Quote: Three Cheyenne women charged after selling coins stolen from The Plains Hotel
Ivy Secrest Wyoming Tribune Eagle Dec 10, 2024
CHEYENNE — The former housekeeping manager of the historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne has been charged with felony theft.
Rene Manzanares, 46, could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for allegedly stealing roughly $26,000 worth of coins from a guest's room, according to court documents.
Additionally, Manzanares is accused of involving two other individuals in the sale of the coins to coin dealers for cash.
The coins were stolen in 2022 and resurfaced in May when Cheyenne Police Department Detective Matthew Freeman was contacted by a local coin dealer.
According to the dealer, two women — one identifying herself by a fake name — had come to his shop two weeks prior with a "tote full" of silver and gold coins to sell.
Freeman was able to identify the suspects as Candace Miller and Martha Salazar, both of whom now face theft charges, 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 in silver proof quarters from Salazar, who allegedly possessed approximately $20,000 worth of gold coins. According to the arrest affidavit, the dealer didn't have the cash to purchase the gold coins and suspected they may be stolen property.
The two women returned on May 7, and the dealer purchased a $20 1908 U.S. gold piece and a $5 U.S. gold piece for approximately $2,900 from Salazar.
The dealer again lacked the funds to purchase more coins, so the pair left the store with the understanding that Salazar would be contacted when the dealer could afford more coins.
The dealer stated that although he suspected the coins to be stolen property, he did not know for sure and thus continued to do business with Salazar, according to the affidavit.
Freeman learned from an online database that Salazar had additionally sold $850 in 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 driving with an expired registration.
In that discussion, Salazar initially claimed to have bought the coins from another woman, who was recently arrested in a non-related burglary, according to the affidavit. Salazar showed the detective her remaining gold coins in her purse, where the officer also found about $7,000 in cash.
Freeman interviewed Salazar, who later admitted that rather than purchasing the coins, they had come from Miller, who is her cousin. According to the affidavit, Miller had gotten the coins from her girlfriend, Manzanares.
Manzanares claimed in a later interview that she had found the coins in the hotel's lost and found, stating that they'd 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 that her cousin sold the remaining coins. Additionally, she claimed that she had spent her profits on bills and gambling, according to the affidavit.
While reviewing phone calls placed by Salazar from the Laramie County jail, Freeman determined that Miller and Salazar were discussing how to get Salazar out of jail in order to keep Miller and Manzanares' "names out of it."
Within those calls, Miller said she didn't have the money to bond Salazar out.
According to the affidavit, Salazar asked Miller, "Do you know the rest of those things? Where are those at?" and "Why don't you go get rid of them? Not here in town, but somewhere," during the calls.
Freeman confirmed with Astrid, the owner of the Plains Hotel, that Manzanares had no permission to take anything from the hotel's lost and found and should have reported any valuable items upon finding them. Manzanares no longer works for the hotel.
Finally, on Aug. 5, the suspected owner of the allegedly stolen coins and friend of Astrid spoke with Freeman. Being from out of state, the suspected owner of the coins stated that she had been at the hotel during the 2022 Cheyenne Frontier Days, helping Astrid.
According to the affidavit, she stored the silver and gold coins under her bed, believing until recently that she had lost them when later moving hotels.
The suspected owner of the coins told the detective that she had asked Manzanares if she'd left anything in her room. According to the affidavit, Manzanares had told her that nothing was left behind.
Trusting Manzanares, she assumed she had left the coins at a property in Colorado. However, she was unable to find them there later on.
She concluded that Manzanares stole the coins while cleaning her room. Some of the coins stolen aligned with an inventory the suspected owner provided to Freeman, however 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 could vary greatly depending on years and conditions.
Manzanares' preliminary appearance has yet to be set, while Miller will appear in court on Dec. 30.
Ivy Secrest is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice/public safety reporter. She can be reached at 307-631-2709 or isecrest@wyomingnews.com. Follow her on X at @IvySecrest. 
Posted 02/17/2025 03:04 am
