{"id":33308,"date":"2013-03-21T20:05:59","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T03:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=33308"},"modified":"2013-03-26T13:16:25","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T20:16:25","slug":"citywide-raids-target-illegal-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/03\/21\/citywide-raids-target-illegal-gambling\/","title":{"rendered":"Citywide raids target illegal gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Five<\/a>
Five Internet caf\u00e9s in Lancaster were shut down Thursday because authorities suspected the stores were actually a front for illegal gambling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 Nearly three dozen officers raided several businesses in Lancaster Thursday as part of a citywide operation targeting illegal gambling.<\/p>\n

The operation, a joint effort between the Lancaster Sheriff\u2019s Station, the city\u2019s Public Safety Office and the State\u2019s Bureau of Labor Standards, was the first operation in L.A. County that targeted online gambling, according to Lancaster Community Relation\u2019s deputy Michael Rust.<\/p>\n

\"Rust<\/a>
Rust shows where a patron won money as part of an illegal gambling scheme.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Complaints from residents and neighboring businesses led authorities to local Internet caf\u00e9s suspected of operating as online casinos, Rust said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all the same complaints, that loved ones are going in there and gambling away rent money,\u2019\u201d Rust said, adding that some patrons were using EBT cards to gamble.<\/p>\n

There were also complaints of public intoxication, loitering of gang members, fighting in public, and other quality of life issues and public nuisances, according to Miguel T. Ruiz of the Lancaster Sheriff\u2019s Station.\u00a0After a two-month investigation, authorities simultaneously served search warrants at five separate internet caf\u00e9 locations in Lancaster Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The I-Spot, at 1015 West Avenue I, was shut down as part of Thursday’s raid.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The locations had business licenses to operate as internet cafes; however, casino style computer \u201cslot machine\u201d games of chance were promoted in the establishments, Ruiz said.<\/p>\n

At the \u201cI Spot\u201d, located at 1015 West Avenue I, officers surprised nearly 30 patrons.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoulette, slot machines, poker, keno, whatever games you want to play, just like Vegas\u2026 they\u2019re all placing bets and they\u2019re winning money,\u201d Rust said.<\/p>\n

The patrons were briefly detained as authorities ran their names for warrants.<\/p>\n

Some said they were not aware that their actions were illegal.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This lady was arrested when authorities searched her name and found a $50,000 narcotics warrant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“We were just like innocent bystanders coming to gamble,\u201d said 19-year-old Andrew Martinez. \u201cIt\u2019s not like they had a sign that said that this is illegal gambling, it\u2019s like we didn\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least one customer at the \u201cI Spot\u201d was arrested after deputies discovered there was a $50,000 narcotics warrant for the woman\u2019s arrest, Rust said.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s citywide operation also targeted establishments at 1336 West Avenue J; 2751 West Avenue L, Suite A; 616 East Avenue K, units 103 and 105; and 2330 Mall Loop Road #111.<\/p>\n

Authorities seized 150 computers, documents of gambling debts owed to customers, and approximately $5,000 in cash. Three people were cited for the misdemeanor violation of conducting gambling operations. A parolee-at-large was also arrested, Ruiz said.<\/p>\n

All targeted businesses were shut down by the city of Lancaster, officials said. The investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note<\/span>: Story updated with information from deputy Miguel T. Ruiz of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Nearly three dozen officers raided several businesses in Lancaster Thursday as part of a citywide operation targeting illegal gambling. The operation, a joint effort between the Lancaster Sheriff\u2019s Station, the city\u2019s Public Safety Office and the State\u2019s Bureau of Labor Standards, was the first operation in L.A. County that targeted online gambling, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":33309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[719],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33308"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}