on our website, just log onto dateline.msnbc.com. that's all for now. i'm chris hansen. for all of us at msnbc news, thanks for joining us. in this this las vegas you roll the dice for fun. in this las vegas life is the roll of the dice. car thieves, con artists. how many people do you figure you guys scan? >> for suspected killer. >> and what was she doing at the time? >> crying, i guess. >> the odds are good if you did the crime, you'll do the time. >> i should have listened to my mom. that's what i should have done. >> fought by the cops. >> burglary, larceny and grand larceny. >> and maybe our cameras. >> you charging me with something? >> i'm not charging you.

i'm a correspondent for a television news show. i'm not charging you with anything. tonight an all new undercover journey through an underground world. vegas undercover. thanks for joining us. i'm chris hansen. this is one view of las vegas looking down on the strip. the view of vegas you get as a cop isn't as pretty, but it's just as riveting. that's the vegas our cameras have captured. every day in the city police play a high stakes game of cat and mouse with conmen crooks and killers. now you're in on the chase from the first 911 call to the final clink of the jail cell door. it happens right before your eyes here on vegas undercover. >> this lists every call. >> the man in charge recently showed us an operation called the southern nevada culture terrorism center, also known as

the fusion center. >> we have 14 agencies that are represented here. >> it's the clearinghouse for all data related to any criminal activity occurring in southern nevada. >> all crimes. all hazards. but most important, the information that comes through this facility helps police know where to focus their attention. >> this is at the fingertips of our watch commander. >> it's information that also helps police decide where to carry out their undercover stings. like this fencing operation run by the vegas intelligence unit. the store is meant to look like a business that sells car audio parts. but it's really a place where

thieves know they can come to unload stolen goods. the crooks think the men buying the loot are fellow bad guys, but they're really undercover detectives for the vegas intelligence unit. >> i have two malibus. our hidden cameras have been rolling. we've been watching it go down from the back room. he's got five others he wants to sell. we listen as thieves describe how easy it is to steal cars. >> keys were sitting right now to the car. [ bleep ] idiot. >> and guns. >> i got about 62 all together. >> guns? >> pistols and rifles. >> some are very violent. >> the lieutenant who oversees the operation says all of the suspects know this is the police to come to sell stolen items.

they have to make the first move. they have to have possession of the stolen property before you have a conversation? >> absolutely. today undercover team is getting ready for the arrival of a new customer. we're kating for a man to come in named adam. he got onto this place when he was in the county jail and met a fellow inmate who had also done business here. >> and now here he comes, a 22-year-old driving the stolen car. he brought alock a friend. >> johnny! you here? >> i got a gps for sale i got earlier, too. adam says he's an auto detailer who moonlights as a car thief.

>> we agree to five. throw it in an we'll make it 550. >> adam stays to chat for a while. he starts to relax and reveal more about himself. >> so you detail rides? >> he has a car detailing operation. so he access to all kinds of cars. i figure i can wipe the prints off them so good. >> he brags to the undercover officers about his expertise at hot ironing fords. i can get brand new mustangs all day long. >> and adam tells the detectives something else. one of the hot cars was owned by someone the police may know. that's right. a judge. a judge adam says he may be seeing soon regarding earlier trouble. >> she's my sentencing judge

right now. adam and his friend leave promising to be back soon. the police are planning on arresting adam and all the other suspects once the investigation is over. word of the fencing operation has spread quickly. one suspect referring others to the little shop. brad, for example, was the shop's first customer. he sent in this woman, chevy. >> did brad tell you what this is about here? >> he explained to me a little bit. >> then chevy brought some of her friends including levi. and now levi is back, introducing the shop's next customer, 21-year-old courtney miller. >> well, it's nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. is this all you?

