Las Vegas prison warden loses job after allegedly biting colleague’s ear during argument at holiday party

A warden at a Las Vegas-area prison has lost his job after being accused of biting a colleague’s ear during an argument at a holiday party.

Manuel Portillo, who ran the Southern Desert Correctional Center, was at the Nevada Department of Corrections holiday party at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino on December 13, 2025, when he got into a physical altercation with a department employee, according to a police report obtained by 8 News Now Investigators.

The unnamed employee told police Portillo, who appeared to be drunk, started cursing at him and chest-bumped him.

“Don’t call me [expletive] [expletive], I’ll beat your [expletive] ass. Do you have a problem? What’s up [expletive], do something,” Portillo told the employee, according to the report.

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During the fight, the employee claimed that Portillo grabbed the back of his neck and bit his ear.

Portillo grabbed his colleague’s chains and said, “I’ll take your chains, [expletive],” the police report said.

The report says that security cameras caught the “battery.” The Independent has reached out to Stations Casinos, which owns Palace Station, but they declined to comment on the alleged altercation.

The Nevada Department of Corrections told The Independent that Portillo no longer works for the department as of last Friday.

“We cannot comment further on personnel matters,” the department said.

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According to his biography, Portillo had been working for the department since 2005. During his time at the department, Portillo moved up from correctional officer to senior correctional officer to sergeant and then lieutenant. He also intermittently oversaw the Southern Correctional Emergency Response Team during his tenure.

Aside from his work with the department, Portillo served in the Air Force, completing five deployments to Kuwait, Pakistan, and Oman.

It’s unclear whether Portillo has or will be charged in connection with the incident.

The Independent has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for comment.