Las Vegas police report indicates Paddock was in two places at the same time
LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Criminal Investigative Report on the October 1 mass casualty shooting that was released August 3 said that the report was derived from the LVMPD’s preliminary investigative report that was released on January 18.
It goes on to say that the preliminary report remains accurate and in accordance with the final report and the report is meant to document facts as to what happened.
Keep in mind that this report is a criminal investigative report on the worst mass shooting in modern American history to date, the shooting that occurred on October 1, 2017 at the Route 91 Harvest music festival.
As a former criminal investigator when I read any investigative report and taking into consideration the magnitude of the October 1 tragedy, I would hope that the facts detailed in the LVMPD final report would purport with the corroborating evidence, in this case the lock interrogation report.
While analyzing the LVMPD report I discovered that there is a discrepancy with the timeline of Stephen Paddock’s movements on September 28 and September 29, 2017 as documented in both the preliminary and final reports.
Both reports indicate that on September 28 at 2218 hours (10:18 p.m.), Paddock began gambling at Mandalay Bay and continued gambling into the next morning.
Under the September 29 heading it states that at 0543 hours (5:43 a.m.), Paddock stopped gambling, which he was doing continuously since the previous night.
Neither report indicates how the investigators arrived at this conclusion, but I can speculate that Paddock’s movements must have been captured on Mandalay Bay casino video surveillance footage and/or player card activity while Paddock was on the machines. Regardless, both reports document that Paddock was in the casino gambling continuously from 10:18 p.m. on the night of September 28 into the morning hours of September 29 until 5:43 a.m..
The problem with the conclusion made by the police investigators is that it doesn’t purport with the lock interrogation report that was attached to the LVMPD final report. In this case the lock interrogation report should corroborate what is documented in the final investigative report, but it doesn’t.
When analyzing both the preliminary and final reports I focused on the timeline of Paddock’s movements as documented in those police reports from Paddock’s entire stay at the Mandalay Bay and compared the lock interrogation reports during the times the police said Paddock was out of his room. I wanted to see if there were any entries by Paddock’s guest keycard while the police stated he was out of his room. Keep in mind that a hotel guest can have more than one keycard if requested.
Conclusion
Both the preliminary and final investigative reports state that Paddock gambled continuously in the Mandalay Bay casino from 10:18 PM on the night of September 28 thru 5:43 AM on September 29. Again, both reports state continuously.
The lock interrogation report for Paddock’s suite, 32-135, indicates that at 10:02 PM on the night of September 28 the room door opened from the inside and then closed. Paddock probably left his room at this time and went to the casino to gamble which the police report states was at 10:18 PM.
The report states Paddock stopped gambling at 5:43 AM on September 29. The lock interrogation report indicates that his guest key accessed room 32-135 at 5:47 AM and the deadbolt was then engaged. We can assume he went to his room at this time.
Here is where we have a major discrepancy with what the police documented in both reports. While Paddock was gambling continuously in the casino, those are the words of the police, not mine, his room key accessed 32-135.
The lock interrogation report for 32-135 indicates the following:
- 9/29/2017 12:43 AM – Guest card accepted. The door is opened. The door is closed. Dead bolt thrown.
- 9/29/2017 12:57 AM – The door is opened from the inside. Dead bolt released.
- 9/29/2017 12:58 AM – The door is closed. The door is opened from the inside. The door is closed.
- 9/29/2017 1:30 AM – The door is opened from the inside. The door is closed.
- 9/29/2017 2:35 AM – The door is opened from the inside. The door is closed.
Based on the lock interrogation report I would have to ask how Paddock could have been in the casino gambling continuously and at the same time be accessing his room during a one-hour-and forty-five-minute period from 12:43 AM to 2:35 AM.
It could be that the police were careless and never examined the lock interrogation report that would have contradicted their investigative results and thus Paddock was not in the casino gambling continuously as they state, or it could be that someone else had possession of Paddock’s key card and or a duplicate keycard and entered his room.
I have no way of determining which is correct, however this shouldn’t be an issue when we are talking about the final criminal investigative report on the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
Doug authored over 135 articles on the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas Massacre, more than any other single journalist in the country. He investigates stories on corruption, law enforcement and crime. Doug is a US Army Military Police Veteran, former police officer, deputy sheriff and criminal investigator. Doug spent 20 years in the hotel/casino industry as an investigator and then as Director of Security and Surveillance. He also spent a short time with the US Dept. of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration. In 1986 Doug was awarded Criminal Investigator of the Year by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia for his undercover work in narcotics enforcement. In 1992 and 1993 Doug testified in court that a sheriff’s office official and the county prosecutor withheld exculpatory evidence during the 1988 trial of a man accused of the attempted murder of his wife. Doug’s testimony led to a judge’s decision to order the release of the man from prison in 1992 and awarded him a new trial, in which he was later acquitted. As a result of Doug breaking the police “blue wall of silence,” he was fired by the county sheriff. His story was featured on Inside Edition, Current Affair and CBS News’ “Street Stories with Ed Bradley”. In 1992 after losing his job, at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Doug infiltrated a group of men who were plotting the kidnapping of a Dupont fortune heir and his wife. Doug has been a guest on national television and radio programs speaking on the stories he now writes as an investigative journalist.
Interesting that with a camera every 10 feet in every hotel in Vegas, that the “shooter” can be gambling, yet accessing his room too. Where’s the footage of the hall where his room is showing who’s going in and out at those times? Conflicting stories?
How many people are in on this?
If LVMPD cannot even accurately report on the glaring discrepancy re: Paddock’s access to the hotel room vs. continuously gambling downstairs, then it is reasonable for the public to be skeptical about the rest of conclusions and statements made by the police. Much respect to Doug Poppa.