Anthony Vera, the Montego Bay Bandit, may be on the run from the law but no matter how tired, cold or hungry he is he also made a bit of history Wednesday. Until he ran off with a cash box full of money no one in over 75 years had successfully robbed a Wendover Casino ever.
Of course Wednesday robbery did not go off completely without a hitch. Vera’s wheelman in the heist, Elbert Woodson, was nabbed after he crashed the get away car about two hours after the robbery on the outskirts of Slat Lake City.
Still Woodson might qualify for the silver medal if robbing Wendover Casinos was an Olympic sport since the no one before him ever made it that far in the over 75 years since the first slot machine was installed in Wendover.
Wendover’s heretofore astonishing success in thwarting bandits has less to do with its law enforcement, albeit the agencies which serve the town are professional as can be, than the Utah/Nevada border town’s extreme isolation.
There are just three roads out of Wendover and it is 120 miles in any direction before another city.
“There is no place to run,” said the late local lawman Earl Lacey in a 1990 feature story in the High Desert Advocate about Wendover invulnerability to would be robbers. “Sure people have tried but even back in my day we had radios. If we couldn’t run ‘em down, we would call ahead and either the NHP or the UHP or Elko, White Pine or Tooele Sheriffs would set up a road block. Even the smartest crook couldn’t get around that.”
If Vera wasn’t smart he certainly was lucky.
According to West Wendover Police reports Vera wearing either face paint or a mask approached the Montego Bay’s cashier’s cage, jumped the counter, grabbed a cash box and fled the casino with an undetermined amount of cash. It is unknown whether Vera was armed at the time. Nor is it known how much money he got away with. Being it was a Wednesday night one of the slowest days of the week it may not have been much. On the other hand with Valentine’s Day approaching there may have been more than the normal amount of cash on hand. And Vera may have known.
According to sources close to the investigation the robbery may have been an inside job. The photo used by police in their wanted poster comes from the files of casino workers and that Vera’s identity was provided from an unnamed source who was either involved in the crime or who had knowledge of it.
Vera had his first piece of lucky by not being accosted either during or after the robbery.
He waltzed out of the casino jumped into the waiting car driven by Woodson.
The bandits second stroke of luck cam when for unknown reasons neither the UHP trooper nor the Tooele County Sheriff’s Deputy normally on duty in Wendover gave chase to the fleeing robbers. the robbery was called into the West Wendover Police dispatch almost immediately after Vera fled the scene said West Wendover Police chief Burdel Welsh, and as matter of course was immediately relayed to Tooele Dispatch for the Utah agencies.
Instead it would be another hour and more than 80 miles east of Wendover that the two men came under pursuit from a UHP trooper near Grantsville.
According to sources close to the investigation that trooper may not have even been aware the car he was chasing was involved in the Montego Bay robbery or even that the robbery occurred.
“About 12:30 a.m., one of our troopers located the vehicle traveling on I-80 [just west of Tooele] and attempted to make a stop. A high-speed pursuit ensued into Salt Lake County,” said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce.
According to the UHP the car took the I-80 exit onto Bangerter Highway, then slowed down enough for the passenger, presumably Vera, to jump out near 800 South and flee into the darkness before the suspect driver resumed speeding south on the highway.
With speeds well above 100 mph, the lone trooper notified dispatch of the passenger’s escape and continued chasing the get away car.
Police arrived to the scene later but despite an extensive search including tracking dogs could find no trace of Vera who may have fled on foot or to a waiting second vehicle.
Meanwhile, the car chase continued on southbound Bangerter with speeds reaching 120 mph and UHP briefly terminated the pursuit due to public safety concerns, notifying Unified Police, West Valley City, Salt Lake City and other area law officers. About 1:30 a.m., the suspect vehicle crashed into a field near 13400 South and 7000 West in Herriman.
Woodson attempted to run but was tackled and handcuffed by law enforcement.
Woodson may be the best hope in catching his partner but not the only one.
According to sources close to the investigation a third person, a woman, may also be involved in the robbery.
Her whereabouts if she exists are unknown.
Vera is described as a 37 year old Hispanic man with a tattoo “Sin City” across his chest. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 165 lbs.
His accomplice, Woodson, was arrested last November on the charge of cheating at gambling at the Wendover Nugget. Despite being held on a $20,000 bond he was released within days on his own recognizance due to jail overcrowding.
