In the heat of a Las Vegas afternoon on July 19, 2018, a verbal dispute escalated into a fatal encounter for 32-year-old Keith Friese, a White male and a disabled Army veteran. The incident unfolded in the parking lot of the Fun City Motel, just off the Las Vegas Strip. Friese, who was originally from Minnesota, was a man consumed by wanderlust, often traveling to warmer climates.
His latest journey to Las Vegas tragically became his last.
The man he argued with was Spencer Trevathan, a 29-year-old off-duty security guard and fellow Army veteran who lived at the motel. Surveillance footage captured the moments leading up to the shooting. Trevathan was initially on a second-floor balcony exchanging words with Friese, who was in the alley below. The argument's cause remains unclear, and it is not believed the two men knew each other prior to the incident.
The situation intensified when Trevathan descended the stairs and confronted Friese in the alley. The video showed Trevathan shoving Friese with both hands. When Friese pushed him back, Trevathan drew a handgun from a holster on his hip and fired a single shot into Friese's chest. Friese, who was unarmed, stumbled away.
Following the shooting, Trevathan holstered his weapon, called 911, and reportedly rendered aid to Friese. An employee from a nearby business also performed CPR before paramedics arrived. Friese was transported to University Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries approximately 20 minutes after the altercation. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers arrested Spencer Trevathan at the scene. He was charged with murder and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
