Rio robbery case goes to district court

By Dave Toplikar

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | 11:46 a.m.

Two of three men who have been indicted on charges in connection with the Feb. 24 armed robbery at the Rio Hotel and Casino will have their first appearance soon in Clark County District Court.

Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, a 61-year-old cab driver, will have his initial appearance on the charges at 9 a.m. Thursday before Arraignment Hearing Master Melisa De La Garza. Yamaguchi is in the Clark County Detention Center on $125,000 bail.

Edward Hua Land, a local real estate executive who is out of custody on $125,000 bail, will have his initial arraignment at 9 a.m. May 5 before De La Garza.

Police are still searching for Gao, 45, the man who allegedly committed the robbery. Gao's bail was set at $500,000 when he captured.

Land and Yamaguchi had both been scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning in Las Vegas Justice Court.

However, Judge Deborah Lippis dismissed that hearing because a grand jury indictment has already sent the case to district court.

The grand jury indicted Land, Yamaguchi and Gao on three felony charges: conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon and robbery with the use of a deadly weapon.

Police say Land has admitted to police that he dropped Gao off at the Rio. Police say Gao then walked into the casino wearing a fedora hat, a wig, a fake mustache and sunglasses, stole $33,200 in chips and left in Yamaguchi's taxi.

According to a police report, Land told police that Gao owed him $15,000 and robbed the casino to pay back the debt.

Louis Schneider, Land's attorney, said that Land had nothing to do with the robbery and that he was merely an acquaintance of Gao.

According to police, Gao entered the casino and went to a Pai Gow poker table and began taking chips from the dealer and putting them in a black shoulder bag.

After the dealer hit Gao's hand, Gao allegedly took out a gun, police said. Police said Gao finished the robbery, then left the Rio in a taxi driven by Yamaguchi, who police said also knew of Gao's robbery plans.

After the robbery, Gao and Yamaguchi went to the Terrible's hotel-casino at Flamingo and Paradise roads, where they met Land, police said.

Police said Yamaguchi later confessed his alleged role in the robbery. Police said they recovered $1,000 in casino chips and an unloaded handgun in Yamaguchi's cab.

Authorities also said they also recovered $17,000 worth of chips, a wig and a black bag from Land's home. They said the chips were buried in Land's back yard.

Schneider has said Land realized something was going on, but wasn't part of it and had left the vicinity. He said that the stolen chips were buried in Land's backyard while Land was taking a shower in his home.