i'm curious. today courtney has a freshly stolen truck for sell. >> it's going to be noticed missing at 4:00. that's when it will be reported. >> that's when it will be home. >> so this just happened today? >> yes. >> are the original plates still on it? >> yes. >> she explains the truck belonged to her ex-boyfriend who recently dumped her. >> it was some guy that told me i was too young for for him. and we were messing around with each other, and then he just stopped talking to me all together. i'm sorry. i love these stories. this is an ex-boyfriend, so to speak, and you decided i'm taking the truck? >> no. what else did you get anything you want to sell? >> to get back i had friends rip

him off. >> they just packed up his house and just loaded it up. >> she negotiates a price. >> will you come back with the other stuff? >> oh, of course. i'll pay for half your cab back. so 500 for both. or $480 and you can find your own cab. what are you looking for? is somebody going to talk to you from up there? >> can't we make it 550 and call it a day? because you are a generous guy. >> soon courtney will regret making an appearance on the store front when she makes

another appearance on dateline. >> i should have listened to my mom. that's what i should have done. i should have listened to my mom. >> and something courtney should not have done and something she should not have done. you said catch me if you can. it could be very abrasive. if the surface gets abraded, it's just the environment that bacteria likes to nestle into and they can cause the odor. your denture needs to be cleaned gently on a daily basis. i like to recommend polident, it kills the bacteria without causing any abrasion. when my patients follow my instructions, their dentures feel clean and fresh. they look forward to putting them in their mouth and smiling. o0 c1 the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal.

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in all, police recovered more than a million dollars in stolen cars, arresting 38 suspects. he was arrested and taken to police headquarters. we asked him if you wanted the see the tape. i have video. i would like you to take a look if that's all right with you.

i showed him video of himself bragging about a car that was stolen from a judge. >> well, this car apparently belonged to the daughter of a judge. >> i guess so. i didn't know until months later. as it turns out it's a judge that's about to sentence him in related case. >> apparently my new sentencing judge. >> how do you suppose this will play in front of your new sentencing judge? you talking about having possession of her daughter's car. >> she's going to [ bleep ] fry me. >> that's not going to go over very well. he is clearly upset that he's now being exposed. >> it's going to g get me killed. period, point blank. i will die in prison. >> why? >> because you guys are going to put this [ bleep ] on tape and everything else.

it don't matter. you go to prison. anybody thinks you told. you die. period. enof story. i told adam it's clear he isn't ratting on anyone during the interview. you're saying it was the suggestion of ratting out people in police. >> i was stealing cars and i'm sitting here talking to you. now adam pleaded guilty and will spend one to six years in prison. >> it's nice to meet you. >> it's nice to meet you. remember 21-year-old courtney? chris hansen, how are you? >> good, and you? >> have a seat. i'm not -- >> not ready for this? >> no we're doing a story and you surfaced in the

investigation. and we wanted to get your side of things. how did you get caught in the middle of all this? >> i honestly do not know. i had a friend that had a friend that knew some people that were dealing with cars and things, and he took me to them and now i'm here. >> you had a friend who had a friend who knew some people. >> yeah. >> that sounds like the start of a bad story. >> it does not have a happy ending. have you ever been in trouble with the law before? >> yeah. >> to what? >> which state? nevada or colorado? >> let's start with colorado. >> colorado, those were drug charges. they raided my house for prfring and distributing. >> what? >> crystal meth. >> crystal meth. were you using or sell sng.

>> we were just smoking it. >> smoking it. >> courtney said she's been smoking crystal meth for years, starting when she was a kid. i've been on it since i was 11 years old. >> 11 years old? that's a tough, tough drinking. in how addictive it is and what it does to your mind and body. but recently she was getting her life back on track. you go to college? >> yeah. >> what do you study? >> criminal justice. >> criminal justice. isn't that ironic. >> very ironic. >> and now you're in jail. >> now i'm in jail, yes. >> how does that happen? >> i honestly don't know. >> will you come back with the other stuff? >> oh, of course. courtney found out the police were looking for her. >> she's supposed to be there at 10:00. we'll swoop her up. this student of criminal justice didn't study much on how to turn yourself in. >> i was sitting in a u-haul on

any my way back to my mom's house to pick up clothes because i told them that they -- if they wanted me to turn myself in to go pretty much [ bleep ] themselves because i wasn't going to turn myself in. catch me if you can. >> you said, catch me if in you in. >> my exact words. >> you have to know if you say that to police detectives, they're going to get you. >> it took them three days. >> you sound like you're proutd of that? >> i'm not proud of that. i'm not going to turn myself in not knowing -- giving me a heads up of what i'm being charged with. >> but they have an arrest warrant. >> arrest warrant for what? they didn't tell me why. i wasn't going the turn myself in unless i knew why i was being arrest arrested there's something she didn't know. that we had the undercover video to show her.

