LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 64-year-old Las Vegas man with an extensive criminal history faces 11 new charges after he allegedly tried to kill his friend by firing a shotgun into his car.
According to the arrest report, Thomas Dennis got into an argument with his friend on Dec. 17 just after midnight when the friend showed up at his home on 13th Street near Maryland Parkway and I-15 to check on him. The friend told police he was concerned about Dennis because he sounded sick and in distress during a phone call.
The friend said the two men got into an argument and Dennis pulled out a shotgun and fired twice as he drove away shattering the car’s back window, police documents stated. The man whose name is redacted in the report said he feared for his life and he called 911.
Dennis, who is prohibited from possessing a weapon because of his previous convictions, admitted to damaging the car but told officers he used a pole, not a gun, and he did that when his friend attempted to reverse toward him, the report said.
According to police documents, Dennis has been arrested 156 times in Clark County for various crimes including drug possession, illegally having firearms and domestic violence. His most recent arrest was in Feb. 2023. He also has 11 prior convictions for drugs, larceny, and illegally having firearms dating back to 1980.
Dennis is charged with attempted murder, contempt of court, assault with the use of a deadly weapon (2 counts), discharging a gun into an occupied vehicle (2 counts), owning/possessing a gun by a prohibited person, using/possessing a stun device by a mentally ill person.
Dennis is currently being held at Clark County Detention Center and scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 17 for a preliminary hearing.
