Casino Crime Round Up: Shooting Close to California Casino Leads to Several Arrests

Gunfire aimed at two pedestrians resulted in three arrests near a California tribal casino on Thursday.

The two victims were walking near the in Loleta when the bullets were shot. The men avoided injuries from the early morning gunfire.

They alerted the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at 3:40 a.m. The two victims reported that the were in a silver, two-door sedan and a black pickup truck.

Two of the suspects were traced a short time later to a residence on Carroll Road where there were several firearms, authorities said.

One of the suspects was identified as Fernando Martinez, 26, of Visalia, Calif. He was charged with violating parole and resisting arrest.

The other was Robert Ellis, 33, also of Loleta. He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and having an unregistered firearm.

In addition, later on Thursday, Madison Carroll, 23, also of Loleta, was charged with brandishing a firearm and discharging a firearm.

As of Friday, deputies were continuing to investigate the shooting. It’s unclear why the men opened fire on the pedestrians.

The casino is located about 275 miles north of Sacramento. It’s operated by the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria.

Visitors and others at California’s were forced to evacuate the building following a gas leak on Thursday night.

No one suffered injuries during the incident.

Everyone was allowed to return inside the tribal gaming property by about 10 p.m. Thursday.

It’s unclear what caused the gas leak. Local firefighters responded to the Portersville, Calif. casino and provided assistance. The local gas company also sent crews to the site.

The casino is located some 160 miles north of Los Angeles. It’s operated by the Tule River Tribe of California.

Eagle Mountain Casino relocated to Portersville from its smaller location in May 2023.

An unidentified man stole vouchers from a Lake Charles, La., gaming property visitor on July 30.

A woman playing at the casino said her vouchers were on top of a gaming machine. The suspect snuck up behind her and stole the vouchers.

They were valued at several hundred dollars.

Lake Charles Police Department Lt. Brenda Treadway revealed the took place at about 12:49 a.m. on July 30. She didn’t identify the name of the casino.

The suspect was photographed by casino surveillance cameras. The suspect is wanted for questioning for another incident at the same casino.