Police continue to search for additional heist suspects

Robert Macy

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 | 2:48 a.m.

Authorities are continuing the search for more suspects in a series of brazen casino and armored car heists.

Meanwhile, Henderson police continue efforts to tie the March slaying of two security guards to last week's arrest of two men in the Las Vegas casino heists.

"We believe there are at least two additional suspects," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. John Alamshaw said Wednesday.

Oscar Cisneros, 23, and Jose Vigoa, 40, were arrested last week in connection with armored truck heists and casino robberies at the Bellagio, New York-New York, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and Desert Inn hotel-casinos over the past two years.

The two were tracked down by officers after they were identified on surveillance tapes of the June 3 Bellagio robbery, in which $160,000 in cash and chips was taken from the casino cage and a change booth.

Alamshaw has said evidence links the pair to the five robberies, and authorities are trying to determine if they were also involved in a March 3 robbery of an armored car at a Ross Dress for Less store in Henderson. Armored car guards Richard Sosa, 47, and Gary Prestidge, 23, were shot and killed in the incident.

"In 22 years in law enforcement, these are probably the most arrogant suspects I've ever come across," Alamshaw said Wednesday. "That's why they kept robbing in town, rather than leaving here. Even though they were caught on video, they were extremely arrogant, they thought they would never be caught."

In his initial court appearance on Monday, Vigoa made an obscene gesture at officers and mouthed obscenities.

Henderson police have gone to court seeking to conduct blood tests on Cisneros and Vigoa. It is believed one of the robbers was wounded when Prestidge returned fire in the March 3 shooting.