TED BINION

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The Arrests

Finally, by Monday, July 21, 1999, Prosecutor David Roger was ready to bring to fruition all of the courthouse rumors of impending arrests that had been circulating for nearly two months. He and detectives James Buczek and Tom Thowsen had put together an extensive 109-page affidavit in support of arrest warrants for Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy. Roger presented the affidavit to Clark County Justice of the Peace Jennifer Togliatti, and the arrest warrants were signed.

Four days later, on Thursday afternoon, June 24, 1999, Buczek and Thowsen had asked members of Metro's Repeat Offender Program (ROP) to conduct surveillance at Murphy's and Tabish's apartment. They wanted to arrest Murphy and Tabish at the same time to enable their cases to be tied together, and didn't want to take a chance on, for example, Tabish being in Montana while Murphy was in Las Vegas. Finally, at approximately 5:00 p.m., the ROP officers observed Murphy and Tabish exit the apartment, get into their car and leave together. The officers followed them to a Smith's supermarket, and reported their findings to Buczek and Thowsen, who were on their way home from work at the time. The ROP officers asked Buczek whether they should make the arrests or wait for Buczek and Thowsen to arrive, but Buczek told them to go ahead and take the two suspects into custody.

Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish (POLICE)

It was at approximately 5:30 p.m. when the ROP officers entered the grocery store and presented the arrest warrants to Murphy and Tabish. The officers read them their Miranda rights, and took them into custody without incident. They were leading Murphy and Tabish out of the store just as Buczek and Thowsen arrived. By the time Buczek and Thowsen drove the two suspects into the garage of the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas, the news media had already heard of the arrests and were waiting with cameras rolling as the two suspects were driven past them. Murphy and Tabish were booked into the jail and charged with Ted Binion's murder, as well as conspiracy, robbery, grand larceny and burglary.