Police Officer Accused of Sexual Coercion Crime in Casino Parking

Wendell Phillips, a 38-year-old man who had been hired by Clark County’s Office of Public Safety in 2023, was accused of allegedly threatening a woman that she could be sent to prison if she did not allow him to engage in sexual intercourse with her in a casino parking garage.

The alleged event occurred in October when the woman reported the allegations to a Metro police officer near the intersection of Rancho Drive and Cheyenne Avenue.

Now, Phillips, who was released from employment on November 16 on the day of his arrest, is facing a number of charges, including misconduct of a public officer, oppression under color of office, and coercion with force or threat of force.

The Woman Initially Reported an Illegal Shooting and Domestic Battery Incident 

The woman informed the Metro police officer that she had originally reported an illegal shooting and domestic battery incident that had occurred earlier in the day to Phillips, “who said he was a state trooper.” 

The incident was later corroborated east of the Las Vegas Strip. The woman claimed that Phillips promised he would find her a job and a place to live provided she had sex with him. 

After driving around Sunset Park for about 15 minutes, according to the woman’s statement, Phillips drove to a secluded area of the park, parked his car, opened the rear passenger door, and began unzipping his pants when he was interrupted by a detective he engaged in a conversation with. 

Phillips then asked the woman to leave the vehicle and stay in a different area of the park. She reportedly started texting and emailing her mother, telling her that she was in the “bathroom stall at the park” and that it might be the last time they would speak, as she was very “unsure” about her future.

Phillips later returned to pick her up in what the woman believed was his personal vehicle and drove to Sante Fe Station.

On the road, he told her that she now belonged to him and that he could get her a job and provide her with housing and food. 

Threatened with Three Years in Prison

He also took a picture of her identification and threatened her that she could spend three years in prison on charges of theft and prostitution, given her previous arrests for stealing that Phillips was aware of. 

The two then allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse in the casino’s garage, according to police statements. The woman explained that he had promised that all her legal problems would go away if she agreed to “have sex with him as many times” as he told her.  

In mid-October, a former Las Vegas police officer was sentenced for three major Las Vegas casino heists amassing over $160,000 between November 2021 and February 2022. 

Also at the end of last month, a Las Vegas casino fraudster was sentenced to one year in prison after he allegedly defrauded casinos of more than $1 million.