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LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — A 20-year-old man who is believed to have worn a pig mask during a smash-and-grab burglary at the Bellagio casino resort appeared in court Wednesday.
Sebastian Gonzalez is expected to have an attorney appointed to represent him on felony conspiracy, burglary, attempted robbery and weapon charges.
Gonzalez was believed to have worn a pig mask during the break-in and burglary a little before 1 a.m. Saturday at the casino’s Tesorini watch and jewelry story, which was closed at the time, Officer Laura Meltzer said. There were three other men involved in the heist, one of them wearing a cat mask and another a panda mask.
Initial reports that gunshots were fired appeared to stem from people misinterpreting the sharp sound of sledgehammers shattering glass jewelry cases, Meltzer said.
Police didn’t say what was taken in the heist.
The four fled to the casino parking garage after the robbery, but an onlooker had grabbed the keys from their waiting getaway car. They tried unsuccessfully to take cars from two drivers, Meltzer said. Three of them then fled the garage on foot — one of them brandishing what appeared to be a handgun at a security guard. Gonzalez was found trying to hide in the garage.
No injuries were reported in the initial break-in, the confrontation with the security guard or the carjacking attempts.
In a police report quoted by the Las Vegas Sun, Gonzalez reportedly said he was forced to help break into the jewelry store by men who threatened to hurt his family in Mexico and made him wear a pig mask because he is fat.
Officer Larry Hadfield said investigators were reviewing casino security video, but it would not be made public pending court proceedings.
