May 26th, 2011
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Author: TARRANT, Alabama — The operators of Robinwood Bingo, arrested this afternoon during a raid by Tarrant police, have been booked into the Jefferson County Jail, according to the jail log.
Tarrant Police Sgt. Larry Rice earlier today said the operators were each charged with 40 counts of illegal possession of gambling devices, which is a misdemeanor.
Tracey Jordan and Stephen Mark Beane were booked in at 3:45 p.m. and are being held on $12,000 bond each, the jail log shows.
The bingo hall is just outside the Tarrant city limits but within the jurisdiction of city police, Rice said.
City officials recently told the owners the hall would be shut down, but the bingo hall continued to operate, Rice said.
“They were given fair warning,” Rice said.
There were 19 customers inside the bingo hall when police arrived about 1:15 p.m., Rice said, but none were arrested.
As city jail inmates began loading the machines into a van, would-be customers pulled in and asked reporters gathered there if the business had been closed.
One woman, who would only give the name Linda, said she frequented the hall.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. It’s our money; I don’t see why they don’t let us play,” Linda said.
Rice said the machines were a far cry from the paper bingo his grandmother likes to play.
“These are illegal slot machines,” Rice said.
The machines dispense “cash-valued prizes” that can be redeemed for cash and are won by chance, not skill, Rice said. Undercover officers were given cash when they played the machines, he said.
Chief Deputy Randy Christian today said the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate other bingo halls that have opened in the county.
Cars are in the parking lots of Bingo Magic on Forestdale Boulevard and Bingo Bingo off Lakeshore Drive tonight and players are still inside both.
Rice said Tarrant Police and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office had been investigating the business for several weeks.
Efforts to reach Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls were unsuccessful today.
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