Sign up for the meadowlakeNOW newsletter

Suspect in Vegas casino picnic shooting arrested in Texas

Apr 19, 2018 | 11:00 AM

LAS VEGAS — A former Las Vegas Strip casino dealer on the run for days after authorities say he opened fire on a picnic for a group of fellow employees, killing one, was arrested Thursday in Texas.

Anthony J. Wrobel, 42, was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies near Vega, a small town in the Texas Panhandle, according to Oldham County sheriff’s dispatcher Billie Jo Miesner.

Investigators have described Wrobel as a disgruntled employee and said he planned the attack on Sunday and targeted an executive of The Venetian casino-resort and a co-worker. A motive is not clear.

Las Vegas police planned to provide details about the arrest later in the day, said Officer Larry Hadfield, a department spokesman. Texas Rangers assisted in the investigation, Department of Public Safety Sgt. Cindy Barkley said.

Wrobel had been sought on charges of murder, attempted murder and armed battery and was named Tuesday in a federal complaint as a fugitive from justice. FBI officials referred calls about the arrest to Las Vegas police.

Wrobel is accused of killing longtime Venetian executive Mia Banks and badly wounding co-worker Hector Rodriguez at close range while they sat at a table at a Las Vegas park.

Banks, 54, died at a hospital, and Rodriguez was hospitalized in stable condition with critical injuries.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., which operates The Venetian, said Banks had worked there since the resort opened in 1999 and was considered a founding team member, along with Rodriguez.

The company had offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Wrobel’s arrest. Company spokesman Ron Reese referred questions to police about whether the offer played a role in the capture.

Reese said Wrobel is no longer employed by the company.

Investigators described the attack as workplace violence. Las Vegas police Capt. Robert Plummer said Wrobel asked fellow employees where the casino executives were seated before shooting them “without warning or provocation” with a handgun at point-blank range.

The shooting happened at a park near McCarran International Airport, where Plummer said Wrobel’s car was found in a parking garage.

Plummer said police did not think Wrobel boarded a flight at the airport but weren’t sure.

___

Associated Press writer David Warren in Dallas contributed to this report.

Ken Ritter, The Associated Press