Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Witnesses describe fatal robbery

Two of the four men who witnessed a fatal Henderson robbery testified Tuesday they thought one of the men was white and a third witness testified that he thought one of the suspects was black.

Carlos Silva, Michael Priester, Scott Jones and James Szwankowski were nearby when two men opened fire on armored truck guards during a robbery at the Ross Dress for Less store in Henderson in March 2000.

Prosecutors believe the fatal shooting and robbery were part of a crime spree carried out by Jose Vigoa, 41, and Oscar Sanchez Cisneros, with the aid of Pedro Duarte, 37, and Luis Suarez, 37.

This week Chief Deputy District Attorneys David Roger and Frank Coumou are trying to convince Justice of the Peace James Bixler they have enough evidence to try Vigoa in connection with the Ross killings and three casino robberies.

They are also trying to have Duarte bound over for trial in connection with a June 1999 robbery at the Desert Inn.

Vigoa and Suarez have already been bound over for trial in connection with the June 2000 robbery of the Bellagio. Cisneros, 23, committed suicide in the Clark County Detention Center in October 2000.

Metro detective Gordon Martines on Tuesday said he immediately suspected that Vigoa and Duarte were responsible for the Ross robbery-slayings because of a series of similarities between them and the Desert Inn robbery.

Vigoa and Duarte had already been identified as suspects in the Desert Inn robbery, because Duarte's vehicle was found near where a getaway vehicle had been abandoned.

In each robbery two men in dark clothes and armed with assault rifles got into a shootout with armored truck guards and then made a getaway in a stolen vehicle with stolen plates.

Silva and Priester each testified, however, that at least one of the robbers was either white or had a light complexion. Szwankowski said he assumed one of the men was black because he saw no contrast between his face and the dark clothing he wore.

Jones didn't make a determination about the men's races.

Vigoa, Duarte and Suarez, who are married to sisters, are Cuban. Cisneros' family is from Mexico.

The prosecutors have said all along their case against the four men is highly circumstantial. Roger compared it to a large jigsaw puzzle with many pieces that must be put together.

Should Bixler order trial, Roger and Coumou expect to prove that:

* DNA tests linked Suarez, Vigoa and Cisneros to ski masks found in a search of Cisneros' home, and linked Duarte, Vigoa and Cisneros to water bottles found in the Desert Inn robbery.

* Blood found at the Henderson murder scene matched Cisneros, who admitted he was shot in the leg during the robbery.

* An FBI agent and a federal probation officer identified Vigoa as the man seen on videotape robbing two of the casinos. Witnesses to those robberies and others said Vigoa matches the description of one of the robbers, right down to the way he walks.

* Detectives noted a pattern of spending on high-priced items among the suspects after each robbery, despite their low incomes, and well as large amounts of cash found on Vigoa and Cisneros when they were arrested.

* A revolver stolen from a Mandalay Bay guard and used in the Henderson double murder/robbery was found in Cisneros' home.

Roger and Coumou are expected to wrap up the preliminary hearing today with six final witnesses, including a DNA expert.

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