can i show you something? >> yeah. i i would love to see it. >> so this just happened today? >> yes. were the original plates still on it? >> yes. >> okay. >> so what was going through your mind wen you saw that video? >> i'm [ bleep ]. do you blame yourself at all? >> yep. i should have listened to my mom. that's what i should have done. i should have just listened to my mom. what did she tell you? why do you hang out with criminals? if you don't hang out with criminals, you won't go to jail. courtney pleaded guilty and will spend two to five years in prison. so where do crooks steal cars to sell? sometimes they take them right off the street. but police and our hidden cameras are watching. >> come on, fools! coming up, behind the wheel,

then off to jail. >> put your hands out. let me see your hands! when "vegas undercover" continues. uhh! [ alyson ] just keep walking... ♪ oh, come on! ♪ ugh, again! [ sniffs ] that's what i'm talkin' about. [ female announcer ] new head & shoulders green apple, with an enticing scent. works on the scalp for up to 100% flake-free hair that's irresistibly fragrant. [ both laugh ] [ female announcer ] new head & shoulders green apple. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow, ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums

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you're watching realtime video of a thief in the act of stealing a car. it happens over and over again. in fact, every 30 seconds another car is stolen somewhere in america. until just a few years ago las vegas led the nation in auto theft. but the police here responded with a specialized unit called viper, and soon the crime numbers began falling. we've been riding along with an lieutenant showing us specialized bait cars. >> this has a map. each car is represented by a color. >> here's how it works. two undercover detectives, a male and a female drive one of

the vehicles into a high crime area and get out of the car and appear to start an argument. in the chaos they pretend to abandon the vehicle, a real life scenario that lieutenant duvall says happens more than you might think. >> we use real situations where people have had their cars stolen because they left it running. >> tonight it takes only a few minutes for the bait car to attract attention. >> we have someone interested. >> at first just one woman jumps in. >> door open. >> and what she doesn't know is that the police are following her. we're right behind her. we're watching and listening to everything she says. >> come on, fool. >> she picks up three friends. >> hurry up. see if they got some money. >> and rummages through a purse intentionally left by police. just look through the [ bleep ]. >> the bait car, the escalade

was out for probably less than three minutes. a woman got in, grabbed it, and then picked up some other people. >> i'm about to run this light. >> now they're running a red light. >> we got to park this [ bleep ]. >> talking ab going to the house and parking it. >> it's time for the cops to cut off the power to the suv. >> kill it, kill it, kill it. >> oh, no gas. >> let me see your hands! driver, put your hands out. let me see your hands. >> officers arrest all four people in the car and charge them with grand theft auto. before they're taken off to jail, i get a chance to speak with them. starting with the driver, who goes by misty. i'm wondering if you just tell me what happened. >> yeah, the lady was arguing with her boyfriend. >> the lady who was originally driving the car. she describes after seeing the commotion and the abandoned car,

her friends egged her onto take it. >> they wanted me to get it. >> they wanted you to get it? why did they want you to get it? >> i don't know. >> well, they're your friends. so you just did. why not just turn the car off and call police? >> i don't know. i was going to probably do that when i got here. >> what were you all saying to each other when you took off? >> nothing. just let's go park it. >> see i could hear what you were saying. that's not what you were saying. >> i said, look through her wallet. >> look through her wallet, see if there's any money. so you're going to take the pun if you found money. >> because i have no money. >> i know, but you're not supposed to take money that's not yours, right? >> one of the other passengers, timothy dillon says his friend misty has it all wrong. >> now she says, misty says that you all said, get in the car, get in the car. start it. drive around, pick us up. >> i have no idea why she would say that? >> she claims that's what

