Gunshots, fire set by man put Sam’s Town guests at risk, says report

A Las Vegas man who police say barricaded himself in a room at the Sam’s Town hotel a week ago put other guests at risk by firing multiple gunshots, attempting to set his room on fire and tampering with the hotel’s fire suppression system, according to a police report.

Las Vegas police said they responded to the hotel-casino at 5111 Boulder Highway at 3 a.m. March 4 for a report of a man who had barricaded himself in a room. A SWAT team was called and police eventually took Eric Larsgaard, 29, into custody at the scene.

An arrest report for Larsgaard indicates that the incident started when occupants in the room next to Larsgaard’s “heard what they believed to be three gunshots.”

Police went to Larsgaard’s room and found the door barricaded with “water coming out of room 373, causing the hallway to flood.”

Nearby guests were evacuated.

Heavy room damage

Police learned a “water flow alarm was triggered from inside the room” where Larsgaard was staying. Police also said “that the fire detection and suppression system had, in fact, been tampered with.”

“(An investigator) further concluded that the tampering placed all the occupants of guest room(s) on the third floor or in the immediate area at risk of injury or death,” the police report states.

Police also inspected Larsgaard’s room.

“The box spring, mattress, bedding and towel appeared to have fire damage,” police said. “A fire sprinkler attached to the wall had a steady stream of water dripping from it. The smoke detector and redundant fire suppression system appeared to be melted by fire and tampered with.”

Police found a loaded .45-caliber firearm in the room with the safety off and “hammer was back in the firing position.”

“Several bullet holes could be seen in the room to include the air conditioning unit, the north wall in an electrical outlet, mattresses, box springs and window to the exterior,” police wrote.

Police said after his arrest, Larsgaard claimed to an officer he was “ready” to shoot police. Police said they’d received a pair of bizarre calls from someone on the third floor of Sam’s Town that morning as well. In one call the caller said police were needed on the third floor. In a second call the person, calling from the same number, said “how much is the bounty on his head?”

“The call taker (was) concerned subject may be on narcotics,” the report states.

Gun was stolen

The gun found in the room proved to be stolen, police said. Larsgaard is also a convicted felon stemming from a possession of drugs charge in 2010, thus preventing him from legally owning a gun.

Las Vegas Justice Court records show Larsgaard has a long arrest record dating to 2008. Prior cases include possession of drugs, prohibited person prevented from having a gun, driving under the influence and drawing a deadly weapon in a threatening manner.

He is charged with multiple felonies including first-degree arson, destroying property worth more than $5,000, discharging a firearm in an occupied structure, false fire alarm, resisting and possession of stolen property. A Sam’s Town representative told police damage to the property was at least $20,000.

Larsgaard remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center as of Wednesday morning. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for March 24.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.