Guard shot during rash of coin robberies

Keith Paul

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 11:25 a.m.

A coin truck security guard was shot Sunday night during an attempted robbery, and about 15 minutes later another truck was robbed, continuing the series of slot route heists.

A security guard was sitting in a coin truck waiting for a driver to meet him at Charleston Boulevard and Arville Street, police say. A man walked up to the van and banged on the driver's side window with a gun about 8:30 p.m Sunday. The robber threatened the security guard and demanded money, Lt. John Alamshaw of Metro Police's robbery unit said.

The security guard, who was driving a coin truck but had no money, drove off. The gunman fired one shot. The bullet went through the van and struck the driver in the left arm. The security guard was able to continue driving to a nearby parking lot, Alamshaw said.

The gunman apparently got into a car with other men and drove off, Alamshaw said.

About 15 minutes later, a coin truck driver was robbed outside a bar in the 4300 block of North Rancho Drive.

Two men, one with a gun, approached the driver about 8:45 p.m. The men went into the truck and took an undisclosed amount of money, police said. The two men then fled, leaving the slot route driver unharmed.

The two robberies are not believed to be connected. Police said that shows there is more than just one group of robbers responsible for the series of coin truck holdups.

The robberies were different than the more than 10 other coin truck robberies in the past few months. The robbers on North Rancho Drive didn't attempt to force the driver into the truck and drive to a nearby location before taking the money, Alamshaw said. In the Charleston Boulevard attempt, there was only one robber and he demanded money instead of trying to take the van.

"All of these are different to some extent," Alamshaw said. "I'm sure some (of the robbers) have committed multiple robberies, but there are several different groups."

A third weekend coin truck robbery was broken up by an off-duty North Las Vegas Police officer about 5:30 a.m Saturday.

North Las Vegas Police made two arrests in connection with an attempted coin truck robbery because of Officer Jim Warden's reaction to a suspicious situation as he arrived at the Sporting Chance bar, 2800 W. Craig Road.

Warden noticed a car parked near the bar at a coin operated car wash, and then on the way inside made note of a coin truck driver entering the business, North Las Vegas Police spokesman Chris Larotonda said.

Shortly after the driver left the bar, Warden went outside to make sure the driver made it back to his truck. The officer came across an attempted robbery, Larotonda said.

An armed man was demanding money from the driver, and Warden identified himself as a police officer. The would-be robber fled to the car Warden had seen before entering the bar. Warden used his cellular phone to call police dispatch and followed the car until patrol units could catch up to the car.

The three occupants ditched the vehicle at Kings Avenue and Englestad Street. Police were able to arrest Jovie Edwards, 24, and Shandra Carroll, 23, but one man escaped.

Alamshaw noted that robbery also differed from the most recent robberies because the robbers demanded the money right away instead of forcing the driver back into the van and driving to another location.

"This weekend we had three different groups," he said.