LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man accused of robbing a Summerlin nail salon armed with a fire extinguisher was due to be sentenced next week in a different robbery case and was on parole for similar incidents from several years ago, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Brandon Potter, 27, faces charges including robbery and burglary of a business for an incident Monday, April 28, at Rio Nails, records said. Three masked men robbed employees and customers at the nail salon, police said, later suspecting Potter as one of the men involved.
Potter’s charges are enhanced because at least one alleged victim is older than 60.
At the time of his arrest two days after the robbery, Potter was awaiting sentencing on one case and on parole for a string of robberies from 2018, documents said.
One of the men sprayed the business with a fire extinguisher while the two others grabbed purses and cell phones, police said. Metro police later located an SUV they suspect the trio left in. The SUV was rented to Potter, documents said.
An hour before the nail salon robbery, a similar robbery occurred in a business parking lot where a man stole from a couple with the aid of a fire extinguisher, documents said.
During an interview with police, Potter denied taking part in the robberies. It was not clear Thursday who the other two suspects were.
When police contacted a family member of Potter’s to ask about his whereabouts, that person told police, “What did he do now?”
In August 2024, Potter, armed with a gun, stole a phone from a woman, leading to his arrest on a robbery charge. He later pleaded guilty to robbery and was due to be sentenced in that case on May 15. As part of the plea deal in that case, prosecutors agreed to a sentence of probation; however, it was not clear what would happen now that Potter faced new charges.
For his 2018 case, a judge sentenced him to 30-90 months in prison. Because the parole board granted him parole and he served his sentence, his 2024 charge did not affect his 2018 case, and he was not remanded into custody for a violation.
Potter remained in custody Thursday as a judge denied him bail.
