‘Incredibly dangerous’: Bail set for suspect in New Year’s Eve shooting near Strip

A Las Vegas justice of the peace set bail at a half-million dollars on Wednesday for a man accused of firing more than 70 rounds from his high-rise unit on New Year’s Eve even though he had been recently barred from having any guns, police said.

Jon Roger Letzkus, 45, was arrested Sunday after Las Vegas police responded to multiple calls of gunshots just before 6 a.m. at the Signature at MGM Grand at 145 East Harmon Avenue.

No one was injured in the shooting.

Letzkus had been banned by a court in San Diego from having any firearms as part of a Nov. 16 temporary restraining order, which was then extended to be in effect from Dec. 21 until Jan. 11, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.

In ordering Letzkus to remain in custody unless he posts $500,000 in bail, Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa expressed concern about the danger Letzkus posed to the community.

The arrest report released Wednesday contained disturbing allegations that shed light on both Letzkus’ mental state and how the incident Sunday is alleged to have played out.

In an interview with police, Letzkus, who was asked to explain what had happened, would veer between “tangents” and “factual information” about the shooting, the report stated.

He said “there were cats in suits with machine guns walking the hallways” and “people coming through the heating vents to get him,” the report alleged.

He was also screaming and crying while talking about his estranged wife, who had filed for divorce about two months earlier. Letzkus claimed his wife had made a false report to police about a domestic violence situation in California, which resulted in a restraining order against him.

According to the report, a witness saw a man out on his balcony in a tower at of the Signature firing shots “indiscriminately into the air” and towards Top Golf, which the Signature overlooks.

After thinking that hotel security was trying to break in to his room, and that police were responding, Letzkus said he “needed to get the attention of the police officers, so he took his firearm and began shooting out his room,” the report said.

“Jon was asked how many rounds he shot, and he stated it was so many he could not remember,” the report stated.

Police found extensive damage in Letzkus’ room and said it appeared Letzkus fired multiple shots into the ceiling, walls and windows.

Police also found a Glock 48 9 mm handgun and dozens of spent cartridges in the room, which an MGM official told police had about $100,000 worth of damages.

In addition to an arrest report, a risk assessment report and the Nevada bail statute, Saragosa cited a California state restraining order prohibiting Letzkus from contacting his wife, his scant ties to the Las Vegas community and questions about his mental condition.

The arrest report “gives a picture of someone who is, potentially, mentally unstable,” Saragosa said. “I have absolutely no way of looking into some crystal ball to ensure that something more dangerous wouldn’t happen” if Letzkus is released from custody.

“What he is alleged to have done in our community is incredibly dangerous,” the justice said.

Even if Letzkus does post bail, he can be released from custody only under “high-level electronic monitoring” and an order to remain in the Las Vegas area, Saragosa ruled.

Prosecutors had requested $1.25 million bail, while Deputy Public Defender Dallas Anselmo asked for $5,000, coupled with electronic monitoring.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Erika Mendoza presented a frightening picture of what police found inside Letzkus’ high-rise unit the morning of the shooting.

“The room was completely flooded and there was a dog locked in the bathroom when the water was running,” Mendoza argued, adding that damages to the room were estimated at more than $100,000. “There were bullet impacts to the ceilings, walls and windows.”

After Letzkus was arrested Sunday morning, he told police he had been “firing indiscriminately,” Mendoza said.

Letzkus also told the arresting officers that he was “extensively trained in firearms,” Mendoza said at the hearing.

Online court records show that Letzkus faces 73 felony charges. He faces one count of owning or possessing a gun by a prohibited person, and another count of destroy or injure real or personal property of another, with a value of greater than $5,000.

The other 71 charges are for discharging a gun within a structure or vehicle within a prohibited area, records show.

When asked at the hearing whether he understood the charges against him, Letzkus replied: “More or less.”

Staff reporter Brett Clarkson contributed to this report.

Contact Peter S. Levitt at plevitt@reviewjournal.com.