Chicanery on the Plains: Housekeeper’s Coin Heist Unveiled
A trusted hotel employee’s purported pilfering of a valuable coin collection exposes a web of deceit involving multiple accomplices and pawned treasures.
A former head housekeeper at the historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming, is at the center of a theft case involving nearly $26,000 worth of coins. Rene Maria Manzanares, 46, has entered an Alford plea to one count of felony theft, acknowledging that the prosecution has sufficient evidence for a conviction while not admitting guilt.
The incident traces back to an elderly couple who lost their cabin home in a massive canyon mudslide in 2022. Hotel owner Astrid, the couple's neighbor, offered them free accommodation at the Plains Hotel. "I said you can live at the Plains Hotel for free," Astrid told Cowboy State Daily. The couple stored a box containing their coin collection in their room during their stay. "They put what they had… in a box and left it when they moved from a smaller room into a larger room," Astrid indicated.
According to an evidentiary affidavit, Manzanares claimed she found the box under a bed during cleaning and placed it in the hotel's lost and found, where it remained for two years. She later gave the coins to an associate, Candace Miller, who, along with Martha Salazar, sold them to a local coin dealer. Miller provided Manzanares with $500 in return.
Salazar reportedly sold approximately $600 worth of silver-proof quarters to a coin dealer. However, the dealer noted that she possessed about $20,000 worth of gold coins, which he declined to purchase. The women returned on May 7, 2024, and the dealer bought two pieces worth about $2,900 together. Again, he couldn’t buy the rest of the coins. The women left with the understanding that the dealer would call one of them when he was ready to buy more coins. Further investigation by the dealer revealed that Salazar had also sold $850 in gold and silver to a pawnshop in Cheyenne.
Both Miller and Salazar face theft charges in connection with the incident. Miller's preliminary hearing is set for December 30.
Under the plea agreement, Manzanares faces three years of probation, with a potential prison sentence of 18 to 36 months if she violates the terms. She is also responsible for restitution to all victims affected by her actions. The judge has yet to accept the plea agreement, and Manzanares is scheduled to enter her plea in Laramie County District Court.
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