By KEN RITTER Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Eleven attempted murder charges were dropped and a 44-year-old ex-convict pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single felony charge in a deadly shootout at a Las Vegas lounge that killed a man and injured at least 12 others.
Lee Frank Wilson admitted being a felon in possession of a prohibited firearm in a plea deal that defense attorney Joshua Tomsheck said avoids trial and is expected to get Wilson 21 to 54 months in prison at sentencing.
FILE – Lee Frank Wilson talks to his attorney Josh Tomsheck during his court appearance on March 3, 2022, in Las Vegas. Eleven attempted murder charges were dropped and a 44-year-old ex-convict pleaded guilty to a single felony charge in a deadly shootout that authorities say involved at least five shooters at a Las Vegas lounge. Wilson admitted Wednesday, May 18, 2022, he was a felon in possession of a prohibited firearm. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)
Tomsheck called Wilson “unequivocally” a victim in the early Feb. 26 shooting. He noted that his client was badly wounded and said Wilson was friends with Demetreus Beard, the 33-year-old man who died.
Two charges against Wilson of discharging a firearm in a building also were dropped.
Wilson has been the only arrest in the shooting that erupted during a private weekend party at a hookah lounge several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip.
A grand jury was told that as many as five people fired a total of at least 35 shots. Las Vegas police have said additional arrests were expected.
FILE – Las Vegas police investigate at Manny’s Glow Ultra Lounge & Restaurant, after a shooting on Feb. 26, 2022, in Las Vegas. Eleven attempted murder charges were dropped and a 44-year-old ex-convict pleaded guilty Wednesday, May 18, 2022, to a single felony charge in a deadly shootout at a Las Vegas lounge that killed a man and injured at least 12 others. (Chitose Suzuki/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)
Tomsheck said an investigation “clearly revealed Mr. Wilson was not a ‘mass shooter’ as has been widely reported,” and didn’t kill Beard.
A local judge noted previously that Wilson was arrested 82 times since 1995, convicted of at least nine felonies including escape, and served prison time following his 2019 conviction in a shooting case.
Wilson remained jailed Wednesday, but Tomsheck said Clark County District Court Judge Kathleen Delaney lowered bail from $500,000 to $75,000 following Wilson’s guilty plea. Sentencing is scheduled Sept. 14.
