CASINO CRIME ROUND UP: Oklahoma Shooting, Sentencing in Washington State, South Dakota Arrest

Posted on: February 3, 2023, 02:26h. 

Last updated on: February 3, 2023, 03:13h.

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

A 31-year-old South Dakota man was arrested on Thursday for four recent holdups at Sioux Falls gaming properties. In two of the robberies, he allegedly pulled out a knife to threaten employees.

A Sioux Falls, S.D. police SUV
A Sioux Falls, S.D. police SUV, pictured above. Police arrested a local man for allegedly robbing four Sioux Falls casinos. (Image: Matt’s Photo Collection)

The suspect, Domach Khai, 31, of Sioux Falls, was charged with first-degree robbery, aggravated assault, and other counts, Dakota News Now, a regional news site, reported.

He was charged with the following incidents:

  • January 20 robbery at Get-N-Go.
  • A second January 20 robbery at Paradise Casino.
  • January 22 robbery at Neon Casino.
  • January 25 robbery at Box Car Casino.

Khai allegedly showed a knife during one of the January 20 robberies and during the January 25 heist. He reportedly left with cash in all four instances.

Kahi was apprehended by the Sioux Falls Area Joint Fugitive Task Force in front of a local apartment building. The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation assisted in the arrest. Police were able to find Khai thanks to video footage from the crime scenes.

Bond was set at $100K, Clemens said. Khai was sentenced on three counts of first-degree robbery in 2015, the report added.

Oklahoma Casino Shooting

A Wyandotte Nation Tribal Police officer shot an unidentified man during a Thursday morning confrontation outside of Oklahoma’s River Bend Casino and Hotel.

The wounded man was rushed to a hospital in Missouri. He underwent emergency surgery and was listed in critical condition late on Thursday, an FBI spokesperson told Casino.org. He is expected to survive, the FBI added.

The suspect had been brandishing a weapon while in the Wyandotte, Okla. casino’s parking lot in the 9 a.m. incident.

The FBI and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation took over the case because the incident occurred on Indian Trust land, according to the FBI.

Washington State Money Laundering

This week in Washington State, the ringleader of a drug trafficking operation was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The defendant, Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, schemed to launder more than $1 million through casino gambling, according to Washington State Western District US Attorney Nick Brown.

When he was arrested at the Snoqualmie Casino, Valdez-Sanudo had three firearms in a vehicle, one with a homemade silencer. He pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and carrying a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime.

Law enforcement seized approximately 143 pounds of methamphetamine (meth), 15 pounds of heroin, 35,000 suspected fentanyl pills, 24 firearms, and approximately $778,000 during their search of his Arlington, Wash. property.

Four Face Judge for Illegal Gambling

In Michigan, one of four people accused of illegal gambling at the Ludington Eagles Club pleaded guilty to a gambling charge this week at 79th District Court.

Gary Lee Mallion, 72, was ordered to pay $390 in fines. He was placed on six months’ probation.

Under the plea, three felonies were dismissed. The charges were conspiracy gambling, gambling house permitting for gain, and maintaining a gambling house for gain. Police alleged that pull tabs, punch boards, and games of dice were used to gamble at the Eagles club.

Three other defendants, Suann Marie Mortensen, 52, George Alan Karl, 65, and Thomas Lee Johnson, 62, are scheduled to appear in court next Wednesday.