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Who is Matthew Mannix? Bail set at $750K for Nevada man who held woman hostage at Caesars Palace for seven hours

Matthew Mannix has an outstanding arrest warrant in Colorado and four protection orders against him

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: The 34-year-old suspect, who created a dramatic hostage situation by holding an unnamed woman hostage at gunpoint inside Las Vegas' iconic Caesars Palace hotel, has been identified as wanted fugitive Matthew Mannix. He reportedly held the woman hostage for seven hours, barricading himself and the victim inside a hotel room, and began throwing furniture out of a window he broke before being arrested on Tuesday, July 11. 

Mannix has reportedly been charged with kidnapping, coercion with force or threat of force, resisting a public officer, disregarding the safety or a person or property and destruction of property. On Wednesday, July 12, the 34-year-old appeared in court and his bail was set at a whopping $750,000. Officials said Mannix was being held at the Clark County Detention Center. They confirmed that he was wanted in Colorado and had four protection orders against him.

Who is Matthew Mannix? 

Mannix was recently arrested for holding a woman hostage at Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Independent, Mannix was reportedly experiencing "drug-induced" schizophrenia when he held the woman hostage inside Room 2128 on the 21st floor of the resort. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed that Mannix was wanted in Colorado and has a full-extradition fugitive warrant out of the state.

However, the reason behind the outstanding warrant was redacted from the arrest report. Reports suggest that Mannix was the registered occupant of Room 2128 and sparked suspicion after hotel security informed authorities of a domestic dispute inside the room. The victim and Mannix reportedly knew each other. They were reportedly "experiencing a transient lifestyle on the Las Vegas strip and had binged illegal narcotics for the past several days" before the hostage situation. 

While Mannix claimed the victim was his "girlfriend and he loved her" after being taken into custody, the woman and Mannix reportedly had an on-and-off intimate relationship. The woman told officials that she slept with the fugitive under the impression that he was an actor from MTV. She further mentioned that she was afraid to leave the room as Mannix had a knife and she thought he would throw her out of the window he broke in the hotel room.

Officials mentioned that Mannix caused damage worth at least $50,000 to the room. One of the investigators said Mannix left the pool deck littered with furniture and glass and claimed that the property damage inside his room was "some of the most severe I have seen in my 18 years as a detective." A judge set Mannix's bail at $750,000 due to concerns about "the extremely violent nature" of his alleged crimes, the active warrant for his arrest in Colorado and his criminal history.

How was Matthew Mannix arrested? 

After hotel authorities informed law enforcement officials about the hostage situation, Mannix barricaded himself and the woman inside the room and said, "If they enter the room, [I] will shoot someone." He later said, "If you don't leave it will end badly." The Las Vegas SWAT team responded to the situation after officers heard the hostage saying, "He has a knife," through the door. 

While negotiators and police officers communicated with Mannix, he refused to let the victim out. He allegedly began taunting officers by opening and closing the door of the room while saying he had a "magazine full of rounds" and that he "would pull the trigger." Mannix allegedly told officials that he would "cut her tongue out of her mouth" if the woman spoke to authorities. 

Shortly after, he broke a window started throwing furniture out of it onto an occupied pool deck, prompting guests to take shelter inside the lobby and forcing the hotel into a lockdown. Mannix was finally taken into custody around 2.40 PM PDT after the SWAT team entered the room, while the hostage was escorted to safety. The woman reportedly had cuts and bruises on her leg, which could have been signs of assault. 

Officers said that Mannix was "so high" at the time of his arrest that it resulted in paranoia. "[Mr Mannix] was so high that he was paranoid and had a schizophrenic episode where he was yelling random comments and numbers and saying that he would pay for everything because he has a lot of money," the arrest affidavit mentioned. He is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center.