PALMDALE – A 31-year-old Palmdale man wanted for sneaking into a restricted area and stealing $1.6 million in chips from a Las Vegas casino has been captured and taken into custody.
Akingide Cole was arrested around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at Reseda Boulevard and Roscoe Boulevard in Los Angeles and booked at the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station at 12:45 a.m. Thursday, without bail, according to the Palmdale Station jail. Details on what led to Cole’s capture were not immediately available Saturday morning.
On Monday (Oct. 22), Las Vegas police identified Cole as the casino heist suspect believed to be responsible for stealing $1.6 million in high-denomination chips from the Venetian Casino on Oct. 10.
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detective told KTLA 5 that Cole had managed to pry open the lock on a chip container after entering a closed off area in the casino. Cole had already cashed a small amount of chips from the stolen stash, the detective said.
A warrant was issued for Cole’s arrest for burglary, grand larceny and unlawful possession of burglary tools. Images taken from casino security cameras, along with Cole’s physical description and booking photo from a previous arrest, were forwarded to media outlets nationwide on Monday. (Read more here.)
Cole was arrested two days later by the Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Bureau, according to the Palmdale Station jail.
Cole was convicted of domestic battery this past March, petty theft and vandalism in 2008, and battery on a police officer in 2006, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records. All the cases were filed at the Antelope Valley courthouse.
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HM says
I hear ya, Quigley…it’s gotten so scary out there that I don’t even like going out places here..you just never know who is out there looking to cause trouble.
HM says
another fine, upstanding citizen of the Antelope Valley bites the dust.. this place has just become a hotbed for criminals..it’s just lovely! Thank goodness we have a great Sheriffs dept.
Quigley says
@HM….that we do but unfortunately they can’t get all the POS’S off our streets! Remember to watch your back no matter where you are in the beautiful Antelope Valley because there is always someone creepin!