LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Las Vegas Valley man putting up his own campaign signs was cut with a knife after an ambush by a robber.
The ordeal happened Thursday August 29 after 4 p.m., in a neighborhood east of Pecos Rd. and Twain Avenue.
67-year-old Stanley Vaughan, running as the Republican in Assembly District 20, decided to walk solo in triple-digit temperatures, putting up signs for himself and other candidates. He said a robber demanded his wallet, then cut him with a knife.
“I‘m so focused on getting the cable ties through and getting them through the fence, I wasn’t paying attention to pedestrians and stuff coming through here. I had my back turned. I turned around, caught me by surprise– then he started to lunge at me. I instinctively kicked him and he ran away,” Vaughan said, leaning into his Army training and martial arts skills.
“I jumped into the car, and then I’m realizing I’m bleeding,” he said, rushing home for his wife, a nurse, to treat the wound.
Vaughan described the suspect as a man who seemed disoriented and hadn’t bathed in days, suspecting that he was homeless.
Vaughan said that he doesn’t plan to put signs up alone, anymore.
Crime is a big concern for the decades-long local, who is the security and police liaison for his homeowner’s association two miles away and helps his neighbors file police reports. ” It’s just being a good neighbor. We got to look out for each other,” Vaughan said.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police call the incident isolated, and detectives have not tied the perpetrator to any other incident.
In the area of the incident, the 89121 zip code and across the Southeast Area Command, robberies are down 23.6%, according to online LVMPD statistics.
Assemblyman David Orentlicher of District 20 offered support for his opponent in a statement:
“I am very concerned and saddened to hear about the attack on Mr. Vaughan, and I wish him a speedy recovery. We all should be able to feel safe in our communities, and I am committed to continuing our work to reduce crime across Nevada. I hope the perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.”
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