Major seizures in California
It has been a busy week when it comes to gambling-related crime across the United States. In addition to numerous raids of illegal gambling operations, there were other interesting cases in the news.
In California, police raided an illegal gambling operation early on Thursday morning. The Daly City officers arrested four adults and seized coin-operated machines, numerous guns, large amounts of illegal drugs, and sizeable sums of cash. The bust took place at around 5am at a residence on Monterey Avenue. The Daly City Police tweeted out a picture of some of the seized items from the raid:
A combination of the Daly City crime suppression unit, tactical team, and detectives served the search warrant after the residence was identified as being the venue for an illegal gambling operation. Those arrested are facing a mix of charges relating to the illegal gambling machines, guns, and drugs.
Councilman facing illegal gambling charges
Also in California, Lodi City Councilman Shakir Khan had his arraignment on Tuesday on charges related to illegal gambling, unemployment claim fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. Despite these charges, he does not plan to resign from his political position. His attorney spoke about how these allegations are old and stated that Khan was not a participant in the illegal gambling that took place in East Stockton.
None of these allegations involve the office he holds as City Council Member.”
Khan’s attorney said: “Mr. Khan denies these charges and looks forward to clearing his name. None of these allegations involve the office he holds as City Council Member. Mr. Khan has no intentions of resigning his office.”
The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office has alleged that Khan was operating illegal gambling from his business, American Smokers Club, and then laundered the profits. Khan’s attorney has said that his client sold this business before the illegal gambling operation started.
The illegal gambling and money laundering allegedly took place between February 2018 and September 2020. Khan also allegedly received money from the state unlawfully during the pandemic. The next court date for Khan at the San Joaquin County Superior Court is October 26.
Ohio gaming agents seize illegal gambling machines
Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) gaming agents, assisted by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, have seized slot machines at four businesses in Fayette County. Each of the four properties was identified as housing illegal gambling operations. These businesses were Unique Treasures, Jackpots, Miss Kay’s, and Shamrock’s. The agents seized the illegal gambling machines, as well as documents and cash from each of these establishments. There were no arrests made, but investigations are continuing.
blatant disregard of the law”
OCCC agents had gotten complaints that these businesses had been offering illegal gambling machines and were paying out cash prizes to winners. Speaking about these raids was OCCC executive director Matthew Schuler, who said: “The operators of these illegal casinos took advantage of their community to line their own pockets in blatant disregard of the law.”
He went on to speak about the OCCC’s ongoing commitment to making sure that gambling in Ohio is conducted with integrity and honesty. The OCCC is committed to tackling anyone who is in violation of the state’s gaming laws.
Arkansas fire captain facing charges after casino fight
Finally, a former fire captain in Arkansas has claimed that he was “involuntarily intoxicated” during a fight at the Oaklawn Casino in Hot Springs. The former Bentonville fire captain was arrested following the incident and is facing battery charges. The 44-year-old allegedly attacked the victim after telling him that he “did not belong in this country.”
However, Benjamin Snodgrass’ defense team is claiming that the defendant had been “dosed with a hallucinogen” during the time of the incident. They claim that as he was not of right mind during the fight, that he was not responsible. The entire altercation was caught on the casino’s security camera.
Snodgrass has admitted to drinking about ten alcoholic beverages before the attack and he does not directly recall the fight. However, prosecutors say that there is no evidence that Snodgrass had, in fact, been drugged. A brief from state prosecutors stated: “The Defendant’s loss of memory is important as well. It is possible that the Defendant took MDMA voluntarily and is unable to remember taking it. There is no evidence and no testimony that anyone in the bar had any motivation to drug him.”
The next hearing in this case is on October 1.