Casino Crime News Roundup: New Trial for Convicted Casino Murderer

Posted on: October 24, 2024, 10:44h. 

Last updated on: October 24, 2024, 10:59h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A man convicted for a murder at the Harrah’s Joliet Hotel & Casino will be given a new trial after a panel of Illinois appeals court judges last week overturned Robert Watson’s conviction.

Watson had been serving a 100-year sentence after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for stabbing Sam Burgarino, 76, 26 times in March 2019.

During last year’s trial, Watson was also found to be mentally ill. Issues related to his emotional health were part of the grounds for the appeal, according to Patch.

Watson’s attorneys argued during his appeal it was inappropriate that he wasn’t given a continuance to obtain another sanity evaluation. Also, prosecutors improperly called an expert, Anna Stapleton, as a rebuttal witness after she was used by the defense, judges said.

“This error was so prejudicial that it deprived defendant’s right to a fair trial,” the appellate judges added in their ruling.

In their appeal, Watson’s attorneys also said biased instructions were reread improperly to the jury.

Treasure Island Casino Alleged Robber Arrested

The man accused of robbing a victim in the parking garage of Treasure Island Resort & Casino is now in a Las Vegas jail.

Zac Zachary, 43, was moved from a California jail to Nevada’s Clark County Detention Center last week for the February 12 holdup. He was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and battery to commit robbery with a deadly weapon.

Zachary allegedly was holding a handgun when he approached a man in a car, beat him in the head, and then ordered him to give him his personal property, police said.

Zachary took an Oakley crossbody bag, debit and credit cards, an ID, and approximately $1,000 in cash, before fleeing from the parking garage, police said.

In his getaway vehicle, a rental car, police said they found a handgun, ammo, suspected marijuana, scales, the Oakley bag, and a cell phone.

Another person in the parking garage and the casino’s surveillance cameras took photos of the suspect. Police used the photos to identify and track Oakley down, Las Vegas TV station KLAS reported.

There was no word on any injuries suffered by the victim.

California Highway Patrol apprehended Zachary in Baker, Calif., and placed him in the High Desert Detention Center in California’s San Bernardino County. He’s scheduled to appear in a Nevada court on November 4.