An employee steals an armored truck and all the millions inside.
Welcome to Heist Files of the 90s, a limited-series podcast covering some of the most daring, criminal heists of the decade.
October 1, 1993. Las Vegas, Nevada.
At the loading dock of the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, 21-year-old armored truck driver Heather Tallchief sat behind the wheel of a Loomis Armored Inc. vehicle. Her two coworkers had entered the casino to service several ATMs.
According to company protocol, Tallchief was required to remain with the truck. Instead, shortly after her colleagues walked inside, she drove the armored vehicle away from Circus Circus property.
This is Heist Files of the 90s.
This episode: The Circus Circus Armored Truck Heist.
Inside the armored vehicle was approximately $2.95 million in cash. Tallchief drove the truck several miles to an industrial warehouse area known as Old Vegas.
At the warehouse, Tallchief met Roberto Solis, a convicted murderer who had been released from prison in 1991 after serving 17 years for a 1969 killing. Investigators later confirmed that Tallchief and Solis had developed a relationship prior to the robbery.
Tallchief and Solis unloaded the cash into boxes, transferred it into a rented vehicle, and abandoned the Loomis truck at the warehouse location. When the two ATM-service guards returned to the loading dock at Circus Circus, the armored truck was gone.
Tallchief and Solis then traveled to the airport. They used disguises, including prosthetic makeup and a wheelchair, to conceal their identities. Their route included flights from Las Vegas to Denver, then Miami, and eventually departure from the United States under false identities.
Both remained fugitives for more than 12 years.
In September 2005, Heather Tallchief voluntarily returned to the United States and surrendered to federal authorities. She admitted her involvement in the 1993 armored truck robbery.
In March 2006, Tallchief was sentenced in federal court to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $2.95 million in restitution.
Roberto Solis was charged in absentia for his alleged role in the theft. He has never been located, and the stolen cash remains missing.
Join us next time on Heist Files of the 90s.