Charges upheld in casino robbery

A witness, who managed to evade the robbers in last summer’s COD Casino heist, testified on Friday.

Chase Henderson, 33, and Andrew Toomey, 44, are accused of the July 14, 2023, robbery and appeared with their attorneys for a five-hour preliminary hearing in East Fork Justice Court.

Judge Steve McMorris ordered the men held on all counts, except one kidnapping charge, because the witness was able to avoid them, prosecutor Chelsea Mazza said. The pair are scheduled to appear in Douglas County District Court for arraignment on Jan. 23.

The witness testified he ducked behind the slot machines when he saw a man wearing dark clothing, a ski mask and hoodie enter the nonsmoking room escorting the graveyard shift manager at gunpoint into the main entrance of the casino.

He said he remained concealed until they were out of sight, ran out of the building and called 911. While outside, he testified he saw two men run out of the casino and run down Esmeralda Avenue toward Minden Park.

Henderson and Toomey allegedly entered the COD Casino at approximately 4 a.m. July 14, from the Esmeralda Avenue entrance.

Three employees and a patron were rounded up and one of the men demanded at gunpoint that the register be opened. Henderson and Toomey took around $40,000 from the casino and ran out of the building, according to prosecutors, before getting into a blue and white PT Cruiser.

Shortly after a Douglas County Sherriff’s deputy stopped the Cruiser on County Road. As the deputy approached the vehicle, one of the occupants shot at the deputy, striking the patrol vehicle three times. Both men fled the scene on foot. 

Deputies quickly began searching the nearby neighborhoods. Toomey was found in the yard of a County Road home and taken into custody. Henderson was located hiding under some plywood in the yard of another home on County Road. He was allegedly still wearing the backpack full of money.

Both are being charged with robbery of a business with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. Additionally, Henderson is charged with attempted homicide and battery on an officer and is a suspect of a prior robbery in Washoe County. Toomey was on parole when the robbery happened.

A preliminary hearing determines if a crime has been committed and if there is sufficient evidence to support the charges. It is not a trial, and the rules for evidence are different.

Both men are in custody, with Henderson being held on $2.5 million bail and Toomey’s bail set at $1 million. Henderson is being held on a detainer from the U.S. Marshal’s Office because he was on federal parole for robbery with a deadly weapon. He’d been out of prison for four months when the robbery occurred, according to prosecutors.