CHEYENNE – The former housekeeping manager of the historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne has been charged with theft.
Rene Manzanares, 46, faces up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for allegedly stealing about $26,000 worth of coins from a guest’s room, according to court documents.
In addition, Manzanares is accused of involving two other individuals in selling the coins to coin dealers for cash.
The coins were stolen in 2022 and resurfaced in May when Detective Matthew Freeman of the Cheyenne Police Department was contacted by a local coin dealer.
According to the dealer, two women – one of whom identified herself with a false name – had come to his store two weeks earlier with a “bag full” of silver and gold coins to sell.
Freeman was able to identify the suspects as Candace Miller and Martha Salazar, both of whom are now charged with theft, according to court documents. Manzanares and Miller were arrested on separate dates in early November, while Salazar was arrested in May.
The dealer purchased $600 worth of silver-proof quarters from Salazar, who reportedly owned about $20,000 worth of gold coins. According to the arrest affidavit, the dealer did not have the money to purchase the gold coins and suspected they may have been stolen property.
The two women returned on May 7 and the dealer purchased a $20 1908 American gold piece and a $5 gold piece for approximately $2,900 from Salazar.
The dealer again did not have the money to purchase more coins, so the pair left the store with the agreement that Salazar would be contacted as soon as the dealer could afford more coins.
The dealer stated that although he suspected the coins were stolen, he was not sure and therefore continued to do business with Salazar, the affidavit said.
Freeman learned from an online database that Salazar had additionally sold $850 worth of gold and silver coins to City National Pawn at 1312 South Greeley Highway.
Freeman interviewed Salazar after she was pulled over by another CPD officer for driving under a suspended license and with an expired license plate.
In that conversation, Salazar initially claimed to have purchased the coins from another woman, who was recently arrested for an unrelated burglary, the affidavit said. Salazar showed the detective her remaining gold coins in her purse, where the officer also found approximately $7,000 in cash.
Freeman interviewed Salazar, who later admitted that instead of purchasing the coins, they came from Miller, her cousin. According to the affidavit, Miller received the coins from her friend Manzanares.
Manzanares claimed in a later interview that she found the coins in the hotel’s lost property, stating that they had been there for several years.
Manzanares claimed that the coins had been under her desk for two years, and when no one came to collect them from the lost and found, she took it upon herself to give the coins to Miller in exchange for $500.
Miller and Salazar made multiple sales, making $3,600, $3,400, $1,000 and $7,425 on four separate occasions, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Miller claimed her cousin sold the remaining coins. Additionally, she claimed she spent her winnings on bills and gambling, according to the affidavit.
While reviewing Salazar’s phone calls from the Laramie County Jail, Freeman determined that Miller and Salazar were discussing how to get Salazar out of jail to “keep Miller and Manzanares’ names out.”
During those calls, Miller said she didn’t have the money to commit Salazar.
According to the affidavit, Salazar asked Miller, “Do you know the rest of that stuff?” Where are they?” and “Why don’t you get rid of them? Not here in the city, but somewhere,” during the conversations.
Freeman confirmed to Astrid, the owner of the Plains Hotel, that Manzanares did not have permission to take anything from the hotel’s lost and found property and that he should have reported any valuables when he found them. Manzanares no longer works for the hotel.
Finally, on August 5, the suspected owner of the allegedly stolen coins and friend of Astrid spoke to Freeman. Since she was from out of state, the alleged owner of the coins stated that she had been at the hotel during the 2022 Cheyenne Frontier Days to help Astrid.
According to the affidavit, she kept the silver and gold coins under her bed, believing she had lost them when she later moved to hotels.
The alleged owner of the coins told the detective that she asked Manzanares if she had left anything in her room. According to the affidavit, Manzanares told her nothing had been left behind.
She trusted Manzanares and assumed she had left the coins at a property in Colorado. However, she could no longer find them there later.
She concluded that Manzanares stole the coins while cleaning her room. Some of the stolen coins matched an inventory the suspected owner had provided to Freeman, but not all of the coins found were in the inventory.
Based on independent online research, Freeman valued the coins at an estimated $26,000; however, that can vary greatly depending on years and circumstances.
Manzanares’ preliminary appearance has yet to take place, while Miller is scheduled to appear in court on December 30.
