Las Vegas Strip Pancake House Murder Suspect Remains Jailed

Posted on: August 26, 2022, 08:53h. 

Last updated on: August 26, 2022, 01:23h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A convicted murderer is again behind bars without bail, awaiting a September court appearance for a recent fatal stabbing. The deadly incident occurred earlier this month at a pancake restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip.

The IHOP on the Las Vegas Strip
The IHOP on the Las Vegas Strip, pictured above. A man was killed this month after a stabbing in the pancake house’s parking lot, police said. An ex-convict was arrested for the crime. (Image: Restaurant Guru)

Anthony Reed, 52, of North Las Vegas, Nev., is charged with murder in connection with the incident, which occurred on the Las Vegas Strip on Aug. 13. Police said Darius Stokes, 24, was stabbed in the back of the head outside the eatery. Stokes died the next day.

Reed is unlikely to receive bail since he’s already on parole in connection with a prior murder case in California, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Details on this earlier murder case were not immediately available.

Incident Details

That night began routinely enough. Stokes reportedly went to the restaurant with coworkers for a 3:30 am meal. When members of the group noticed Stokes wasn’t with them inside the IHOP, one concerned worker went outside and found him lying in the parking lot.

Surveillance video from the restaurant showed Reed making a swinging motion toward the back of Stokes’ head. In his hand was some kind of sharp object, according to police. The video also shows Reed leaving the parking lot in his sister’s car shortly after the incident.

Reed admitted to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers that he punched Stokes to protect his sister. He told the police that Strokes was verbally abusing his sister. He denied involvement in any stabbing.

“I am not a stabber, I shoot,” Reed was quoted in a police report, KLAS, a local TV station, reported.

Stokes had been “talking trash” to his sister, and he “had to defend her,” Reed revealed to officers.

Stokes was rushed to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center for treatment, where doctors initially thought he suffered a brain aneurysm. After repeated exams, doctors eventually found a wound in Stokes’ head. It was about the size of a tip of a pen, the Review-Journal said.

Stokes Background

This summer, Stokes began working at Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles, a soul food restaurant chain located in Las Vegas, KLAS said, based on information from his family.

Stokes was living in Kentucky before recently moving to Nevada, where he has relatives.

The IHOP where the murder occurred is located seven-tenths of a mile from The Strat Hotel, Casino & Skypod. The Sahara Las Vegas is also nearby.

Another Convict Charged

Another convict was arrested last week for shooting two victims during a struggle at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas.

Kristopher Gonzales, 26, of Las Vegas, was charged in Las Vegas Justice Court for the May 15 shootings. His counts include attempted murder and battery, each with the use of a deadly weapon, according to the Review-Journal. The incident left one man paralyzed and a woman with leg wounds.

In 2016, he was convicted in Nevada for conspiracy to commit robbery, the report said.