Casino Crime Roundup: Motorist Drove Over Officer’s Foot After Fight

Posted on: February 29, 2024, 07:44h. 

Last updated on: February 29, 2024, 11:03h.

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

A fleeing motorist struck a police car and drove over a police officer’s foot after a Wednesday morning ruckus outside of Potawatomi Casino Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis.

Potawatomi Casino Hotel
The Potawatomi Casino Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis., pictured above. Several people were arrested there after a fight. (Image: On Milwaukee)

The incident began at about 3 a.m. when several visitors were asked to leave the gaming property.

While they were being escorted out of the building, one visitor attempted to assault a casino employee, according to Milwaukee TV station WISN.

They walked outside, but then they began to fight on Valet Drive. Casino security guards alerted Milwaukee police for their help.

It appears some of those fighting left, but soon returned to the complex. Milwaukee police officers arrived at the scene and approached the suspects.

Rams Into Police Car

Officers ordered the suspects out of their car. But instead, the motorist began to drive away, ramming into the police cruiser.

Before fleeing, the motorist also drove over the officer’s foot. The officer suffered no significant injuries as a result of the incident.

Other officers followed the motorist in a pursuit which went onto Canal Street, where she was apprehended.

It appeared that other participants in the melee were also detained. The driver and two other women, each 20 years of age, were charged. Their names and charges weren’t immediately available.

Others in the fight also were under the age of 21, according to Fox News.

It’s possible the visitors may have been asked to leave because they were under the minimum age to enter a casino floor.

It’s not clear what caused the fight. But eyewitnesses said the melee led to a large police presence at the casino. None of the casino staff nor other visitors suffered injuries.

Murder Victims Both Worked at Dotty’s

Two recent murder victims in Las Vegas had been bartenders at a Dotty’s gaming property, according to a news report.

In one death, the shooter, Mark Michael Ford, 36, had staked out the Dotty’s parking lot on North Hualapai Way until seeing John Dorotiak Jr., 44. 

Dorotiak died from gunshot wounds fired by Ford, according to an autopsy from the Clark County coroner’s office and police reports.

Ford also fatally shot Jessica Russo, 36, at her residence.

Russo and Dorotiak “were good friends” and work colleagues at the gaming chain, one of their relatives told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Later, while being sought by police, Ford ended his own life by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Ford was in prison up until 2023, when he was paroled. He served 20 years for second-degree murder with a deadly weapon after fatally stabbing a Las Vegas man, according to the Review-Journal. Ford was only 15 when the murder took place, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Was a ‘Monster’

Jessica Russo’s mother, Laura Russo, recently told Las Vegas TV station KLAS that Ford “murdered my daughter like a monster. He should’ve never gotten out of prison. He’s a monster.”

Jessica Russo is survived by two daughters, ages 11 and 7 years old.

The older girl, Adriana Felix, told KLAS, “That was my mom. That was my best friend. That was my whole life.”