Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Guard accused of killing bus passenger, 82, with shove

This undated Clark County Detention Center booking photo shows Anthony Louis Villanueva, 41, of Las Vegas.

This undated Clark County Detention Center booking photo shows Anthony Louis Villanueva, 41, of Las Vegas.

A former security guard on Las Vegas-area public transit buses faces a murder charge after he berated an 82-year-old passenger about the man's walker in an aisle and fatally injured the man shoving him out a bus door in November, authorities said Thursday.

Anthony Louis Villanueva, 41, of Las Vegas was being held at the Clark County jail following a court appearance Wednesday in the death of Charles Adams in North Las Vegas.

Villanueva's public defense attorney, Alzora Jackson, did not immediately respond Thursday to messages.

Adams died Dec. 21 of injuries including facial fractures that a doctor blamed on his face-forward fall early Nov. 14 at a bus stop in North Las Vegas, according to a police report.

The Clark County coroner has not yet ruled on the cause of death.

Bus security audio and video recorded Adams complying with Villanueva's request to move his walker out of the bus aisle and Villanueva becoming more agitated before challenging Adams to fight, Detective Paul Cherrier reported.

Police were called and Adams sat on the bus apparently waiting for officers to arrive.

Villanueva grabbed Adams from a seat after Adams waved a belt toward him, the police report said, then shoved him off the bus.

Adams' face hit the concrete sidewalk and he became limp before Villanueva dragged him away from the vehicle, the police report said.

Villanueva, who worked for Allied Universal in Las Vegas, was armed with a handgun, baton and chemical agents but did not use them, Cherrier wrote.

Villanueva told Cherrier during a recorded interview earlier this month that he knew Adams from previous bus rides and "knew him to be a problem." Villanueva acknowledged that he made a mistake. He was arrested Saturday.

"Adams died as a result of Villanueva's actions," the police detective wrote. "It was apparent to me that Villanueva provoked an assault through his words and actions."

Allied Universal spokeswoman Angela Burrell said Villanueva was fired from his job Nov. 14.

Regional Transit Commission of Southern Nevada spokeswoman Catherine Lu called the incident unfortunate and said it was being investigated by Allied Universal and the commission.