After numerous citizen complaints about illegal gambling, Jacksonville police arrested 14 people Monday and confiscated more than $200,000 and dozens of gambling machines from businesses across the city, department officials said.
Lt. Richard Betterton, who supervises the Jacksonville Police Department's criminal investigation division, said Tuesday that officers executed 11 search warrants on gas stations, small retail stores and convenience stores across the city, resulting in the confiscation of 62 gambling machines and ATMs, and $209,089 in cash.
"We will continue to monitor this type of illegal activity throughout the city," Betterton said. "Hopefully this will send a message."
Officers arrested the stores' owners or managers on charges of operating a gambling house, use of gambling equipment and unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, Betterton said. The number of charges varied depending on how many gambling machines were in each store.
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Those arrested were Chi Mann Ahn, 55; Felicia Renee Allen, 33; Mary Elizabeth Monique Allen, 39; David Armond Gilchrest III, 22; William L. Heard, 52; Anwer Hemani, 54; Joanne Julie Kim, 57; Young Sun Ko, 52; Saeeda Naqui, 52; Syed Tariqmahmood Naqui, 66; Landeep Singh, 29; Donald Kelly Thompson, 76; Kevin Waller, 51; and Kyoung Hoon Yoon, 47.
Felicia Allen was also charged with possession of controlled substances and possession of firearms by certain persons, according to an arrest report. Allen was transported to the Pulaski County jail, where she continued to be held without bail Tuesday evening, according to the jail's roster.
Betterton and interim Chief Jason McCullough spoke in a conference room at the department Tuesday where officers had lined the walls with 34 of the gambling machines and a confiscated ATM. Large white poster boards were placed on many of the machines and displayed the name, mugshot and charges against each arrested person, as well as how much cash and how many machines were confiscated at their businesses.
Betterton said investigators confiscated a handful of ATMs because the machines were set up directly next to the gambling devices, enabling players to withdraw money and continue to play.
The undercover gambling sting began, Betterton said, because of citizens who called in to report the illegal operations.
"The citizens were very helpful in getting this done for us," Betterton said. "We received complaints up until the day before we executed the search warrants."
Officers then began finding and frequenting stores where there were reports of gambling, where Betterton said many managers and employees would ask the undercover officers "if they were cops" and would not give them payouts until they "got to know them."
The store managers and owners were paying players in cash, gas, gift cards or lottery tickets, Betterton said. Most illegal gambling is done through leased gambling machines, he said.
The number of gas stations was so high that the Jacksonville Police Department released a list of six stations that were still open Monday morning during the raids.
The search warrants granted officers entry to Bucks Country Store, Citgo Flash Market, Citgo T-Ricks, Feeze Kutz, Han's Citgo, Heards and Q Tee's, Hi-Life Market, OK Mart/Valero, Roadrunner Distribution, Victory Express and 501 Vapes, according to a news release.
Betterton said he doesn't think the illegal gambling problem is specific to Jacksonville. It's a difficult crime for police to investigate, he said.
"This kind of operation has made other cities look at what's going on in their city," Betterton said. "You'll probably see a lot more cities take action on these kinds of illegal gambling activities."
Metro on 11/06/2019