Cane Row Casino Holdup in Louisiana Leads to 8 Arrests and Investigation

Posted on: October 25, 2022, 04:57h. 

Last updated on: October 25, 2022, 12:35h.

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

Three suspects have been charged for the September 29 robbery at Louisiana’s Cane Row Truck Stop & Casino, a local sheriff’s office revealed on Monday. Five additional suspects were arrested on October 11 for the heist.

Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office SUV
Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office SUV, pictured above. The local sheriff announced the arrest of eight suspects in a Louisiana casino robbery. (Image: Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office)

The most recent arrests include Jose Luis Gordillo, 18, of Gulfport, Miss., Hector Omar Barahona, 20, of New Orleans, La., and Brayon Chinchilla Pacheco, 18, of Harvey, La., Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon said in a statement.

The earlier arrests include Jonathan Lopez, 19, also of Harvey, La., Roller Avila, 19, of Donaldsonville, La., Norman D. Escalate, 18, of Terrytown, La., and an unnamed 17-year-old from Gretna, La.

Each was charged with armed robbery with a firearm. A 16-year-old from Marrero, La., was charged with being an accessory after the fact to armed robbery with a firearm.

The alleged bandits stole an unspecified amount of money from the casino. Most of the suspects remained in custody on Monday. The 16-year-old was released.

Pacheo is currently in custody in Kansas, incarcerated on several unrelated charges. He will face a charge in Louisiana after the Kansas charges are addressed in courts in that state.

The gaming property is located in Assumption Parish on Highway 70. Assumption Parish is located some 79 miles west of New Orleans.

Deputies are investigating if any of the suspects are connected to other robberies, The Advocate, a Baton Rouge, La. media outlet, reported.

Other Louisiana Casino Thefts

In an April holdup, a sole bandit robbed Louisiana’s Lucky Dollar Casino on Easter Sunday. He stole an unspecified amount of cash from the Greensburg gaming property.

The suspect displayed what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun during the heist. He then fled southeast toward Old Highway 10. He has yet to be caught.

Greensburg is about 48 miles northeast of Baton Rouge.

That same month, one man and two women stole an unspecified amount of cash, a firearm, and a cell phone from Boomtown Casino Hotel in Bossier City, La.

The trio had checked into the casino at about 5:20 pm on April 4, KTAL, a local TV station, reported. A hotel employee mistakenly gave them a key to an occupied room. Instead of informing the front desk about the error, they stole the cash, a keyless entry device for a Jaguar, sifted through luggage, and stole an iPhone 11.

The suspects then located the SUV in the casino lot and used the remote key to enter the vehicle where they took more money and a handgun.

At about 9 pm that same night, they fled in a 2007 black Chevy Tahoe. They never bothered to check out of the casino hotel.