Rookie deputy first flagged Las Vegas murder suspect’s car as stolen

The Texas deputy who first flagged the license plate on Las Vegas slaying suspect Anthony Wrobel’s vehicle outside a freeway rest stop last week is in his first year on the force, a fellow deputy said Thursday.

When the Oldham County Sheriff’s Office rookie radioed K-9 deputy Taner Blackburn, 34, for backup and to tell him the Utah plate came back stolen, Blackburn told him to stay back until he got there. The sheriff’s office hasn’t released the rookie deputy’s name.

Wrobel, 42, is suspected of opening fire at Sunset Park on two casino executives during a company picnic for employees of The Venetian on April 15. Mia Banks, the 54-year-old vice president of casino operations, was killed in the attack. Hector Rodriguez, executive director of table games, was injured.

When Blackburn got to the rest stop, he went to the driver side window and saw Wrobel asleep behind the wheel near the small town of Vega, Texas, about 35 miles west of Amarillo.

He knocked on the window and told Wrobel to show his hands. Wrobel instead grabbed an object from the front seat, he said.

As he raised his hands, Wrobel dropped a Glock pistol, the deputy said.

Wrobel didn’t resist but remained quiet and expressed no emotion during the arrest, Blackburn said. “He just had a blank stare on his face.”

Dealing with fugitives from all over the country while patrolling a large stretch of Interstate 40 in the Texas Panhandle is not uncommon for sheriff’s deputies, Blackburn said.

Until Wrobel was taken into custody, “we had no idea” he was wanted for murder, Blackburn said.

The arrest put an end to a dayslong nationwide manhunt that included investigators from several local and federal agencies.

Deputies called the Texas Rangers and Las Vegas police after running the vehicle identification number on the dark gray Cadillac and discovering a warrant out for a homicide in Las Vegas.

Metropolitan Police Department investigators flew out to Texas to interview Wrobel. Las Vegas police said Texas Rangers helped process Wrobel’s car.

Metro homicide Capt. Robert Plummer last week called the case a “true example of good, old-fashioned police work.”

“We have the utmost respect for their cooperation and how much they helped us,” Metro homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said.

Wrobel is fighting extradition to Las Vegas as he sits in the Oldham County Jail, away from other inmates, Blackburn said.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.