criminal defense attorney. He formerly was a deputy district attorney for Clark County.

A full and thorough investigation of the details of this incident clearly revealed Mr. Wilson was not a ‘mass shooter’, as has been widely reported, nor was he criminally responsible for the nearly 50 counts he was charged with in this case,” Tomsheck was quoted by KLAS.

Wilson had 82 arrests in Clark County since 1995, court officials have said. He was convicted on nine felonies, officials added.

Las Vegas Metro Police Lt. Ray Spencer said this week that the investigation into the lounge shooting continues.

“We’ve identified who we believe are the players, the people involved, but it’s still ongoing,” Spencer told the Review-Journal.

The lounge’s business license was suspended after the shooting, the Review-Journal said. It did not have the correct licenses.

The shootings were believed to be the incident with the most casualties in the Las Vegas Valley since the 2017 mass shooting from a room on the 32nd floor at the Mandalay Bay hotel. That day, Stephen Paddock fired upon the large crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.