June 7, 2023
This ain’t some fancy James Bond heist, but a Las Vegas maid at the Vdara was able to steal over $1 million in jewelry from a hotel guest. Now, according to court records, she is facing charges of grand larceny, residential burglary, and conspiracy to commit burglary. Was there nothing else to do in Sin City that night?
Vegas police received a call on May 7th about the suspect, Amanda Melendez, and about the jewelry heist from a room at the Vdara. An investigation found that the guests staying in a room there requested housekeeping one evening, and found their room ransacked upon returning at about 11pm.
Their luggage had been turned inside out, and the beds were disturbed and unmade. There were also cleaning supplies left behind, as this was obviously not the work of a master criminal. Several items of jewelry were stolen, included watches, bracelets, and other diamond jewelry that added up to over one million dollars. So much for traveling light.
Soon, police discovered that Las Vegas maid Amanda Melendez, who was currently employed by the Vdara housekeeping staff, had been in the room while the guests were out. Housekeeping logs confirmed it was Melendez who entered to clean the room around 8 pm. Hotel investigators also determined that there was an unaccounted key to access guest rooms. Police suspect that she may have utilized the missing key to gain unauthorized access to room.
Additionally, investigators found that Melendez was in communication with a prisoner currently locked up at the Clark County Detention Center. Police described this person as someone whom the Las Vegas maid is in a relationship with. The prisoner was not named, but he spoke to Melendez on the phone over 60 times around the time of the burglary.
