Bail set at $75,000 in casino attack

COLFAX – Phillip Nguyen, a former Washington State University student, appeared in Whitman County Superior Court on Monday afternoon to hear that he could face attempted murder charges for attacking a co-worker with a meat cleaver at a Pullman casino Sunday.

He was wearing a Mr. Z’s Poker Room T-shirt and spent most of the hearing looking down with his hands in his lap. He told the judge he moved to Pullman from Seattle about five years ago. He also said he had been working at Zeppoz/Mr. Z’s Casino for about four months.

“It’s a good job,” he said. In his request for a court-appointed attorney, Nguyen said that he earned about $500 a month. “I like everybody there,” he added.

Judge David Frazier said that Nguyen, 39, may not have a job anymore, and that “Mr. Wilkins probably has some questions about how well you like him.”

Jarold Wilkins was the employee Nguyen allegedly attacked with a knife. Nguyen was at the casino on his day off drinking and playing cards, witnesses said. He grew upset over his gambling losses and was swearing at other players when Wilkins asked him to leave, witnesses told police. When he refused to go, employees ejected him from the business, according to reports.

Nguyen allegedly went to his car and returned a minute later with a meat cleaver, which he carried into the casino and swung at Wilkins’s neck. Wilkins blocked the blow and was not injured. Other employees wrested the knife away from Nguyen and again forced him out of the building before calling police, reports state.

The officer who wrote the probable cause affidavit for the arrest noted that witness statements matched up with video of the incident recorded by the establishment’s surveillance cameras.

After being thrown out a second time, Nguyen fled the scene but was captured about 15 minutes later when he headed back to his Toyota Celica in the Zeppoz parking lot, said Sgt. Dan Hargraves.

At the time of his arrest, he told officers that he was a cook and had carried the knife into the business to cook with, said Hargraves.

“You are before the court on some very serious allegations,” Frazier told Nguyen, listing attempted murder and first-degree burglary. He noted that the felonies could bring a sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

Though he has lived in Pullman for several years, Nguyen wasn’t in school and didn’t seem to have strong ties to the community, noted the judge before setting the bond at $75,000. “I have some very serious concerns – public safety concerns,” said the judge explaining the high bail.

Trent House, general manager at Zeppoz, confirmed that Nguyen was no longer employed there. House added that the business was cooperating with police in their investigation. “We’re just happy no one got hurt,” he said.

Nguyen remained in Whitman County Jail on Monday night. Prosecutors have until Thursday morning to file charges against him before statute requires that he be released.