event calendar

DA, police raid Gilmer cyber café for gambling

Is Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd serious about shutting down illegal gambling in the county? You bet he is! Byrd struck quickly Wednesday (July 2), to fulfill his pledge to combat illegal gambling.

Gilmer police, accompanied by Byrd and Assistant District Attorney Robert Cole Jr., executed a search warrant at the Gilmer e-Center at 521 N. Cypress St. Wednesday morning, seizing computers and other equipment allegedly used for Internet gambling.

The search warrant, signed by Upshur County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Lyle Potter, was executed at about 9:15 a.m. Byrd said he would file a motion for the dozens of computers, a few cash machines and other equipment at the location to be seized by the state.

Prizes given were Simon Mall debit cards. A sign by cash machines stated that only $500 in sweepstakes winnings could be redeemed in a 24-hour period.

Byrd had warned in an article in Wednesday’s edition of The Gilmer Mirror that he would crack down on “all persons running illegal gaming rooms, Internet cafes, and conducting other illegal gambling operations in Upshur County.”

In an open letter published in that edition, he said that all such operations are given notice to shut down and dispose of their machines, or risk jail time, forfeiture of equipment and cash from the proceeds.

In that article, Byrd also said that “violation of Texas gambling laws calls for up to a year in the county jail and a fine of up to $4,000 per each offense.”

He also said that, in some cases, maintaining, running or managing such a place can bring up to 10 years in the penitentiary and a fine up to $10,000.

The Gilmer site reportedly brought in tens of thousands of dollars a week.

Byrd, in his open letter, warned that illegal gambling operations, including those with 8-liner machines, had until July 15 to dispose of their equipment and shut down. He said he hopes they will cease operation voluntarily, rather than having to be closed by law enforcement officers.

The search warrant had been requested by Gilmer Police Investigator Ron Benge. He said in his affidavit that Gilmer Police Chief James Grunden had received numerous complaints that the business was an illegal gambling establishment, and was originally doing business as Internet Café, which was later changed to Gilmer e-Center.

The affidavit stated that a security officer at Longview Mall, who is also a Texas peace officer, noticed several large cash drops, with cash used to purchase Simon Visa gift (debit) cards to pay winners from the online gambling establishment. The guard said that the business purchased between $20,000 and $25,000 worth of Simon Visa gift cards in a week.

The affidavit stated that the business had on April 19 purchased $4,018.50 worth of Simon Visa gift cards using a check from a Gilmer bank.

Two Department of Public Safety officers and one Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent went undercover to investigate the business, the affidavit said, with $100 each provided by Benge.

The BATF agent entered but soon exited. She told Benge that she was required to produce photo identification. She retrieved her ID and reentered the business. Benge later met with all three agents at another location, where they released four Simon Visa gift cards received from the suspected business.

Three of the cards had face value of $25, and one was for $100.

Each said they had won the cards playing various casino-style computer games, including an 8-liner-style game. Skill was not a factor in winning, they said.

The DPS officers went into the business undercover a second time, and one won $600, but when he redeemed his card, he was told that they would only pay out $500 cash credit per patron per day. He was given seven cards with the total value of $500, with the other $100 placed on his prepaid dial-up card.

Investigator Roxanne Warren was given one of Simon Visa debit cards, and used it to make small purchases at various stores, to prove the cards could be used at sites other than the internet cafe.

In addition to equipment, cash and furniture, the search warrant called for the seizure of contents of vending machines, safes, ledgers and machines used to document customer information and profiles.

The computerized equipment is to be delivered to a qualified lab for analysis.



Mirror Photos
GILMER POLICE INVESTIGATOR Roxanne Warren, with back to camera in photo above, photographs the outside of the Gilmer e-Center cyber café, as other Gilmer police look on. A search warrant was executed Wednesday and equipment in the building was seized for suspicion of illegal gambling. In top photo, Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd looks at some of the dozens of computers in the business. One of the business’s cash machines is in the foreground.

gilmermirror@gmail.com