happened. >> i mean, she got her opinion. i got mine. >> and what's your opinion? >> she asked if we needed a ride, so we got in. >> i heard what was going on. and it didn't go down just that way. you want to give me another shot at the story here? >> that's the one i'm going with. >> the other two suspects are siblings. he said he knew this was a bad idea. i said, i'm not getting in there. my sister is like, yeah, you are. come on, come on. >> i had some -- i -- >> his sister loretta admits she's been drinking. so what made you decide it was a good idea to jump in there? >> to have a ride. >> to have a ride. a ride that on this night land her and her friend behind bars. all four suspects have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to less than a year in jail. so what's going to happen to you now? >> i'm in trouble. >> you're in trouble.

all right. >> yeah. >> coming up, thieves so bold they stole jewelry from one pawnshop and hocked it at another. how they were finally put on ice. >> i foub the gun. it's under the passenger seat wrapped in a towel. c'mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn. hold up partner. prilosec can take days to work. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast.

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hello. i'm milissa rehberger. strong words from the u.s. representatives to the united nations after china and russia veto a security resolution. ambassador susan rice says she's disgusted by the action. this after a military assault killed 200 people. and mitt romney is hoping to cash in on his lead. live coverage on msnbc is coming up at 6:00 p.m. eastern. now back to vegas undercover.

two masked men, guns drawn, order terrified customers and employees to the floor as they smash display cases, hidden jewelry and cash. he says all the robberies share a similar pattern. they pull up right in front of the pawnshop. the men wear masks made from t-shirts and carry guns and use pillow cases for the loot. >> they force him in there. >> throw them in the pillow case. who are they?

the video from the pawnshop is of little use. then a tip c jewelry stolen from one pawnshop is being hocked at another. this suspect is identified on store surveillance wearing a gold chain stolen that very morning. police identify him. antonio richard. a seven-time convicted felon. >> i didn't have enough to get identified from the victims in the pawnshop. so i had to do something to get the cases solved. >> the only way to know is to keep richard under constant surveillance. the detective turns to a specialized unit. -- to catch them in the act. lieutenant ted lee, who heads up the specialized unit, says it's the career criminals who commit most crimes.

>> unfortunately that's their job. that's the business. that's all they really know. the sergeant and his team are assigned to watch antonio richard every waking hour. first it seems richard is living a crime-free life. even has a job as a courier. until another tip. >> we have a new piece of information. informants say he's going to hit another super shop and give him a time and arrest. the suspects show up before the sergeant arrives on the scene, the men are spooked when they see a security guard and drive away. but police follow the men and arrest them a few blocks down from the road. so were these the guys

responsible for the armed robberies? remember that white grand van? they were arrested riding in a white grand am. crime scene investigators search the car. >> we're looking for any kind of clothing, firearms, anything like that. >> and find masks made out of t-shirts, just like the one used this the robbery. >> one that we just pulled out. a gun underneath the front seat. >> it's wrapped in a towel. and a pillow case just like the robbers were seen carrying. a few weeks later i went to the jail to speak with richard. how did it all start? >> just doing something to be doing something.

wasn't really no reason. >> richard admits they were the claim behind the mask but claims they had no intention of hurting anyone. >> it seems worse than it really is. >> in what way? >> it looks like we were going to hurt someone. we were trying to make situations happen and come out of there as safe as possible. that's all it really was. >> richards says he and his police, who has pleaded guilty, netted more than $20,000 in stolen goods. extravagant things. what was the most extravagant thing you bought with the money? >> going on trips? fix the cars up. pay the bills. just gamble.

at 42 he's already spent more than ten years in prison. is prison a deterrent for you? >> i don't being locked up. i stay locked up. i parentally it must be something within me to where i must be liking this type of lifestyle or something. coming up, he's in hot water. how many people do you figure you guys scammed? but say it's all his fault. >> i'm done. i mean, are you charging me with something? >> i'm not charging you. i'm a correspondent for a television show. >> well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients.

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