Victim seeking return of stolen money

Erica D. Johnson

Monday, Dec. 29, 2003 | 11:24 a.m.

A Las Vegas man says Clark County has not returned money stolen from him during a home robbery, even though a majority of it was later recovered by police.

According to a lawsuit filed in District Court in October by attorney Leo Flangas, Shahram Habibian was selling his home when two potential buyers robbed him at gunpoint.

The men stole $10,000 in cash and a semi-automatic handgun from Habibian's safe in the December 2002 robbery.

Metro Police later arrested and charged Enrique Velasco in connection with the robbery and recovered about $9,400. The second suspect was never apprehended, according to police records.

Clark County officials held the recovered money as evidence. Velasco has since died, according to the suit. The Clark County coroner's office said he committed suicide April 16.

Because Velasco is dead, "the criminal case against him is now closed and there is no longer any reason to hold said monies as evidence," the suit states. Electronic court records show robbery and burglary charges against Velasco were dismissed in June.

The county has agreed to give the money back to Habibian, Flangas said, but the defendant's attorney must be notified first that the case will officially be closed. He said he filed the suit to expedite the process.

"My understanding is (the county) is going to have no opposition," he said.

Being without the money for more than a year has caused Habibian financial difficulty, Flangas said.

"Ten thousand dollars is huge to people," he said. "Of course it will have an effect on him."

Stacey Welling, Clark County spokeswoman, declined to comment on the case, noting that Clark County officials do not comment on pending litigation.

Officer Jose Montoya, Metro spokesman, said he also could comment on the details of Habibian's case. He said police generally hold on to money or other items confiscated in robberies until the criminal case is closed.

The case may not be closed yet because one suspect was never apprehended, Montoya said. Everything confiscated from a suspect is eventually used as evidence at trial, he said. The evidence is kept safe in Metro's evidence vault until the case goes to trial, Montoya said.

"We have to use that money in court to show what we recovered," he said.

When a suspect is still at large a case is considered still open, Montoya said.

"In some cases, we have information on the suspect's whereabouts but we just haven't been able to apprehend him yet," he said. "He may also be linked to other robberies in town. Once that's finalized then the victim would get their money back."

Habibian is seeking the $9,400 recovered as well as attorneys' fees. He also is seeking interest at the statutory interest rate from the date police recovered the money.

The civil case has been assigned to District Judge Michael Douglas but not been scheduled for hearings yet.

According to the suit, Habibian arrived at his home on Dec. 4, 2002, and was confronted by two men with guns in his garage.

The suspects forced Habibian into the home at gunpoint and tied him up with duct tape next to Vahag Stepanyan, the real-estate agent who had been showing the home.

The men asked Habibian for his safe combination "and fearing for his life, plaintiff gave the combination to them," the suit states.

The suspects could not open the safe, however, and they forced Habibian to open it for them. The safe contained $10,000 in cash and a semi-automatic handgun.

The men took the money and the gun and fled the scene.