Kidnappers nab tourist from Strip

A 40-year-old tourist staying at Caesars Palace was abducted at gunpoint on the Strip last week and held for more than 24 hours while four suspects stole money and valuables from him, Las Vegas police said Wednesday.

Lt. Clint Nichols said the tourist was kidnapped at "random" by two suspects about 5 a.m. Friday at a pedestrian overpass near Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

The victim, whose identity was not released, was then taken by car to an unknown apartment complex.

He was beaten at the apartment. During the course of 24 hours, the suspects got away with his casino winnings, money from ATM accounts and jewelry. They also ransacked his hotel room, Nichols said.

Prior to the kidnapping, the victim was "having a good time at a local establishment on the Strip," Nichols said.

Nichols said the victim was an out-of-state small-business owner who told police he visits Las Vegas once a month. Nichols said he was heavily intoxicated when he was approached at gunpoint. The ordeal ended when he escaped his captors and was found by police about 8 a.m. Saturday near the area of Polaris Avenue and Russell Road.

At the time of his escape, the victim was in a car when two of the suspects argued about what to do with him. That's when he fled and hid from them until they quit looking for him.

Nichols said the tourist called police from a convenience store across the street from where he was hiding.

"When we responded, the victim was of course beaten," Nichols said. "He was extremely dirty from hiding out in the desert area."

Nichols said the victim was originally approached by a person for change while on the overpass headed to his hotel room at Caesars. He pulled out a large amount of cash, and shortly afterward was confronted at gunpoint by a woman. He was then led by a man and the woman to a parked car.

In that vehicle, described as an older-model, four-door sedan, the suspects placed some sort of material over the victim's head and drove him to an apartment complex described by the victim as "two-stories with a flat roof."

Nichols said while tourists come to Vegas to party, they have to make sure their behavior doesn't make them susceptible to such an attack.

"Getting to the point where you're so inebriated that you're not really sure whether you're coming or going is always a bad idea, whether you're in Vegas or Choctaw, Oklahoma," Nichols said.

"Secondly, speaking with strangers and pulling out large wads of cash in public also not a good idea."

Nichols said one of the two suspects who kidnapped the victim is described as a black female, 22- to 27-years-old, of medium build and 5-feet-5 inches tall.

The second suspect is a black male between 45 and 50, of medium build and 5-feet-11. He has a gray beard, police said.

Nichols said the victim told police there were two additional suspects in the apartment he was taken to. The apartment was completely bare, Nichols said.

The third suspect is described as a black male between 27- and 33-years-old, of medium build, bald and about 6-feet-2. Police said the fourth suspect is a black woman between 37 and 44, with a heavy build with long black hair who stands about 5-feet-11.

During the investigation, police learned that the suspect's hotel room was ransacked when they spoke with a man who traveled with him.

When police contacted the other tourist staying with the victim at Caesars, he told police he wasn't even aware the victim was missing as he figured he was partying. The man told police he thought the victim was the one who had taken items out of their hotel room.

Video cameras captured two of the suspects at Caesars, and police say they had stolen items from his room.

Police did not place a value on the victim's losses.

Nichols said the victim was treated and released from a hospital for superficial wounds. He was back home Wednesday afternoon, Nichols said.

He added that if the suspects are arrested, they will face recommended charges of kidnapping, robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary.

Anyone with information pertaining to the crime is asked to call the Las Vegas police robbery section at 828-3591, or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.