A police officer is the main suspect in Rio sportsbook robbery

Jon Pill
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Posted on: February 28, 2022 12:41 am EST

At 7 AM on Sunday morning, the sportsbook at the Rio Hotel and Casino called the police out to an armed robbery where Caleb Rogers was arrested.

According to the local CBS affiliate, Rogers is part of the Vegas Metro Police. He joined the Metro police in 2015 where he works in the Community Policing Division of the Bolden Area Command. This put the arresting officers in the awkward position of having to haul in one of their own.

Reports have Officer Rogers being charged with one count of burglary with a firearm, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon.

This is not the first high-profile arrest at the Rio. During last year’s WSOP, a suspect was arrested at the Rio for alleged robberies conducted elsewhere. His MO was supposed to involve using a fake bomb, an example of which was found in the suspect’s car.

2021 also saw a dramatic casino heist in Korea where $13.4 million went missing. And last month, Texas saw a robbery foiled at a poker room by a security guard who decided to really earn his paycheque.

Despite this, Las Vegas Locally described the crime as “crazy even by Vegas standards.”

Two sides of the same coin

Police are also looking into the possibility that Rogers was involved with two previous cases of armed robbery. One occurred at Red Rock Casino Resort on November 12, 2021. The other robbery took place on January 6 of this year in North Las Vegas, at a business near to where the Aliante Beltway meets the 215.

Steve Grammas heads up the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the local police union. He told local news that “the LVPPA is aware of the arrest of officer Rogers. While everyone has a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, if these allegations are true, the LVPPA could not be more disappointed and disgusted by the actions of one rogue officer. This is not indicative of the excellent work and character that the men and women at LVMPD exemplify on a daily basis.”

Because Rogers’s alleged crimes happened while off duty, he is not entitled to help from the police union.

Grammas explained that “no police officer that is a member of the LVPPA is entitled to criminal representation when committing acts not in accordance with the course and scope of their duties. If these charges are proven to be true we, hope the criminal justice system accurately holds this person accountable.”

Rogers is currently being held in the Clark County Detention Center while awaiting his court date at 9 AM, tomorrow (Monday, February 28, 2022). This is an ongoing investigation which means the police may still add further charges.

Featured image source: Twitter