A retired Elvis Presley impersonator helped police catch a man suspected of stealing more than $300 000-worth of memorabilia from the Elvis-a-Rama museum in Las Vegas.

Duke Adams, a 62-year-old "older-era Elvis", says he was approached while in line at a pharmacy by a man offering to sell him items once owned by the "King", including jewelry, clothing and the Presley's revolver.

Remembering the March 2004 burglary, Adams says he asked the man to stop by his business the next day. Adams went home and called the police.

Authorities swooped in and arrested Eliab Aguilar after the Las Vegas man brought all but one of the stolen items to Adams's employment agency.

"He'd laid it all out on the table. It couldn't have been handed to me more clearly," says Detective Kelli Hickle, who's been on the case since thieves backed a stolen tow truck into the museum, used the vehicle's hook to lift an overhead door and heisted the loot in a matter of minutes.

Aguilar was charged with burglary, grand larceny auto, possession of stolen property and possession of a stolen firearm, Hickle says. She did not release information on any other suspects.

Among the items police recovered were a 41-carat ruby-and-diamond ring worth $77,000, a $65,000 gold-and-black onyx medallion that spells "Elvis" in diamonds, and a gold-plated Smith and Wesson .38 special handgun.