The robber shot at four police officers after trying to carjack a luxury car in Bellagio’s valet parking area.
A man who was shot while trying to rob Bellagio has died in the hospital. The would-be robber entered the Las Vegas Strip casino around 9:45pm on Friday night and demanded money from a caged poker area, according to Metro Police Cap. Nichole Splinter.
The man eventually fled out the north doors of Bellagio and tried to carjack a vehicle which had pulled into the valet parking area. When the man was confronted by four Las Vegas police officers, he fired his gun at the police.
One of the shots hit a police officer in the vest. A second officer returned fire and hit the suspect. Both the policeman and the robber were transported to a local hospital. The robber died around 2pm on Saturday, March 16.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) has not released the name of the man in the incident yet. According to LVMPD policy, the police release the name of a deceased suspect after 48 hours. Readers should expect the name to be released on Monday. At the time of the Saturday news conference, the LVMPD said it would hold another press briefing in 72 hours, so the next full briefing should occur on Tuesday.
Robber Had Been in Critical Condition
The police officer who was shot was treated and released, no doubt saved from critical injury by his Kevlar vest. The suspect was admitted to the hospital while in “critical condition”.
The robber was under the hospital’s care roughly 15 hours, but the medical staff was unable to save his life. He would have faced a long incarceration not only for the robbery and carjacking, but attempted murder of a police officer. Still, he likely would have been released from prison at a point years down the road.
Bellagio Pig Mask Robbery: March 2017
Friday’s robbery attempt was by no means the first time someone tried to rob a Las Vegas Strip casino, or even Bellagio. At one time a couple of years ago, four separate individuals or groups tried to rob Vegas Strip casinos at gunpoint. It should be noted that all four attempts failed. As the most lucrative businesses in the city, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police patrol the Las Vegas Strip 24 hours a day and are within a minute or two of any casino on the Strip.
In March 2017, a man named Sebastian Gonzales tried to burglarize a Rolex retail store inside the Bellagio complex while wearing a pig mask. His accomplices also wore masks (cat, panda).
After his arrest, Gonzalez told Metro police that organized crime members in Mexico threatened to harm his family if he did not take part in the burglary attempt. The 20-year old said he travled from Mexico City to Las Vegas to commit the heist, which would have netted around $2 million from the high-dollar watches they planned to steal. To conduct the robbery, Gonzalez was given a pig mask, phony guns, ear pieces, and a fake ID.
Biker Bandit Robbery: December 2010
Anthony Carleo, the so-called Biker Bandit, is the most famous case of attempted robbery at Bellagio. In December 2010, Carleo robbed $1.5 million from a high-stakes craps table, then ran through the casino with his motorcycle helmet on to obscure his face.
Eventually, Anthony Carleo escaped on his motorcycle. He eventually was caught and sentenced to 9 years in prison.
