Body of slain man found near Caesars Palace

The body of a young man was found among the bushes at a bloody scene near the Caesars Palace loading docks early Monday.

The slaying was the second homicide in less than a week to occur at a resort on the south end of the Strip.

Las Vegas police said the victim was a white man in his 20s.

Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said the victim suffered blunt-force trauma to his head. Police did not release the victim’s identity, but a source who asked to remain anonymous identified him as Brad Flamm.

Police found the body about 7:30 a.m. Las Vegas police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said he may have been beaten to death.

A woman who said she was Flamm’s friend told the Review-Journal that he worked at the resort as a waiter and had been missing since Sunday night. The woman said Flamm regularly walks near the area where the body was discovered. She said he had a dragon tattoo on his shoulders.

Roberts said the victim’s body showed no apparent signs of stab wounds or gunshots.

As of Monday night, police had not made an arrest but were pursuing leads, Roberts said.

“We’re asking for the public’s help,” Roberts said. “We’re continuing an attempt to find video or locate witnesses.”

Roberts said the man’s body was found on the east end of the property near the Forum Shops.

“It’s an unusual area,” Roberts said. “If you didn’t know exactly where it was, you wouldn’t pay any attention to it.”

Police didn’t classify the case as a homicide until well into the afternoon. That is when the Clark County coroner removed the body from its location, which was kept intact for hours so evidence wouldn’t be altered, Roberts said.

Roberts said there was a possibility that someone had attempted to hide the victim’s body under the bushes.

This is the second slaying to happen on the Strip in consecutive weeks.

Las Vegas police arrested 18-year-old Tanner Rousseau Friday in connection with the stabbing death of a 35-year-old Cleveland man in a Tropicana parking lot.

The victim, Gregory Dominique, suffered cuts to his abdomen and legs, according to Rousseau’s arrest report.

The stabbing happened about 4:16 a.m. after Rousseau and Dominique began fighting during a botched drug exchange. According to the report, Rousseau and Dominique agreed to trade six dollars and a small amount of marijuana for a unspecified drug.

Dominique handed Rousseau an empty envelope and refused to return Rousseau’s money and marijuana, which started the fight, the report said.

Dominique died of his injuries at University Medical Center.

The arrest report said Rousseau admitted to the stabbing to a police officer about 30 minutes after the altercation. The officer, who was attempting to establish containment of the hotel’s property, initially thought Rousseau was kidding. He told Rousseau he didn’t have time to joke around, he was looking for a suspect.

According to the report, Rousseau walked out of a black Honda Civic, “put his hands up from his waist and told the officer ... “You got me.”

Rousseau then told police where the bloody knife was.

Deadly violence on the Strip is infrequent but does happen.

In October 2008, a California woman used a broken bottle to kill a man who was distributing handbills in front of the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. Desiray Ortiz was indicted in January for fatally stabbing Martin Antonio Guadalupe in the shoulder area. He died from his injuries at UMC about an hour after authorities found him bleeding on the ground.

The same year, two prostitutes fought inside Bally’s over their pimp. Latrovia Reed stabbed and killed 20-year-old Taleasha Jamerson in the reception area of the resort. Reed was sentenced to three to 10 years for the slaying.

In 2006, a California man killed a 22-year-old prostitute at Mandalay Bay and left her naked body in a 25th-floor hallway. James Flansburg, 40, was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison for the murder of Bridget Gray.

He was at the hotel for a convention when he met Gray. The two went up to his room and Flansburg told police he caught her going through his pockets. He told police he was drunk when he choked her to death.

In September of 2005, Stephen Ressa drove his car into a crowd on the Strip and killed three people near Bally’s. Authorities said Ressa stole his mom’s car after beating her unconscious in California. He told authorities he was consumed by thoughts of strangers trying to kill him.

Ressa was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole in 2007.

Anyone with information pertaining to the slaying at Caesars is urged to call the Las Vegas police Homicide Section at 828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Reporter Maggie Lillis contributed to this report. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.