Cops: Alleged Casino Robber Spent Cash on Hookers, Clothes, Good Times
Like a lot of tourists, Scott Carmitchel of Kansas had himself a helluva time in Las Vegas last weekend, with a $400 hotel room at the Hard Rock Hotel, a Caesars Palace shopping spree, a bag of weed and a quartet of hookers helping to keep his spirits high.
But prosecutors say that Carmitchel was paying for it all with a big pile of cash he robbed at gunpoint from the Bellagio Hotel and Casino on Friday night.
On Tuesday morning, the 34-year-old convicted felon—described by authorities as "uncooperative" when he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center—was wheeled into a Las Vegas federal courtroom wearing a spit mask and a blanket as he was formally charged with robbing the Bellagio, as well as the July 22 robbery of a Las Vegas bank.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Carmitchel did not speak or open his eyes during Tuesday's arraignment hearing.
According to Las Vegas Police, Carmitchel—armed with an orange-tipped BB gun—allegedly robbed the Bellagio cashier's cage of $43,500 around 8:30 on Friday night.
Prosecutors say that Carmitchel then decided to have a little Las Vegas-style fun with his hard-earned winnings. On Saturday, he allegedly paid a tourist $300 to rent him a $400 room at the Hard Rock Hotel, located about two miles away from the Bellagio, claiming that he had lost his ID.
The understandably-suspicious tourist rented the room but also notified police, who started monitoring the hallway outside Carmitchel's room at the Hard Rock via video surveillance.
On Saturday evening, police say they observed a group of four prostitutes leaving Carmitchel's room—two of the women were allegedly carrying wads of cash labeled "Bellagio Count Team."
When questioned by police, the women described Carmitchel as "an average to unfortunate looking white male with an athletic build" who was acting paranoid and delusional. They also said that he had a small amount of marijuana with him.
When authorities searched the room, they found a BB gun and clothes matching the robber's description, $10,000 cash, a backpack, a pair of new Louis Vuitton shoes and some other high-end clothes—complete with receipts.
Police say that when they interviewed Carmitchel, he would "laugh inappropriately" and could not remember his phone number or address. He also gave authorities a phony name—"Scott Rice"—and said (in a moment of inspired understatement) that "he may have smoked too much."
Authorities say that they could only account for about $20,000 of the cash taken in Friday's robbery. The whereabouts of the rest of the Bellagio's cash are still unknown.
Carmitchel also allegedly stole $4,350 in the July 22 City National Bank robbery.
Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Carmitchel has a felony record dating back at least to 1998, when he was convicted of battery against a law enforcement officer and had just skipped parole two months ago after a 2013 conviction for making a criminal threat.
NOTE: The correct spelling the suspect's last name is actually "Carmitchel"—with just one "L." I have corrected the article accordingly, and I apologize for the error. - JMV
Image via Kansas Department of Corrections