LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The man police and prosecutors allege is responsible for a string of commercial burglaries over the span of three months in Las Vegas' Chinatown district appeared in court Wednesday morning.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers announced the arrest of 34-year-old Cedric Hasan on Tuesday in connection with the more than 30 burglaries of businesses along Spring Mountain Blvd. from June 23 through September 29.
Channel 13 has heard from local businesses in Chinatown for months about the substantial hardship these burglaries have caused, but now there's a sense of relief amongst many of them.
"Now we don't feel like we have to be watching over our shoulder all the time, you know?" Joey Ratnavira said.
Ratnavira is an assistant manager at Babystacks Cafe's Chinatown location at Spring Mountain and Wynn Rd., which was one of three businesses broken into on the same day in late September.
"During that time it was hard for us," Ratnavira said. "Because then we're out of work for a day and we're cleaning up after everything."
At Hasan's first appearance in Justice Court Wednesday morning, Clark County prosecutors alleged Hasan stole more than $213,000 over the three month burglary spree from businesses in the Chinatown area.
"It is apparent from reading all the details from the 34 burglaries that it's the same person, based on how entry was made, what was used and what the defendant was wearing," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors told Judge Rebecca Saxe that police investigators developed a lead to Hasan, connecting him as a possible suspect in this case, then determined his cell phone records showed location pinging in the area of several of the burglaries and GPS data showed his car nearby for all but two of them.
"A search of the defendant's house yesterday also yielded a handful of corroborating evidence," prosecutors added.
That evidence included a crowbar they say is unique to Hasan's job as welder, where prosecutors told the court he makes $87 an hour, and was in part why they were requesting a $2.5 million bail.
Hasan's public defender told Judge Saxe her client wasn't a flight risk as he's lived in the Las Vegas community for more than 27 years and has a stable job he's hoping to go back to.
However, Judge Saxe decided on a $500,000 bail, ordering Hasan to stay away from the Spring Mountain area from I-15 to Jones.
This wasn't the first time Hasan has appeared in front of a judge either.
On Wednesday, prosecutors outlined a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2011, including three prior felony convictions and two misdemeanors relating to commercial burglaries.
Plus, Hasan has a pending case in North Las Vegas Justice Court dating back to November 10 of this year, in connection with another commercial burglary where prosecutors say he was seen exiting the window of a tire store.
In late September, Metro Deputy Chief Jose Hernandez told Channel 13 anchor Abel Garcia that the department dedicated more around the clock resources in the Chinatown area to combat the issue.
"We are going to find the suspect, we will identify the suspect, we will take him into custody," Hernandez said.
The news of an arrest in the long string of burglaries comes as welcome news to Ratnavira, after he says Metro has been patrolling the area and working with businesses in Chinatown for weeks.
"They checked our businesses personally, and tried to make sure that we're okay as a person and as a business," Ratnavira said. "We're pretty fortunate that we have a lot of patrols going on right now."
Cedric Hasan's next court appearance in relation to this case is on November 25.
