The post Feds Arrest Serial Tribal Casino Robber After Multi-State Grand Theft Investigation appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.
Casino robbing spree
A Mexican national has been charged by federal authorities in connection with a string of grand theft incidents targeting tribal casinos across Washington state and potentially other regions.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington (USAO-WDW), Kent police arrested Edgar Oswaldo Gonzalez Barragan, 32, in August following an intensive multi-state investigation.
The USAO-WDW took to X with news of Barragan’s alleged August robbery spree involving a bank and three tribal casinos in the Puget Sound area:
Assistant United States Attorney Celia Lee last week charged Barragan with robbery and attempted robbery, bringing to an end a manhunt involving the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, multiple state and tribal police departments, and three sheriff’s offices.
Familiar modus operandi
Barragan’s alleged crimes primarily targeted the secure money rooms and cash cages of tribal casinos, with sources indicating he was highly sophisticated in avoiding internal security measures and surveillance.
Authorities believe Barragan is responsible for at least four major heists over the last few months and is thought to have netted a substantial amount of cash from the robberies. Except for Quil Ceda Creek Casino on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, where his first attempted casino heist went wrong.
According to the USAO-WDWA press release, the suspect waved a silver handgun at Quil Ceda Creek on August 1 and demanded money at the cashier’s cage, only for the cashier to press the panic button and send him fleeing.
Using the same silver handgun, follow-the-money routine, the suspect hit Lummi Nation Indian Reservation two days later, getting away with $18,000 from the cashier’s cage at Silver Reef Casino.
told him the cash register was empty
The suspect’s third casino heist on August 9 also failed, when a teller from Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Washington, told him the cash register was empty. He was more successful with his robbery of a U.S. Bank branch in Shoreline on August 11, with the teller handing over $1,500.
End of the line
Kent police arrested Barragan “just hours after” his alleged Shoreline bank robbery, bringing to an end a multi-agency investigation spanning several states in which the suspect’s movements were tracked after each theft.
According to the DOJ, mobile phone location data and other evidence places Barragan “in the vicinity of all the robberies and attempted robberies.”
Formal charges related to the robberies are due to be filed in federal court soon.
The post Feds Arrest Serial Tribal Casino Robber After Multi-State Grand Theft Investigation appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.
