Monday, October 22, 2007

"Just a nice bunch of people out to have some fun"

The above might actually describe some people that frequent casinos. The problem is they are not the only type of person casinos attract - derelict grandfathers and car thieves seem to like them too. Whether this Oklahoma grandpa has a gambling problem or just went in to drag grandma away from the slots, this near tragedy would not have happened if the casino did not exist. From NewsOK.com:

Man detained after girl taken from casino parking lot

CONCHO — One man has been detained and authorities are searching for others in connection with the theft of a pickup with a 3-year-old girl asleep inside, FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson said.

Alyssa Lopez, 3, was found unharmed in the back of an abandoned pickup about 6:40 a.m. on the Interstate 40 off-ramp at Peebly Road, Johnson said. The pickup was reported stolen by the girl's grandfather, who went inside Lucky Star Casino in Concho about 2 a.m. and left the girl in the pickup outside the casino. Canadian County Sheriff Lewis Hawkins identified the grandfather as Douglas Gray, 49, of Kingfisher.

Gray reported his pickup stolen about 3:45 a.m. and the Canadian County Sheriff's office issued an Amber Alert about 5:34 a.m.

About 6:30 a.m., a motorist driving east on Interstate 40 exited at Peebly Road and saw the pickup, Johnson said. The man noticed an Amber Alert message on an electronic billboard while driving on I-40.

About 9:30 a.m., law officers stopped a man walking near SE 104 in Oklahoma City, Johnson said. The man, who authorities believe was involved with the theft of the pickup, was detained and later interviewed by FBI agents.

"We are looking for others we believe he arrived at the casino with,” Johnson said. "They are persons of interest.”

The girl was taken to a hospital as a precaution, but appears unharmed, Johnson said.

Hawkins said his office is investigating the case with FBI agents. A decision had not been made this afternoon as to who would take custody of the girl. Hawkins said child neglect complaints naming Gray could be forwarded to the Canadian County District Attorney's office.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

What the hell was this guy thinking leaving a 3 year old alone in a vehicle? Asleep?

sosumi said...

People addicted to gambling are like drug addicts or alcoholics and have trouble thinking of anyhthing else.

Meeerkat said...

Bringing casino life to small rural communities is the main issue for me. Let's face it. Nobody wants a casino in their neighborhood. If they have to be here let's keep them in the already contaminated places. Why do we want to spread the disease to all of our healthy, wholesome, small communities.