Man faces dozens of charges in Las Vegas, Henderson burglary spree
A Georgia man has been charged with carrying out a prolific March burglary spree in Henderson and Las Vegas that police say netted tens of thousands of dollars in loot.
Donald Mangimelli, 31, has been booked at the Clark County Detention Center on dozens of felonies stemming from at least 13 burglaries in the two cities. In one case in Las Vegas on March 19, a man used a red pickup truck to smash open a gate at a storage facility near West Skye Canyon Park Drive and U.S. Highway 95. The burglar then used the truck to tow away two box trailers worth $12,000. In another burglary on March 19 near West Grand Teton and North Buffalo drives, police say a couple found their home ransacked and several valuables stolen. Items stolen included guitars worth $40,000 and firearms worth approximately $4,500.
In other burglaries in Las Vegas, homeowners reported a man with a red pickup smashing into garage doors to access homes and steal goods. Other residents provided police with a similar description of a man breaking into cars. In Henderson, police said they investigated a rash of burglaries on March 20.
“On 3/20/21 between 2 a.m. and 5:15 a.m., residents of a neighborhood near Warm Springs and Racetrack roads in Henderson were plagued with a series of brazen burglaries that occurred at six houses,” police wrote in an arrest report for Mangimelli. “In each incident, the witness accounts and video surveillance all described/showed either the same large red Ford truck or the suspect.”
The burglar was recorded on the video carrying a firearm, police said. Las Vegas and Henderson police cracked the case when, on March 22, a Las Vegas man reported his white F-250 pickup with trailer was stolen from his home. Police later found the vehicle on Torrey Pines Drive with a man identified by police as Mangimelli nearby, getting into a red pickup that was stolen. Inside the red pickup police found a cache of stolen firearms and clothing worn by the burglar during many of the crimes, police wrote in Mangimelli’s arrest reports.
Police then linked Mangimelli to the pawning of a stolen guitar at a Las Vegas pawnshop, detectives said. One of Mangimelli’s arrest reports indicates he has a prior arrest for embezzlement in Georgia, but details of that allegation were not detailed.
When interviewed by police, Mangimelli said he’d been smoking heroin and methamphetamine prior to his arrest. Police said they showed Mangimelli video of him at one of the crime scenes and he did not confess but he also didn’t deny it was him on the video.
“When Mangimelli looked at the picture, he stared for a second and immediately got goosebumps all over his arms,” police said. “Mangimelli immediately looked down and sat for approximately 15 seconds before looking back up and stating, ‘That guy on the video didn’t want to hurt anyone.’”
Las Vegas Justice Court records show authorities have filed seven criminal cases against Mangimelli since March 23. Charges include burglary, grand larceny and possession of stolen property. He also faces multiple cases in Henderson Justice Court on charges that include burglary and home invasion.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
