Man sentenced for firing gun in Circus Circus on New Year’s Eve
A 21-year-old was sentenced to 2.5 to 10 years in prison for firing a handgun inside the Circus Circus casino on New Years Eve.
Manuel Garciahill in April pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm in a structure. As part of a deal, prosecutors agreed to drop a second charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
The shooting caused a panic at the Strip casino as a large mass of people celebrating the new year fled Circus Circus, according to a Las Vegas police report.
Officers arrived about 11:30 p.m. Dec. 31, 2012, and found Garciahill subdued by hotel security and two off-duty state corrections officers. Police found a five-shot .38-caliber revolver in Garciahill’s pants. One round had been fired.
Police determined the shooting occurred after an argument between Garciahill and another man because Garciahill was touching the shoulders of the man’s daughter.
During the argument, Garciahill kept gesturing at his pants, teasing that he had a gun, which caused the man to turn away and find his family.
Garciahill than shot at the man, whose back was turned.
Someone yelled “He’s got a gun” and casino patrons started fleeing, one witness said.
No one was injured in the shooting.
Garciahill remained jailed at the Clark County Detention Center where he awaits an August sentencing hearing in a robbery conviction in a separate case.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
