Las Vegas Convicted Chip Thief Faces Eight Years Or More In Prison
A convicted reiterate gaming poker chip thief is expected to drop at to the lowest degree octonary years inwards prison based on a condemn this week. But during a Las Vegas virtual tribunal appearance on Wednesday, he claimed the compositor's case was “fixed.”
William Ferguson, 66, was convicted past a panel in April for allegedly stealing an estimated $20,000 worth of chips. The thefts came from toothed wheel tables at Phoebe Sagebrush State gaming properties during 2019, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The thefts took come in at New York-New York, Golden Nugget, the Palms, Binion’s, and Wynn Las Vegas, prosecutors said. It appears the thefts were videotaped past surveillance cameras inward the casinos.
Since the 1990s, Ferguson allegedly either stole or tried to slip more than $150,000 worth of chips, the Review-Journal added.
In court of justice on Wednesday, Ferguson interrupted District Judge Monica Trujillo multiple times when as she tried to speak. He used profanities and challenged grounds used inward his case, the Review-Journal said.
Cold-Hearted Dogs
“You are very evil, evil, cold-hearted dogs,” Ferguson told court of law officials on Wednesday, the Review-Journal reported. “They rigid a way of life to have a shamefaced verdict on me.”
Trujillo, who before decent a justice was a Sagebrush State public defender representing indigent clients, suggested that Ferguson was a “habitual” criminal.
This is a strong one, because the habitual crook statute proposes to discourage repetitive behavior,” the jurist said in court. “And I’m not sure how often to a greater extent repetitious you can get under one's skin with steadily increasing your wealthiness from people and businesses of Mark Wayne Clark County.”
Next week, Ferguson will getting even to court to hear how a great deal he will feature to pay in restitution for the thefts. Over recent decades, Ferguson was found shamefaced on IX counts inward trials for similar charges, the story adds. He was imprisoned multiple times.
DA Wanted Him To Get Life in Prison
Ferguson’s repeated doings led Deputy District Attorney Brianna Lamanna, who prosecuted the case, to ask that Ferguson follow given a living sentence.
When someone spends 26 years of their lifetime living a living of crime, i get along conceive that it’s appropriate,” Lamanna told the justice inward requesting the life-time sentence, the Review-Journal reported. “When you goldbrick tourists inward our town, where tourists are our lifeblood.”
But Michael Sanft, the old stager Las Vegas crook defense force attorney representing Ferguson, pointed out the chips were non cashed inward at the casinos.
“He’s obviously talented sufficiency to accept these chips cancelled the table,” Sanft was quoted by the newspaper. “But inward terms of the lug that was actually taken inwards these situations, it’s not to the spirit level where we’re saying this guy is a threat to the economic engine of Nevada.”
Other Chip Thefts
The theft of chips has taken set numerous times in casinos and inward other locations nationwide.
Brock Brewer was arrested inward May for allegedly stealing a safe containing $750,000 inwards hard cash and $250,000 inwards fire hook chips from the Henderson, Nev. residence of pro poker participant Chad Power.
Across the rural area in Maryland, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore was the site of the theft of $16,000 worth of chips. type A local piece was charged with the 2019 crime.
Also, inward April, Lucas Bunn, 25, of Kelso, Wash., stony-broke into the state’s ilani Casino Resort. He made his right smart to the high-limit region on the gaming story and allegedly used a drill to erupt into the table where chips were held. He and so allegedly stole $12,500 worth of gaming chips. Later, Bunn was apprehended.