‘Gorilla pimp’: Las Vegas defense attorney forced clients into prostitution, police say
Updated February 3, 2025 - 6:52 pm
Veteran Las Vegas attorney Gary Guymon, a former prosecutor who once faced a theft charge, was arrested Monday after police accused him of sex trafficking, plotting to have a woman killed and attempting to intimidate a witness.
“Through the course of the investigation, detectives believe Guymon was using his position as a criminal defense attorney to victimize individuals of sex trafficking and prostitution,” the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement Monday.
Guymon, 62, appeared in Clark County Detention Center records Monday morning, and court records indicate that he posted a cash bond later that day. Jail records show that the total bail amount was $93,000.
Defense attorneys Louis Palazzo and Craig Hendricks said they were representing Guymon but declined to comment Monday. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson also declined to comment.
Guymon, a member of the Nevada bar since 1989, faces one count each of solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy to commit murder, sex trafficking of an adult, perjury and coercion with force or threat of force, as well as three counts of bribing or intimidating a witness to influence testimony and three counts of pandering, court records show.
Arrest report
According to a 50-page Metropolitan Police Department arrest report, authorities began investigating Guymon in November after receiving information that he was “inducing and encouraging prostitution from females to provide sexual acts to him and his associates.”
Investigators said they believe Guymon “has nicknamed this ‘prostitution ring’ the ‘$100 club.’”
Metro interviewed Guymon and in January began monitoring his phone communications, the report shows.
The report alleged that in one call, Guymon said, “I am not saying I have anything to do with this, but the only way to stop this girl is to kill her. I’m not saying that’s the solution or you know.”
Police said they believe that Guymon also threatened “one of the victims with incarceration if she did not obey his demand.”
One person interviewed by authorities said she met Guymon in July when she had a criminal case and a Family Court case, according to the report.
Guymon began representing her in August, and their relationship became romantic, the report said.
Metro alleged that Guymon rented an apartment and bought a Range Rover for her.
In October, police alleged that Guymon sent her messages demanding she send a video of her genitalia and stating: “I just became your (expletive) gorilla pimp!!!! For the next 12 months. Effective immediately: you will do what I tell you to do. You will date who I tell you to date. You will not break stride. You will march forward.”
The report said Guymon added: “Offer any resistance, and I just might smash your f——— teeth out of your mouth. Don’t worry. My father and brother will fix them when I have them get around to it, and I’ll pay for that too b——.”
Guymon is also accused of attempting to pay a woman $1,000 a month so that she would withhold testimony in a Family Court case and to prevent her from filing a complaint with the state bar, according to the report. That woman was a potential witness in a child homicide case in which the defendant, Christian Rabino, was accused of killing the woman’s 1-year-old son.
The report alleges that Guymon “used threat, intimidation, and deception” so that the woman would believe if she testified, she would be imprisoned for perjury and also face charges in the murder case.
Police said Guymon denied wanting one of the women to be a prostitute and said in a conversation: “It’s just a nightmare because it was all consensual, every bit of it, and now it’s being flipped on its head.”
In a police interview, Guymon also denied introducing his clients to his associates for sex acts, Metro said.
“He stated multiple times he was just trying to help the females out and would occasionally receive lap dances from them,” according to the report.
Prior controversies
This is not the first time Guymon has faced legal trouble.
In 2009, he was caught on video stealing a necklace worth less than $300 from a gift shop mannequin at the Sundance Resort in Utah.
The Utah County attorney’s office charged him with one count of misdemeanor theft. He pleaded no contest to trespassing.
In 2010, the Nevada Supreme Court told the state bar to determine what, if any, discipline Guymon would face for the Utah misdemeanor. The state bar ultimately did not discipline Guymon, said Danie Hooge, the bar’s general counsel.
Hooge said the bar keeps records of complaints that don’t result in discipline for three years. Guymon received one complaint in the past three years that was ultimately unsupported. One of Guymon’s former clients filed the complaint in August, alleging that Guymon and another attorney did not work to prove his innocence, but the bar dismissed the grievance because of insufficient evidence, Hooge said.
Guymon attended law school at Brigham Young University and previously worked as a prosecutor at the Clark County district attorney’s office. He had prosecuted high-profile defendants such as Margaret Rudin but left the office after his name surfaced in a public corruption case involving county commissioners and Cheetah’s strip club owner Michael Galardi.
During the public corruption trial of former County Commissioners Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Galardi testified that he purchased drinks and lap dances for Guymon and arranged for him to have sex with strippers. He alleged that in return, Guymon resolved speeding tickets, DUIs and assault charges for club employees.
Guymon previously said it was true he was a Cheetah’s regular and received lap dances, but he denied that Galardi paid for the lap dances or that he had sex at the club.
“For Michael Galardi to say he paid for sexual favors is scoffable,” Guymon said in a 2006 interview. “I went to (Cheetah’s) like any other citizen.”
Guymon has said that he occasionally represented Galardi’s employees in traffic cases while working as a prosecutor but did not help Galardi resolve other criminal cases like DUIs and assaults. He also said he was forced out of the district attorney’s office because of allegations made by Galardi.
Starting in about 2004, he worked as a Clark County public defender, then went into private practice.
His website claimed that he “has the most jury acquittals and not guilty verdicts in the past decade in Southern Nevada.”
“For more than 25 years, Gary has worked hard to develop not only a winning trial record, but also a strong rapport with local judges, prosecutors, and attorneys,” said a biography of him on his firm’s website. “Gary’s experience, professionalism, and personal connections serve to benefit those who retain his services when they or their loved ones have been accused of committing a crime.”
Metro has asked that anyone with information about Guymon’s case, or anyone who believes they have “been a victim of Guymon,” call detectives at 702-828-3251. Crime Stoppers can be contacted anonymously at 702-385-5555.
Guymon is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X. Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.