Posted on January 17, 2008 - Filed Under NEWS
A 24-year old man was shot dead outside a Palm Springs Casino by the police, and an employee of the same casino had been wounded in the leg by a stray bullet, authorities reported.
The man, identified as Nino Joseph Garcia Jr. was from Banning with a record of drug and firearm convictions.Palm Springs police had staked out the place, Spa Resort Casino, 401 E. Amado Road, in order to arrest Nino Garcia.
As he walked out of the casino with an unidentified female companion and tried to hail a taxi cab, he was surrounded by the police contingent present there. Nino struggled his way out of the officers’ hands and ran into the nearby bushes brandishing a loaded firearm at the police officers.
Thereafter, police opened fire, killing him on the spot. In the disarray, a stray bullet went through the glass window of the casino lounge and hit an employee in the leg. The woman, who was accompanying him was taken into custody without any further chaos.According to a casino spokeswoman, the wounded employee has been taken to the hospital and is on medical treatment.
According to police Sgt. Mitch Spike, a spokesman at the Palm Springs Police Department, said that the suspect was wanted for felonies relating to drug and firearm related offences dating back to 2002.He also could not confirm whether the suspect had fired any shots at the officers. He also could not confirm the number of shots fired or how many times the suspect had been shot at or hit.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who own and operate the Spa Resort Casino, said that they were pleased with the way their security had responded to the crisis and said that business was back to normal at the casino.Also they added that casino business would not be affected by the freak incident and the casino was in no way involved with the suspect and was with the police action taken.
Casinos in the country have been a regular haunt for dissidents and breakers of the law, but more often than not, these troublemakers have to shell out a heavy loss in the gamble of life.Even though the incident at Spa Resort Casino has been taken as a one-off element, but casinos and poker joints are now a bit more wary of miscreants using them as a shelter against the law.
Share This
Comments
