March 5, 2022- 9:24 a.m.
Las Vegas police officer is being held on charges that he held up a casino over the weekend — and prosecutors told the judge he is a suspect in two other, similar armed robberies.
Caleb Rogers, 33, is being held on two charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, one charge of burglary with a gun and one charge of attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, according to jail records, after a robbery at the Rio Casino Sportsbook early on Sunday morning, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
According to an arrest report reviewed by the newspaper, police allege that a man they’ve since identified as Rogers ran up to two casino employees at 6:56 a.m. on Sunday as they were attempting to stock the sportsbook’s cash drawer with $119,000 in cash in a plastic bag.
“Get away from the money. I’ve got a gun. I will shoot you!” Rogers allegedly told the two employees. He then allegedly shoved the female employee to the ground and said, “This isn’t your money. It’s not worth losing your life over it.”
The robber then began shoving the cash into a bag concealed in his jacket and, while he was distracted, the employee who was shoved to the ground pulled alarms to alert security.
The robber noticed that the woman had pulled the alarms, jumped over the counter and began to flee the casino having secured just over $78,000 in cash.
Casino security tackled the robber in a driveway leading to the property’s parking garage, at which point he allegedly removed a silver revolver from the waistband of his pants and pointed it at the security guards.
“Are you willing to be shot over this? I’m going to shoot you! Go ahead and shoot me now!” Rogers allegedly told the security guards who tackled him.
One of the guards allegedly grabbed the gun to stop Rogers from firing and, as other officers joined the struggle, they pried the gun from his hand.
When the police arrived, Rogers allegedly told them he was a fellow Las Vegas police officer. He eventually asked for an attorney.
Police say they removed a black drawstring bag from Rogers at the scene and returned $78,898 to the casino after photographing the cash. They also recovered a surveillance video allegedly showing Rogers driving an unregistered blue Chevrolet minivan onto the casino property.
At Monday’s court hearing, prosecutors told the judge that Rogers is now a suspect in robberies at both the nearby Red Rock Resort and the Aliante Hotel.
Police said last year that the Red Rock Resort was robbed on Nov. 12, 2021 around 3:40 a.m. by a “white male adult between 30 and 40 years old, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, and with a medium build.”
Police released an image of a suspect in a Jan. 6 robbery “at Aliante Parkway and north 215” — the location of the Aliante Hotel. He was described as “white or Hispanic adult male of medium build, about 5’8” to 5’10” tall.”
After Monday’s hearing, the judge reaffirmed Rogers’ previously-set $250,000 bail, and said that, if he did make bail, a hearing would be held to determine the source of the money, according to the Journal-Review.
