‘Locker room talk’: Las Vegas attorney John Shimer defends interactions with Guymon

The arrest report for veteran defense attorney Gary Guymon details an August text exchange with another Las Vegas lawyer, who on Thursday described their messages as “locker room talk.”

John Shimer was messaging Guymon, who was arrested Monday on sex trafficking and other charges, about a Lake Mead boat outing.

“I had no clue what was happening on the boat. We were just talking guy talk,” Shimer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, later adding: “The only thing I did on the boat was wake surf.”

Guymon is accused of coercing women to perform sexual acts while on his boat, according to a 50-page Metropolitan Police Department report.

The report indicates that Shimer, a criminal defense and personal injury attorney who has practiced law in Nevada since 2009, is the only other lawyer police questioned during the investigation. Only Guymon is facing criminal charges.

According to the report, Guymon instructed one of his clients, whom he allegedly encouraged to engage in prostitution with his associates, to contact Shimer in October.

‘Locker room talk’

The report also details the August conversation between Guymon and Shimer, when Guymon told the other attorney to bring condoms for a boat outing.

Shimer told the Review-Journal he was upset that he was named in the Metro report and called his conversation with Guymon “locker room talk, basically.”

Shimer also has previously worked with the Las Vegas Police Protective Association as one of the attorneys who would respond to police shootings to speak with officers.

Steve Grammas, the president of the police union, declined to say why Shimer is no longer with the organization.

According to Guymon’s arrest report, he texted one of his clients in October: “My friend John would like to see you.” That conversation happened two months after Guymon and Shimer discussed going onto Guymon’s boat.

“The text message from the girl, who I never met before, was totally unsolicited,” Shimer said during a brief interview Thursday at the Regional Justice Center.

Shimer said he was frustrated that the report makes it look like he “was reaching out for that.”

“I voluntarily met with the detectives and cooperated fully with their investigation,” Shimer said in a statement on Thursday in response to follow-up questions. “However, I want to be clear, I received an unsolicited text from an unknown number, I ultimately blocked the person as I was not interested. To this day, I have no idea who texted me.”

Reached earlier this week, Guymon declined to comment.

The Metro report indicates that detectives interviewed Shimer on Jan. 17, and that police only asked him about the boat trip with Guymon. Shimer also told police that his text messages with Guymon were “guy talk” and said he did not have sex with anyone on the boat.

In August, Shimer texted Guymon about the boat trip: “I’m in for the shenanigans tomorrow!!! I’m bringing cash for the donation. Can I bring anything else?”

Guymon responded with: “Condoms,” according to the report.

A detective wrote in the report that Shimer told Guymon he would “have to pick up some condoms,” and Guymon replied that “he already had some for Shimer.”

Shimer then asked: “Is $500 enough for tomorrow?”

Guymon told him: “Listen. We’re not sending these women’s children to college. That’s too much. Diapers and formula are very inexpensive.”

Shimer later told police that he brought cash to the boat outing to purchase fuel, the report said.

On Thursday, Shimer told the Review-Journal that he had been on Guymon’s boat with his longtime girlfriend and several other “members of the community,” including other lawyers he did not name.

Guymon has been a member of the state bar since 1989 and has worked at both the Clark County district attorney’s office and public defender’s office. As a prosecutor, he was in charge of high-profile cases such as the murder trial for Margaret Rudin, whose conviction was vacated in 2022. He left the office after his name surfaced in a public corruption case involving county commissioners and Cheetah’s strip club owner Michael Galardi.

Law license in question

Daniel Hooge, the state bar’s general counsel, said the bar submitted a petition with the Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday to temporarily suspend Guymon’s law license.

According to Guymon’s arrest report, he represented at least two of the alleged victims on prostitution-related charges, including the woman he gave Shimer’s contact information. That woman told police that when she asked Guymon about paying him for his legal services, he told her: “I want you to come to my office and dance for me.” Guymon also told the woman he wanted her to pay by having sex with him, the report said.

The woman told police that Guymon took photos of her in his office, which she believed were going to be sent to his friends, the report said. She said Guymon introduced her to at least four of his friends for “prostitution-related activities, which she engaged in.”

She said she went onto Guymon’s boat with another one of his clients in October, two days after Guymon officially began representing her in court. During that trip, Guymon told the two women to engage in sexual acts, and said his client would “go to jail if you don’t,” the report said.

The report details three other women whom police say Guymon encouraged or coerced into prostitution. He is also accused of conspiring with two felons to kill one of the women as he was under investigation, according to the report.

Guymon is facing charges of solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy to commit murder, sex trafficking of an adult, three counts of pandering, perjury, coercion with threat of force and three counts of bribing or intimidating a witness. He is scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing on March 6.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.