Indiana Casino Player Robbed of $40K, Two Valuable Rings, Suspect Remains in Jail
Posted on: September 23, 2022, 04:59h.
Last updated on: September 23, 2022, 05:10h.
A bandit who allegedly robbed and assaulted a woman after she arrived home from an Indiana casino remained in jail on Friday. News of his arrest was reported this week.
Solomon Evans Jr., 54, of Sauk Village, Ill., and a second unnamed man followed the victim from a Gary, Ind. gaming venue to her South Bend residence on Sept. 7, according to WBND, a local TV station.
She left the car to go into her house when Evans and the second man approached the victim. One of the suspects brandished a firearm, South Bend police said.
The duo then stole two rings from her, police added. The rings were valued at $91,000 and $88,000. The bandits also swiped about $40,000 in cash.
The robbers soon fled in a truck.
Later, Evans was identified by police. He was arrested on a warrant and booked in the St. Joseph County Jail on Sept. 13. His bail was set at $100,000.
He is charged with armed robbery and robbery resulting in bodily injury, according to online jail records. The second suspect appears to still be at large.
The incident began when the duo started to watch her win the money on the casino floor before tailing her home, reports said.
When speaking with police, Evans confirmed he was at the casino. But he claimed he drove to South Bend to pick up a dog. The dog’s owner was not home, so Evans left the city, he told authorities.
News reports did not identify the name of the casino.
Mail Fraud
Also, in September 2021, an Indiana man was charged in a federal indictment with mail fraud after a plot surfaced over the improper purchase of properties near the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, prosecutors said. He was allegedly speculating on land purchases before the Gary gaming property opened last year.
Sergio Gutierrez, 49, of Hobart was indicted after investigators uncovered the multi-year scheme, according to Northern District of Indiana Acting US Attorney Tina L. Nommay.
The plot ran between 2015 and 2019, she said in a statement. It attempted to allegedly defraud the Lake County Auditor’s Office.
Gutierrez also allegedly defaulted on $22,000 in property taxes, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana. The taxes were owed on four of his properties, the report said. Under the scheme, Gutierrez tried to obtain additional acreage, but he could not do so because of overdue property taxes, Nommay said.
Last year, Gutierrez plead not guilty in US District Court in Hammond, Ind. to the mail fraud charge.
Online Sports Apps
In addition, Hard Rock Northern Indiana launched online sports betting apps earlier this month.
The casino, owned by Hard Rock International, a Florida-based gaming company, engages players with an approach that integrates online play and in-person experiences.
Beyond Indiana, a Hard Rock Sportsbook app is available in Tennessee, Arizona, Iowa, New Jersey, and Virginia. Hard Rock is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
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Source: casino.org
