A Utah woman who was stabbed by a teenager at the Capri Motel in east Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against the motel, saying it bears some responsibility for the attack because it failed to provide adequate security despite repeated criminal activity.
As a result of “the negligence of (the Capri Motel), the repeated criminal activities were allowed to continue,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, filed by Sandra Joann Clantz, also names Skip the Games, an online platform that lists escort services. Clantz alleges that the site failed to protect its users after she met her attacker, Ryan Heider, through the platform, where he claimed to be 22 but was actually 17.
According to the lawsuit, Heider traveled from Michigan to Las Vegas to meet Clantz at the Capri Motel on Fremont Street, where Heider stabbed her 27 times and left her for dead outside the room.
Clantz filed the suit Monday in District Court and requested a jury trial. It seeks more than $15,000 from the defendants in damages for injuries from the stabbing and future medical treatment.
Clantz also says Skip the Games bears some responsibility for the attack because it failed to adequately protect users from potentially dangerous users. She also accuses the website of facilitating prostitution and sex trafficking.
“Upon information and belief, Skip the Games does not have a screening or verification process to ensure that minor children only use the site with parental guidance or consent,” the lawsuit states.
Clantz met Heider through the Skip the Games website, according to the complaint. Heider, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit, was prosecuted as an adult and pleaded guilty to one count of residential burglary and one count of mayhem with use of a deadly weapon — both felonies — in connection with the November 2024 stabbing of Clantz, according to court records.
District Judge Bita Yeager ordered Heider to serve eight to 25 years in prison with credit for nearly a year of time already served.
Skip the Games spokesperson Elsa Kiva said in a statement that “the situation described in this court filing is horrible.”
“I’m very sorry to hear about it. We have strict screening procedures in terms of who can sign up for the site to keep minors away,” Kiva said, adding that Skip the Games hasn’t yet been served with the lawsuit.
Efforts to reach a representative of the Capri Motel for comment were unsuccessful. When a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter visited the property on Friday, a motel receptionist said he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the motel but confirmed that the motel and its owner had received the newspaper’s request for comment. He added that the motel had not yet been served with the lawsuit.
Attempts to reach Clantz’s attorneys for comment were also unsuccessful.
Contact Lucas Hellberg at lhellberg@reviewjournal.com.
