Couple Facing Felony Charges for Allegedly Having Sex on Las Vegas Ferris wheel

By: CBS58 Staff

Posted: Feb 11, 2016 10:33 AM CDT | Updated: Feb 11, 2016 11:48 AM CDT

LAS VEGAS (CBS NEWS) -- A Houston man and a New York woman are facing felony charges after authorities say they were recorded having sex in public during a 30-minute ride in a glass-enclosed cabin on a Ferris wheel 550 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.

A Las Vegas judge on Tuesday set a March 9 date to see if the charges against Phillip Frank Panzica III and Chloe Scordianos can be resolved without trial.

The two were arrested Feb. 5 after riding alone together in one cabin on the High Roller.

Police say surveillance cameras captured the act, security warned the couple to stop, and people in another car shot cellphone video.

Images haven't been made public.

Panzica's attorney, Bennair Bateman, declined comment.

Scordianos' lawyer, Chris Rasmussen, says his client believed the couple had an expectation of privacy.