Casino Crime Roundup: Man Allegedly Threatens Stabbings at Montana Casino

Posted on: August 9, 2023, 09:45h. 

Last updated on: August 9, 2023, 10:35h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A man was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly brandished a knife and threatened to stab people at a Montana casino.

Kalispell, Mont. police vehicle
Kalispell, Mont. police vehicle, pictured above. Officers arrested a man for allegedly threatening to stab people in a casino. (Image: Daily Interlake)

Tyler Jay Walter, 38, was charged with assault with a weapon and tampering with evidence. He entered the unnamed casino on U.S. 93 in Kalispell, Mont., created a disturbance, and pulled out the knife, according to Montana’s Daily Inter Lake news outlet.

Walter allegedly threatened to stab a man, likely a patron. “I’ll stab you guys, too,” Walter then yelled at casino workers, the report said. Walter allegedly threw the knife into a garbage container following the incident, police said.

Walter had been banned from entering the gaming property because of prior incidents, the report added.

There were no injuries in this weekend’s incident, and Walter’s case was turned over to prosecutors at Flathead County District Court. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $50K fine.

Michigan Suspect Arraigned

New details are emerging on the arrest of the woman accused of stealing $700K from a Michigan casino where she worked.

Danika Nicole Young, 38, who was the supervisor of the cash cage at Four Winds Hartford Casino, allegedly stole the loot on July 30 after she was told to bring it to someone in Gary, Ind. She was charged with a count of embezzlement over $100K and was arraigned in court last Wednesday.

She had a call … from somebody that she didn’t recognize, an unknown person she had met in Gary, telling her they needed the money in a certain location and yada yada yada,” an unnamed officer told a South Haven District Court judge after her arrest warrant was signed.

“That was it. So, she did. She counted out $700,000 and put it in a bag and walked out of the casino.”

Judge Arthur H. Clarke responded to the officer, “That’s a lot of money to keep, I would think … in her teller space.”

Young’s mother later told Michigan’s WOOD TV station that Young is a “wonderful mother and daughter… She’s a straitlaced girl.

Something happened,” the mother added. “Something is not right. It’s not right.”

If Young is convicted on the charge, she could face up to 20 years in prison. Her bond was set at $1M and she remains in custody at a local jail as of Wednesday, according to online jail records.

Nationally, other casinos have seen similar phone scams.