Mystery woman tells cops of apparent seizure

By Jeff German

Thursday, April 17, 2008 | 2 a.m.

A woman who was with “Buffalo” Jim Barrier the night he died in a Boulder Highway motel room has told Metro Police that he appeared to suffer a seizure, so she left the premises, Capt. Randy Montandon said Wednesday.

Montandon said he couldn’t explain why the woman didn’t call for medical help. Later that night, however, Montandon said, she left a message on Barrier’s cell phone, asking whether he was feeling all right.

The message led police to the woman, who sources close to the investigation identified only as “Lisa.”

The woman told detectives in an interview Tuesday that she and Barrier were merely socializing and that the two had carried on a social relationship for 10 years, Montandon said.

“Right now, we are evaluating the validity of the information she gave us,” he said.

But Montandon added, “There continues to be nothing to lead us to believe that there was any foul play involved in this.”

Barrier was a colorful auto mechanic and wrestling promoter, a character familiar on the Las Vegas scene for decades.

Montandon told the Sun on Monday that a review of a four-minute motel surveillance tape showed Barrier was in no distress and appeared in good spirits when he registered at Motel 6 on the evening of April 5.

The videotape and other evidence police have gathered appear to dispel claims by Barrier’s family and close friends that he was slain.

The woman reportedly joined Barrier later that evening at the room. She does not appear on the tape, Montandon said.

A maid found his body the next day lying face up on a bed with his pants around his ankles, sources said.

Montandon said the woman denied the couple had been drinking alcohol, but he declined to comment when asked whether they had used any drugs.

Officers at the scene of the death found a bottle of prescription medication, but Montandon would not say what kind of medication was inside. He did say officers found no Valium in the room. The family has claimed the medication in the bottle was Valium.

Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy is waiting for toxicology and other lab test results before officially determining the cause of Barrier’s death.

Murphy said this week that an examination of the body turned up no evidence of foul play.

Barrier’s family and friends have speculated that his death was not natural. He had been involved in a long-standing public feud with Rick Rizzolo, the former owner of the Crazy Horse Too topless club.

For more than a decade, Barrier had kept in regular contact with FBI agents conducting a racketeering investigation of the topless club that ultimately landed Rizzolo in federal prison on tax evasion charges. Rizzolo was formally released from prison April 4, two days before Barrier’s body was discovered.