Sometimes a story is just the beginning. Sure, Las Vegas has more than its share of breaking national news, scandals and success stories, and some of them just come and go. But occasionally a story hits our pages that is just so unique, eye-catching and intriguing it requires—nay, demands!—a follow-up. Here, then, are the updates on a few we just couldn’t leave alone:
Keon Clark’s downward spiral
Original story date: December 20, 2007
Recap: Former UNLV basketball star Keon Clark awaits sentencing on driving-related, drug, weapons and failure-to-appear charges in his hometown of Danville, Illinois. Clark has made numerous court appearances in Vermilion and Champaign counties, including a December date in Danville in which he told the court he was a longtime alcoholic who drank even during halftime of games in his six-year NBA career.
What’s happened: A judge in Danville had set a trial date of March 12 to address charges of disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property over $300 and three counts of aggravated driving after suspension. Having already been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for having no firearm owner’s ID card, possession of a controlled substance and DUI in Champaign County, Clark was ordered by a judge there to be transferred to a state prison on December 28, where he has been ever since. In one sad turn of events, Clark’s high-school coach, Gene Gourley, attempted to visit Clark the day after Christmas, but was turned away because Clark had already been visited once that week. The Danville Public Safety Building permits just one visit each week, and by the end of that week Clark was headed for prison. –John Katsilometes
Neonopolis rebirth?
Original story date: July 5, 2007
Recap: Tenants have come and gone, the current and former mayor are sniping about its past and future, the plaza itself sits dark, but Neonopolis (or, rather, Fremont Square) developer Rohit Joshi insists he is just about to turn the corner and lease space to reliable and famous tenants.
What’s happened: Since the summer, there has been no change in the occupants at Neonopolis/Fremont Square. The lone businesses, Galaxy Neonopolis movie theaters and Del Prado Family Jewelers, plod along while awaiting the Next Big Thing at the shopping center on the east end of the Fremont Street Experience. But there has been some tangible progress, as Joshi has been in negotiations with Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo nightclub operation, and the Hispanic television network Telemundo. He has been saying he has reached lease agreements with both entities, with the Telemundo TV studios and offices taking up much of the mall’s third level, occupying all of the space not taken by the theaters. It’s a start, at least, for a project many have long thought finished.
–John Katsilometes
Jon Shecter’s world domination
Original story date: June 21, 2007
Recap: Source magazine co-founder and hip-hop impresario Jon Shecter (creator of the Hip Hop Honeys and Game Girls DVDs) relocated to Vegas to get his artistic and musical groove back.
What’s happened: His sole artist, Philadelphian Keith From Up Da Block, has continued to develop well. “We built a great website for him at keithfromupdablock.com. Also, we rebuilt his MySpace music page and added a dozen video clips to his YouTube channel. His CD is still officially unreleased, though we have it completed, mixed, and we added a few new bangers that are sure to please. We’re preparing to shoot his first ‘real’ music video here in Vegas in a couple weeks. The song is a parody of the OneRepublic/Timbaland hit ‘Apologize,’ called ‘Spermicide.’ Keith has continued to perform at comedy clubs and other venues, and he has made several radio and TV appearances since we last spoke.”
–Damon Hodge
Search for Charles Washington’s killer
Original story date: June 21, 2007
Recap: The 18-year-old was slain June 10 at a house party in North Las Vegas. Several other people were hit by gunfire, all treated and released.
What’s happened: North Las Vegas police spokesman Mark Hoyt says the investigation is ongoing. “Homicide is never going to stop looking for suspects. If anything, a case will go in the cold file. It’s only been seven months or so, so we’ll continue looking. We will try to get stuff on national television. Over the summer, a woman was killed at 2 in the morning going to 7-Eleven. She was robbed and ended up dying. America’s Most Wanted is going to show that case soon.”
–Damon Hodge
Search for De’Arney Austin’s killer
Original story date: November 21, 2007
Recap: The Brinley Middle School eighth-grader was gunned down at 1 a.m. on November 1 while returning from a Halloween party.
What’s happened: Says Metro spokesman Martin Wright, “Nothing has changed. There is nothing new to report, and we have no suspects. The investigation is ongoing.”
–Damon Hodge
The Crazy Horse Too
Original story date: May 10, 2007
Recap: The Crazy Horse Too, once the pinnacle of strip clubs in Las Vegas, with its high-profile patrons and yearly profits exceeding $15 million, carried with it the seeds of its own eventual destruction: corruption, violence, racketeering.
What’s happened: A lot.
The club’s doors shut for good, with the federal government seizing control of the property in September 2007. Thus far, they’ve been unable to sell the vacant building, as all the various bids—some exceeding $30 million (for a property appraised by the feds at $5 million)—have dissolved under intense scrutiny. Former owner Rick Rizzolo was released from prison earlier this month, to complete the remaining month of his truncated one-year sentence at a halfway house just six blocks from his defunct strip club. His father, Bart, was hit with a restraining order by neighbor Buffalo Jim Barrier, an instrumental character in bringing down the Crazy Horse; and then the elder Rizzolo was named in a police report for allegedly trying to run over Barrier with a Range Rover last November.
–Joshua Longobardy
Dr. Stephen Shaw and the push
Original story date: July 26, 2007
Recap: On March 11, 2005, a 60-year-old man accosted and frightened a woman who, he believed, cut him off on the road. Her kids in the back of the car, she called her husband, who responded to the scene—Fabulous Freddy’s Car Wash—without delay. He, Stephen Shaw, who at 35 was a reputable chiropractor and former UNLV quarterback, pushed the man to the ground, causing fatal damage to the man’s head. Dr. Shaw took an Alford plea to the charge of involuntary manslaughter last year and received five years of probation.
What’s happened: The Chiropractic Physicians Board of Nevada held a separate trial for Dr. Shaw last December, and found him guilty of unprofessional conduct regarding the March 2005 incident at Fabulous Freddy’s. The Board revoked his chiropractor’s license, but stayed that revocation for 54 months, the length of Shaw’s criminal probation. Moreover, the Board ordered Shaw to undergo psychological testing, anger-management courses and professional ethics tests, and to complete 500 hours of community service by the end of 2008.
–Joshua Longobardy
Ladies night lawsuit
Original story date: October 18, 2007
Recap: Todd Phillips, a Las Vegas lawyer from California specializing in discrimination law, filed a complaint with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission against the Las Vegas Athletic Club for its preferential treatment toward women—a crime, he says, that’s not only prominent, but also boasted about, in this city.
What’s happened: A little media attention, but not much action. The case is sitting still, filed August 18, and the NERC says only that some cases take longer to investigate than others. “It all depends on how quickly people return information to our investigators,” says NERC spokesperson Mae Flennoy, who adds that she doesn’t know if deadlines are applied to responders. Moreover, she adds: “People are more than welcome to contact our investigators to check the status of their cases.”
Phillips, in fact, has—on several occasions. He says he’s been told “paperwork” continues to delay resolution to the complaint.
“The people at the NERC have their heads up their behinds,” says Phillips, who in addition filed a claim against the NERC itself on March 10.
And so he has tried to beckon the help of the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, neither to any avail. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Athletic Club has threatened Phillips with charges of trespassing if he ever sets foot in their gym again.
–Joshua Longobardy