LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say a gunman shot dead in a gunbattle after killing a courthouse security guard and wounding a federal marshal in Las Vegas had a “lengthy” criminal history in Tennessee and California.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Favreau said Tuesday that 66-year-old Johnny Lee Wicks faced murder charges in Memphis, Tenn., in the mid-1970s, and sex assault charges in Sacramento, Calif., in the late 1980s.
Records show Wicks lost a federal lawsuit last year challenging a cut in his Social Security benefits after moving from California to Las Vegas.
The FBI and local police say Wicks torched his apartment and walked three miles to the courthouse before opening fire Monday morning, killing 72-year-old security officer Stanley Cooper.
Officials say the wounded marshal has been released from the hospital.