Public hearing sought for robbery suspect

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001 | 11:37 a.m.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in a security-heightened casino robbery case agree that the public needs to be allowed into an upcoming hearing.

Last month District Judge Kathy Hardcastle, amid safety concerns, held a secret hearing in a high-profile case at the Clark County Detention Center instead of in her courtroom. The public was not notified of the last-minute change of venue.

The case, involving Bellagio robbery suspects Jose Manuel Vigoa and Luis Suarez, now is set for another hearing Feb. 21, and both sides this time want to make sure the public will be there.

"I don't think we should be treated any differently than anybody else," Vigoa's attorney, Drew Christensen, said Wednesday.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the lead prosecutor in the case, said he also believes the public should have access to the hearing.

"There are some constitutional issues that need to be examined prior to the next hearing," he said.

Both sides plan to sit down with Hardcastle, who is out of town, when she returns to Las Vegas next week.

Jail officials have expressed concerns that Vigoa and Suarez -- also suspects in a string of other violent Strip heists and a botched armored truck robbery that killed two guards -- pose security risks. Police reportedly received intelligence information that associates of the suspects might try to spring them during a court appearance.

A July preliminary hearing for Vigoa and another co-defendant Oscar Cisneros Sanchez, who later committed suicide in the jail, was held in Hardcastle's courtroom under some of the tightest security measures ever witnessed at the courthouse. Metro SWAT officers were stationed in the courtroom and officers with assault rifles roamed the courthouse, as the hearing took place.

At the time, some courthouse officials objected to the heavy presence of armed officers inside the building, fearing innocent bystanders could be harmed if a gun-battle occurred.

District Court Administrator Chuck Short said those concerns were hashed out at the time, and it was decided that the use of SWAT officers would continue in future courthouse hearings if police felt they were needed.

"For some reason, law enforcement sees this as a high security case," Short said. "When Metro says you need to be concerned about security, you listen."

At last month's hearing, SWAT officers were placed inside a fifth floor conference room at the detention center, where the proceeding took place. Vigoa was escorted to the hearing wearing, handcuffs, chains, oversized mittens and a stun belt.

Christensen objected to the Jan. 3 hearing, which was called to hear arguments on his writ attacking the Bellagio charges against Vigoa, according to a 24-page transcript obtained by the Sun.

"We were informed yesterday afternoon by your bailiff of the unusual circumstances of the hearing taking place in jail," Christensen told Hardcastle. "We feel compelled to object just because Mr. Vigoa is being treated very differently than any of the other defendants in the Clark County Detention Center."

Christensen said his client had a right to a public hearing.

"We were told to keep this a secret from the press and told not to let anybody know when it was to take place," Christensen said. "Obviously, this puts my client in a dim light. He is innocent until proven guilty. He has a right to make an appearance in an appropriate courtroom."

The Feb. 21 hearing has been scheduled on a motion by Roger to compel Vigoa and Suarez to have their faces photographed and videotaped.

The FBI has agreed to make high-tech comparisons of those images to those captured on surveillance videos at the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, New York-New York and MGM Grand hotel-casinos. Roger is trying to tie the suspects to the other Strip robberies.

"The state is in possession several hotel surveillance videotapes that memorialize the suspects' facial and physical features," Roger wrote in his five-page motion.

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation has state of the art technology that enables it to produce a computerized composite of the suspects in the surveillance tapes and the defendants' photographic exemplars.

"This advanced technology provides accurate information that generates incriminating evidence for the guilty or supplies exculpatory proof for the innocent."

Though Roger and Christensen agree the public should have access to the upcoming hearing, they have different opinions about what kind of access.

Roger wants the hearing held at the detention center again, but this time in the presence of videocameras that could broadcast the proceeding back to reporters and the public at the courthouse.

Christensen prefers a courthouse hearing.

District Judge Michael Cherry, who has been serving as a spokesman for the judges, agrees with the defense lawyer.

"The easiest thing to do is to bring everybody into the courtroom," Cherry said.

District Court Administrator Chuck Short said access to court hearings, particularly by the media, is the presiding judge's call.

In this case, it will be Hardcastle's decision when she returns to Las Vegas next week.

In the meantime, Short said, the court's administration will continue to listen to any security concerns about this case.

"The court has a fundamental responsibility to ensure that the public is safe and every precaution we can take is taken," he said.