A Hollywood celebrity’s pet project nearly cost the life of a Las Vegas man. This is according to a new lawsuit.
This lawsuit is based on a horrible shooting that took place one year ago. Rashawn Gaston Anderson, 24, entered the ShangHai Taste on December 20, 2021, and opened fire. Chengyan Wang was a waiter at this establishment at the time. He sustained seven to eleven gunshot wounds. Gaston-Anderson pleaded guilty to attempted murder with deadly weapons and mayhem using a deadly weapon in connection with the shooting. He was sentenced to seven to 18 years imprisonment.
Wang survived the shooting despite life-threatening injuries. He has filed a lawsuit against several defendants including Gaston-Anderson’s nonprofit organization. It claims that the Bail Project is a “national” organization that provides bail assistance for thousands of people across the country. The Bail Project opened its Las Vegas office in February 2021. It posted $3,000 to Gaston-Anderson six days before Wang was shot.
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According to Wang’s lawsuit, TBP committed a number of mistakes that led to the shooting. Gaston-Anderson had a long criminal record that included convictions for attempted grand theft in Las Vegas, New York felony burglary, and car theft in Illinois. Gaston-Anderson was arrested twice in the weeks before the shooting for two different charges. He was arrested in November 2021 for pandering and carrying concealed weapons and released on bail. He was then arrested for theft and burglary the next day. Based on the recommendation from the district attorney, Amy Chelini, the Las Vegas Justice Court judge, set Gaston-Anderson’s bail at $3,000 TBP paid the $3,000 bail on December 14 and Gaston-Anderson shot Wang on December 20.
Wang also claims that TBP was not registered in Nevada as a bail agent, as required by law.
Kory Kaplan, Wang’s lawyer, stated that “they’re going around like a bailing agent bailing out people out with little or no due diligence.”
Wang is now suing Gaston-Anderson and U.S. Hui De Real Estate Investment Corp. for permanent injuries. According to the lawsuit, inadequate security was a key issue. Wang seeks $15,000 from each defendant in the lawsuit for pain and suffering.
T Bail Project, which claims to be “on a mission to end cash bail,” shuttered its Las Vegas office in December for “restructuring” purposes, an organization spokesperson stated. Celebrities Richard Branson, Danny Glover, and John Legend all sit on the group’s advisory board.
