A Las Vegas judge sentenced a man to prison on Thursday for an unprovoked stabbing spree inside Red Rock Resort in August.
Shayne Sussman pleaded guilty in October to three counts of attempted murder for stabbing two casino workers and attempting to attack a third before he was shot in the abdomen by a security officer in the early hours of Aug. 3. He entered what is known as an Alford plea, meaning he only admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.
He has agreed to face a maximum of 20 years in prison, but attorneys on Thursday argued over the minimum length of his sentence. Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Dickerson asked the judge to set his sentence at the highest possible end of eight to 20 years in prison, while defense attorney Thomas Ericsson asked for his client to be sentenced to two to 20 years.
District Judge Susan Johnson sided with prosecutors, sentencing Sussman to between eight and 20 years in prison.
Ericsson said Sussman was extremely intoxicated and has no memory of the stabbing spree, which happened after Sussman attended a concert at the casino with his friend.
“This tragedy is not who he really is, and he would never do anything like that but for that level of intoxication,” Ericsson told the judge.
Sussman gave a statement to the judge, apologizing to the people he attacked. He said he planned to never “touch alcohol like that again.”
“I just can’t remember it, but I won’t forget it,” he said. “I know I have to do some time for this.”
Dickerson argued that although prosecutors considered Sussman’s intoxication, there was no indication he suffered from delusions during the attack. He said surveillance footage showed Sussman “lying in wait and looking for victims” before stabbing the employees.
“The mere fact that not even a trained doctor in mental health can tell us what happened here, that causes fear,” Dickerson said. “That causes fear as to what Mr. Sussman is potentially capable of.”
Dickerson played surveillance footage for the judge on Thursday, showing Sussman attacking an employee with a knife. He then attacked that employee’s supervisor before running through the casino and sitting outside a restaurant.
When security officers approached Sussman, he lunged towards them and attempted to run from the casino. One security guard, Chance Sanders, attempted to stop him as Sussman swung a knife at Sanders’ head, missing him by inches, Dickerson said.
Sanders told the judge on Thursday that although he was uninjured, the attack changed him mentally. He finds it difficult to let his guard down in public, and he now views everyone as “possible threats,” Sanders said.
“This incident took my innocence away,” he said. “I now know there are people in this world who have zero regard for the life of others.”
Sussman nodded his head up and down and looked quietly ahead when the judge sentenced him to prison. She also ordered him to undergo drug treatment, to help “deal with your demons.”
“Thank you, your honor,” he replied at the end of the hearing.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
