Last Thursday night, the wee morning hours of June 11, a man robbed the main cage of the newly-reopened New York-New York casino on the Las Vegas Strip. He was apprehended less than two hours later, but until Monday, not much was known about what happened except that nobody was injured. Las Vegas police have since filled the public in on some of the details of the bold crime.
41-year-old William Ronald Clark is the man who allegedly committed the robbery. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail, charged with burglary with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon.
A brief discussion in the casino
According to the arrest report, Clark entered New York-New York and approached the main cage at 2:06am Thursday morning. He handed the cashier a note – a classic move that only the best movie heist masters employ – which read, “give me the money.”
Straightforward, to the point, no messing around. Good.
Now, I don’t know if the suspect’s handwriting is terrible or if the cashier was just fucking with him, but she gave the note back and said she couldn’t read it.
The arrest report continued: “The two argued about the note and the suspect placed his right hand inside his hoodie pocket. The suspect stated ‘give me your money no one gets shot.’”
There are no reports that say if Clark really did have a gun or if it was just his finger like when Ray Kinsella “kidnapped” Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, but at that point, the cashier gave in and handed Clark nearly $4,800.
Beware the eye in the sky
He fled, but law enforcement was able to use security camera footage to trace his path to the MGM Grand across Las Vegas Boulevard. They even figured out what room he was in on the 19th floor.
On his way to the MGM Grand, Clark took off his hoodie and threw it in a garbage can. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and a chain underneath. He also removed a surgical mask he had been using presumably to disguise his face (I am guessing he was not overly concerned with the spread of COVID-19).
Upon searching Clark’s hotel room, police found the pants, t-shirt, and surgical mask that could be seen on camera.
How about remaining silent?
So at this point, they pretty much have the guy dead to rights, considering they have video of him leaving New York-New York and have the clothes he was wearing along with video proof that he was wearing them. But then a police officer questioned him.
During questioning, Clark said that he did not commit a robbery or have a gun. That’s great. Good job not admitting to anything. The problem is, though, that the police officer had never actually said anything about a robbery or a gun yet. Oops.
