Las Vegas, Nev. – The leader of a group of men who planned and executed the armed robberies of two casinos and a bank in Las Vegas in 2002 and was convicted by a federal jury in February 2006, has been sentenced to 535 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $65,129 in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

EDWARD STAIN, age 26, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced on Monday, June 12, 2006, by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks, for his convictions on one count of Conspiracy (to commit armed bank robbery and to unlawfully possess a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence), two counts of Interference with Commerce by Threats or Violence, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence, and one count of Armed Bank Robbery. The robberies occurred at the Speedway Casino in North Las Vegas, Bally's Casino on the Strip, and Wells Fargo Bank on South Eastern Avenue.

According to court records, on March 22, 2002, STAIN met with co-conspirators Kenneth Akins, Vaughn Flanders, and Mitchum Soberanis, and laid out a plan to rob the Ramada Inn Speedway Casino in North Las Vegas. The following day, STAIN provided two firearms, masks and gloves to the co-conspirators and directed them to proceed with the robbery. STAIN entered the Speedway Casino first, while Soberanis waited in a get-away vehicle outside. Flanders and Akins, carrying the firearms, then robbed the casino cage of approximately $10,000 and fled the casino. Following the robbery, STAIN met his co-conspirators and directed them as to how the proceeds of the robbery were to be distributed.

On April 8, 2002, STAIN, Flanders, Soberanis and another co-conspirator, Joey Prince, planned the robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank at 4720 South Eastern Avenue, where STAIN'S girlfriend worked as a teller. STAIN provided firearms to Prince and Flanders, and they drove to the bank. STAIN entered the bank and met with his girlfriend in a break room at the rear of the bank, while Flanders and Prince, brandishing firearms, robbed the bank. Soberanis waited outside in a get-away vehicle. STAIN remained in the bank while the other three fled in the vehicle.

On December 22, 2002, at approximately 3:30 a.m., STAIN blocked the path of two employees who were carrying a bag of U.S. currency at Bally's Casino. A co-conspirator, Tommy Wilson, approached the employees from behind, produced a weapon, and stole the bag of currency. Wilson and STAIN then fled the casino with the money.

The co-conspirators, Joe Prince, Vaughan Flanders, Mitchum Soberanis, and Kenneth Akins, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the armed bank robberies and use of firearms during a crime of violence and were sentenced to periods of imprisonment ranging from 75 months to 135 months. Tommie Wilson was convicted of robbery and use of a deadly weapon in the 8th Judicial District Court for Clark County, and was sentenced to 11 to 30 years in prison.

The cases were investigated by the FBI and North Las Vegas Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Karyn Kenny and Brian Pugh.

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