Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Rio casino robbery suspects’ trial delayed until August

Third defendant still at large, prosecutors think he has fled U.S.

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Hiroyuki Yamaguchi appears in court Tuesday morning, April 26, 2011, with an interpreter at the Regional Justice Center on charges stemming from the Feb. 24, 2011, Rio robbery.

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Steven Gao

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Edward Land makes an appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court Tuesday, March 1, 2011. Land and Hiroyuki Yamaguchi are charged in connection with the robbery at the Rio Thursday, Feb. 28, 2011. Authorities are still trying to find Steven Gao, who they say committed the robbery.

A trial for two men who are accused of taking part in the Rio casino robbery in February 2011 has been rescheduled for August in Clark County District Court.

Judge Jerome Tao reset the trial at the request of attorneys for Hiroyuki Yamaguchi and Edward Land for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 6 in district court.

Yamaguchi, who police say was driving the getaway taxi, and Edward Land, who police say dropped off another man who actually robbed the casino at gunpoint, both have entered not guilty pleas.

Each is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon in the theft of $33,200 in chips from a pai gow poker table at the Rio.

Both men are out of custody on $125,000 bail. Yamaguchi appeared at the brief hearing with an interpreter and his attorney.

Land did not appear at today’s hearing, but his attorney, Louis Schneider, asked the judge to waive his client’s appearance because Land apparently did not think he needed to appear. However, Tao set another separate hearing for Land at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 26 to make sure Land could be informed in person about the new trial date.

Authorities are still searching for 45-year-old Steven Gao, who they say was the man who went into the Rio's casino and committed the armed robbery.

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.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Susan Roger told the judge that Gao has fled the jurisdiction. His bail has been set at $500,000 if he is captured. Those familiar with the case say privately they think Gao has fled to China.

Roger has said in a previous court hearing the robbery was pre-meditated and pre-planned. She also said that Gao and Yamaguchi worked together and had made plans to go to the Rio at 3 a.m.

She said police have video and audio from Yamaguchi's taxi that, at 3 a.m., when they were leaving the Rio, Gao is telling Yamaguchi that the Rio was too crowded at that time and that "was a practice run." She said they returned at 4:40 a.m., when the robbery occurred.

When Yamaguchi was first captured, he told police he didn't know who Gao was, but later changed his story after police pointed out to him he had covered the taxi's camera lens, she said.

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