November trial set for casino robbery suspects

Aaron Clemens

Tuesday, July 25, 2000 | 9:51 a.m.

Two suspects in the armed robbery of the main cashier and change booth at the Bellagio hotel-casino will continue to be held without bond pending trial on robbery, attempted murder and grand larceny charges.

Judge Kathy Hardcastle on Monday set a tentative trial date of Nov. 6 for Oscar Cisneros Sanchez, 23, and Jose Manuel Vigoa, 41. The judge agreed with defense attorneys who said that the trial date may need to be pushed back.

Deputy Public Defender Steve Immerman said his client, Vigoa, waives his right to a speedy trial because his defense must go to federal court to review information from another ongoing investigation involving his client.

Also, Immerman expects 2 1/2 times the witnesses at trial than appeared at the preliminary hearing which would increase preparation time.

Special Public Defender Phil Kohn, who represents Sanchez, said he has read in the newspaper that more charges are coming. If they do, he would need more time to prepare for trial.

Police have identified Vigoa and Sanchez as suspects in a string of armored truck robberies at the MGM, Mandalay Bay and Desert Inn hotel-casinos, as well as a robbery at the New York-New York similar to the Bellagio heist.

At the Desert Inn robbery, two armed transport guards were wounded, and during a similar robbery at a Henderson shopping center, armed guards Richard Sosa and Gary Prestige II were killed during a gunbattle. Prestige shot one of his killers in the leg, police said.

Sanchez has a leg wound and DNA tests have matched his blood with that found in the getaway van from the Henderson robbery, according to police.