Suspect in lewdness case ordered held without bail

A Las Vegas psychiatrist charged with masturbating in a Strip casino elevator is being held without bail after a district judge learned he might have tried to intimidate witnesses in the case.

Dr. Steven C. Wein was riding in a Monte Carlo hotel elevator with three female Arizona State University students about 6 a.m. Nov. 1 when he exposed himself in the confined space, authorities said. Wein then was punched in the head by a man who also was in the elevator, authorities said.

The students reported Wein to hotel security, which had captured the event on video, authorities said.

At the time, Wein was charged with open and gross lewdness, a misdemeanor, and released on $1,000 bond.

But the case took a turn Wednesday when a District Court judge learned Wein is accused of driving to Tempe, Ariz., and setting fire to the home of the three women.

Prosecutors expressed concern for the safety of the witnesses, and Judge Linda Bell ordered the 33-year-old Wein held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.

Wein's attorney, Mace Yampolsky, said in court documents his client was suffering from depression over the death of his father at the time. Yampolsky wouldn't comment after the bail hearing.

If convicted of the lewdness charge, Wein could face up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday before Bell.

The possible arson occurred five days before a preliminary hearing was to be held in Las Vegas relating to the Nov. 1 incident.

Details of the incident were in court documents: Wein is accused of igniting a gasoline-soaked cloth at the students' residence in the early morning hours of April 23. A sprinkler system extinguished the blaze, and no one was harmed. Later the same day, the women and a fire investigator spotted Wein driving near the students' residence.

Wein was arrested in Yuma, Ariz., that night. Arizona investigators discovered a "handwritten list of steps for committing the arson, a portion of auto carpeting wet with apparent gasoline, and a handwritten note with the address of another witness from the November hotel incident" in Wein's possession, according to the court file.

He posted $15,000 bond the next day.

Las Vegas authorities revoked Wein's bail on the lewdness charge after learning of the arrest in Arizona.

Wein's medical license was suspended in December by the Nevada State Board of Osteopathic Medicine after it learned of the lewdness charge, according to a complaint filed by the board.

If Wein is convicted of lewdness, his license would be revoked, and he would have to wait a decade before he could reapply for a medical licence in Nevada, according to the complaint and court documents.

Wein was in his fourth year of a psychiatry residency at the Las Vegas School of Medicine at the time of the November incident.

He was hoping for bail so he could complete his residency and seek reinstatement of his license by the medical board, according to court documents.

Prosecutor Thomas Carroll said Clark County authorities are working with Arizona investigators.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.