Man dressed as Deadpool character arrested on Strip

A man dressed in a “Deadpool” superhero costume and carrying three swords was arrested last week on the Strip after allegedly arguing and resisting police who later learned he had outstanding felony warrants for battery and assault.

Johntail Warddavis, 37, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Oct. 9 on suspicion of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, battery on a protected person, resisting a public officer, unlawful act with a weapon or replica on the Strip and making a false statement or obstructing a public officer, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Oct. 9, two police officers on foot patrol on the sidewalk in front of the Showcase Mall at 3785 Las Vegas Blvd. South, saw a masked man in a black and red costume like that of the main character in the 2016 movie “Deadpool,” police reported.

What drew their attention was that the man was holding an unknown type of sword and had two other swords attached to his back, all of which had blades longer than 3 inches, the maximum length for a real or replica weapon permitted on the Strip, according to police.

When officers advised him to put the weapons away, the man, identified as Warddavis, took off his mask, turned argumentative, began to yell, said he didn’t do anything and started to walk away, police reported.

One officer placed his open hand on Warddavis’ chest to prevent him from leaving, to which Warddavis said “Stop, stop” and “What are you doing?” and allegedly grabbed the officer’s forearm and with his hand that, as part of the costume, was gloved with hard knuckles and metal-appearing knuckle inserts, police said.

The man then placed his arms across his chest, took a “strong stance,” refused to comply, yelled, “I’m not doing anything,” and allegedly pulled away from the arms of both officers, one of whom was struck slightly in the face, according to police.

He also allegedly balled his right hand into a fist while wearing the gloves with the hard knuckles and inserts and “then swung his arms out in attempts to forcefully push both officers away, showing an additional intent to harm officers,” police reported.

Warddavis then fell to the ground and tried to get up while allegedly resisting officers’ attempts to keep him in control, prompting one officer to use department-issued pepper spray that proved effective in subduing him, according to police.

The district attorney’s office declined to prosecute the charges first alleged by police against Warddavis except for battery on a protected person, a gross misdemeanor. A preliminary hearing in Justice Court is scheduled on Oct. 30, based on court records.

However, he faces three felony charges from the warrants — two counts of battery with a deadly weapon and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, all from 2022 — and his preliminary hearing for those charges is Oct. 25, records show.

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on X.