Man goes to prison for punching woman in casino fight
STATELINE, Nev. – A woman punched in the face at the former Hard Rock Casino causing the loss of two teeth and a fractured upper jaw testified at her attacker’s sentencing on Monday.
“He said I got caught up in the middle of the fight, but he locked eyes with me before he hit me,” she said of the November 2021 altercation. “He knew what he was doing.”
Larry Lee Burns, 48, hit the woman after a fight broke out between his party and her party at a bar in the casino.
Video surveillance at the casino showed Burns approach the victim’s party, though there was no sound, it was visible there was an argument between the two groups.
The woman’s group then left the bar and Burns is shown following them. After attempts to get Burns to leave them alone, a man from the victim’s group punched Burns. That’s when the victim stands between the man and Burns. Burns then strikes the victim and proceeds to attack the other man.
“The video is important because it answers the question whether it was intentional,” said Douglas County District Court Judge Thomas Gregory.
Burns was sentenced to 24-60 months in prison and was remanded into the custody of the sheriff to immediately begin his sentence. He was given credit for three days.
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