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In a scene which could only come from the movies, a thief dressed as a delivery person,robbed a Las Vegas casino. Several times. And no one noticed — at first.
Danny Roy Salazar is accused of burglarizing a number of Las Vegas hotels and casinos between January 13, 2018 and June 8. Salazar got away with mattresses, television, prototype auto electronics, beauty products, furniture, light fixtures, iPads and — wait for it — a photo booth
Salazar, 44, would part a box truck outside a casino loading dock. Slipping a lanyard around his neck and picking up a clipboard, he would stroll through a back entrance.
Later he would stroll back out. But this time he had stolen items with him and loaded them into the truck before driving away. On more than one occasion, “helpful” casino employees would even hold the door for him as he carried his booty to the vehicle.
According to Las Vegas police that was a pattern Salazar repeated throughout the valley.
“Salazar’s modus operandi is to drive onto a property, gain access to restricted areas, and help himself,” said an LVPD spokesman.
The complaint filed the week of June 18 charges Salazar with six counts of burglary and another six counts of grand larceny. Booking records connect him to 11 more grand larceny charges. He also faced more burglary and larceny charges, but the district attorney decided not to pursue those charges although no reason was given.
Salazar was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on $120K bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for this Wednesday.
When Salazar was questioned, he didn’t have anything to say. Instead, he buried his face in his hands during the interview and told investigators, “You already got it figured out.”
Nicholas Wooldridge, a noted Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer, said, “Hotel and casino employees must have a badge or a swipe-ID to enter secure areas. The crimes for which Salazar has only been accused, make a case for more security measures like biometric technology.”
“Many resorts have gaping security gaps in the dock areas,” added Wooldridge. “The hotel, or casino, watches the front door, casino floors and guest areas, but security fails to include a thorough vetting of vendors who come through the back door.”
The Takeaway
Security measures did work in detecting a pattern and suspect, but the crimes could have been prevented with tighter security. “The system worked when they figured out what they were looking for,” added Wooldridge.
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