Man denies lewdness charge

District Judge Dave Gamble set a Sept. 15 trial date for a Las Vegas man who pleaded not guilty Tuesday to an allegation that he improperly touched a cocktail waitress at a Stateline casino.

Russell Darrin Bricker, 39, pleaded not guilty to a charge of open or gross lewdness. He was indicted May 9 by the Douglas County grand jury.

If convicted, he faces up to one year in Douglas County Jail and a $2,000 fine on the gross misdemeanor.

The alleged victim accused Bricker of touching her March 29 while she was working inside Club Cabo Wabo at Harveys Casino.

She said she was rearranging tables in the club and from behind, Bricker ran his hand under her skirt between her legs and pulled her skirt up to the point where her buttock showed.

She told the Douglas County grand jury that she slapped Bricker so hard she knocked him over. The woman testified that as he lay face down on the floor, she pulled him up by the neck of his leather jacket and shoved him toward casino security guards, asking for his arrest.

Bricker works in surveillance at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas, according to reports.

His lawyer, Scott Freeman, requested Tuesday that the trial date be set out to give him time to collect information on behalf of his client.

In a statement Bricker made to deputies at his arrest, he reportedly admitted touching the woman's underwear but denied making contact with her skin.

He told deputies he "did not know in my state that she was an employee, my intentions were not to offend her in any way."

Bricker had a .15 preliminary breath test at the jail, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 for driving in Nevada.

A deputy told the grand jury that Bricker was intoxicated but coherent, and the suspect volunteered that he thought the woman was a patron of the lounge, therefore it was permissible to touch her.

Bricker reportedly asked a deputy about filing a battery charge against the waitress, and said all he could remember was being hit and knocked to the floor, according to the grand jury transcript.