Casino-Bound Bus Carjacked; Robbers Take Jewelry, Credit Cards and $10,000

Three men carjacked a tour bus headed for a Nevada casino Saturday morning and robbed 40 passengers of $10,000 in cash, plus jewelry, credit cards and wallets.

The chartered bus had left the Eastland Shopping Center in West Covina about 7:40 a.m., and was headed for the Gold Strike Casino in Stateline, Nevada.

The three men--posing as passengers--announced that they were robbing the bus as it headed east on the San Bernardino Freeway, said Cpl. Bob Tolich of the West Covina Police Department.

The men, each armed with a pistol, held the passengers hostage for 34 miles.

“Each passenger was robbed, blindfolded and detained,” said Tolich. “When they finished, they told the bus driver to let them off at Sierra Avenue (off Interstate 15 in Devore) and there they got into a waiting vehicle.”

The ordeal ended about 8:15 a.m. when the bus driver called the California Highway Patrol and reported the robbery, Tolich said.

Police are seeking anyone who may have seen a green bus with a gold design on the side traveling along Interstates 10 or 15 between 7:40 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. Saturday and may have information about the robbery.

All three robbers were men in their 20s, dressed in baggy clothing and carrying suitcases to hold their loot, Tolich said. Two wore baseball caps and the third wore a beanie.