Police Raid Gambling Business

http://www.limaohio.com/news/lima_31335___article.html/police_gambling.html
Police raid suspected gambling business
No arrests yet
November 26, 2008 - 9:02 AM
Beth L. Jokinen
Published Nov. 27, 2008
LIMA - Recent complaints about gambling activity led the Lima Police Department to shut down a business Tuesday afternoon.
Police, along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification, executed a search warrant at Northland Palms, 1570 N. Main St. at 5:15 p.m. No one was arrested, but police removed gambling equipment from the building and charges could be coming.
"We received some complaints about gambling going on up there, so we just followed up with it," Lima Police Department Lt. James Baker said, adding that the officials studied the establishment for a couple of months.
The establishment, which sits among a small strip of buildings, appears to have been open for the sole purpose of gambling, Baker said. It opened a short while before the investigation began.
Police removed gaming tables, poker chips, video equipment, video gaming devices, cash and business records from the establishment. The main focus of the investigation was cards, Baker said.
Multiple people are suspected of operating the business, Baker said. They were present when police officers arrived Tuesday.
"They were detained and questioned, but not arrested," he said.
The case will be presented to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of charges. Baker suspects the case will not go to an Allen County grand jury until January.
There were a number of patrons in the building when police arrived. Baker would not comment on whether alcohol was being served, saying it is part of the investigation.
Baker said this sort of operation is not uncommon.
"Other communities have had this same type of problem," he said, citing raids performed in the past by the Allen County Sheriff's Office.
Two years ago, sheriff's deputies raided four locations, confiscating 26 illegal gambling machines.