Friday, September 23, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

STRIP TRAGEDY: Police say suspect beat mom

Second person dies as investigators look at driver's actions in California

Stephen Ressa 27-year-old faces two counts of murder in Las Vegas

A rampage that ended with a deliberate and deadly car wreck Wednesday on the Strip started with former college all-star pitcher Stephen Ressa beating his mother unconscious in Southern California before he stole her car and plowed it into a crowd of pedestrians, authorities said Thursday.

Ressa choked his mother and punched her repeatedly in the face Monday evening after they argued about whether he could stay at her house while he reported to jail on weekends after being arrested on drug-trafficking charges, said Sgt. Reinhard Burkholder of the Rialto, Calif., Police Department.

"When officers arrived, they found out she had been beaten," Burkholder said of Ressa's mother. "She went into unconsciousness several times while she was being beaten. While she was conscious, she said he was standing over her with a butcher knife."

Two of the 14 pedestrians plowed over by the Buick LeSabre driven by Ressa died. Police said their investigation indicates Ressa, 27, deliberately drove onto the sidewalk in front Bally's and sped up as he struck unsuspecting pedestrians.

Ressa faces two counts of murder in Las Vegas. In Rialto, police said they plan to charge him with attempted murder and car theft.

"Every witness interview and every victim interview and statements he made to us are consistent with the evidence at the scene, and it points to the fact that this was a deliberate and intentional act," Las Vegas police Lt. Tom Monahan said.

Ressa was arrested moments after the fatal collision by off-duty police officer Martin Wright. Ressa was being held Thursday at the Clark County Detention Center. He is expected to make his first court appearance in Las Vegas next week.

According to police, Ressa may have conceived the idea just moments before the mayhem unfolded.

"He did not come to Vegas with the express intent of driving on the sidewalk and killing people. That wasn't his intention when coming to town," Monahan said. "However, the instantaneous decision was made, and he did deliberately and intentionally drive on the sidewalk."

Ressa's parents couldn't be reached for comment at their Rialto home, but his brother, Vincent, seemed overwhelmed by the tragedy.

"We're going through a lot right now," Vincent Ressa, choking back tears, said during a phone conversation from Rialto. "We wish our condolences and our prayers and apologies to the families that my brother hurt."

Vincent Ressa said he expects his mother to fully recover from her injuries, but indicated the tougher battle would be overcoming the heavy emotional toll from events of the past few days.

The man who died Wednesday evening following the crash was identified as George Kusayanagi, 52, of Hollister, Calif. A man who died Thursday afternoon at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center was identified as Mark Modaressi, 26, of Irvine, Calif., according to the Clark County coroner.

Those hospitalized at University Medical Center included a 30-year-old man in good condition; a 60-year-old man in critical condition; a 25-year-old woman in good condition, and a 26-year-old woman in critical condition.

Two other men and two women, all in their 20s, were treated and released from UMC.

Five victims were admitted to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Wednesday. Two women, ages 43 and 18, were in serious condition. Two other women were treated and released.

The victims and other witnesses said when the car driven by Ressa jumped the curb, it continued north for several hundred feet. They said the maroon Buick LeSabre plowed through the sidewalk and kept accelerating even as bodies sprawled on the hood and others flew over the car.

The vehicle collided with a concrete wall and came to rest near the pedestrian bridge in front of the Bally's entrance.

Police were trying Thursday to piece together Ressa's actions after the attack on his mother Monday and before and the fatal wreck.

Ressa's mother was taken to a hospital with a swollen face and bruised neck, but Ressa did not stab her with the butcher knife he grabbed and used to threaten her during the attack, Burkholder said.

"They had no idea where he could have went, and then we received a call from Las Vegas who said they had him in custody," Burkholder said.

San Bernardino County court records showed Monday's assault wasn't Ressa's first run-in with the police. He was arrested in 1997 for drunken driving and in 2000 for disorderly conduct by a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

He was arrested for speeding in 2003, and in March for driving without a vehicle registration. He pleaded guilty Aug. 2 after he was arrested in May on a charge of possession of marijuana for sale.

Police in Fontana, Calif., which neighbors Rialto in San Bernardino County, found Ressa with two pounds of marijuana, San Bernardino County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Maxwell said.

Ressa had served 91 days of a 9-month jail sentence on the drug charge, and was reporting to jail on weekends to work off the balance of his time, San Bernardino County officials said.

Burkholder said Ressa was enrolled in a San Bernardino County Drug Court program, which allows suspects to receive lighter sentences as long as they continue to receive court-monitored counseling.

It was probably not the future Ressa envisioned during his days as a standout pitcher for California State University, Dominguez Hills in Los Angeles County. Teammates on the Division II squad knew "Rez" as a fiery and intense left-handed reliever who routinely shut down opposing hitters.

"He was very good under pressure. That's why we liked him so much out of the bullpen," recalled George Wing, the Cal-State University-Dominguez head baseball coach, who last coached Ressa in 2002. "We would use him in the big moments against left-handed (hitters)."

The 6-foot-3 inch Ressa, who posted a 2.70 earned-run average in 2002, baffled batters with a wicked slider, Wing said. Ressa aspired to play in the major leagues and auditioned for a minor league team a year ago, Wing said, but apparently didn't make the cut.

Wing, who has coached Cal-State Dominguez for 18 years, wonders whether Ressa wrestled with questions about what to do next.

"I think he may have been suffering from just a new sense of direction, like so many young men go through," Wing said. "Rez, like a lot of other guys, just had a tough time with that transition. I think he was reluctant to say, `This is done. Baseball is over.' "

Mike Milstead, a former teammate, recalled Ressa as an honest person who worked hard in the classroom and on the baseball field. Milstead said Ressa's parents traveled to many away games to support their son.

"I have no idea what happened," Milstead said by telephone from California. "It's mind-boggling."

Review-Journal writer Jens Manuel Krogstad contributed to this report.