Sheriff: Game room bust leads busy week

Hannigan's Notebook

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Sheriff: Game room bust leads busy week

Dec 02, 2020

(Photo: Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse)

This podcast was recorded at the Henderson County Justice Center on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

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It's been a busy couple of weeks since I last spoke with Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse. The Sheriff's Office has taken down another game room and caught up with a sex offender who didn't register. They've also located a man who has been missing since June and arrested another man for sleeping in someone's laundry room.

Game Room Bust (2:28)

The Sheriff's Office crackdown on illegal game rooms continues. This marks the third major raid on one of these establishments in recent months.

In the podcast, the Sheriff and I talk about why these game rooms are being targeted and the importance of filing organized crime charges.

Here are the details from the Sheriff's Office press release:

Five people – including two owners – were arrested during a raid of a Caney City Game Room Monday and charged with illegal gambling as more than $14,500 in cash and their machines were confiscated.
The A to Z Game Room on State Highway 198 in Caney City was searched by Deputies after 392nd District Judge Scott McKee issued a search warrant. Inside, six devices commonly known as 8 liners were found to be illegally operating as gambling devices.
Owners Rupa KC, 51, and Santosh KC, 52, face a litany of charges from engaging in organized crime to possession of the devices to promoting gambling. Three attendants – Darelle Watkins, 28, Laura Lucian, 44, and Ashley Lucian, 22 – also face a slew of illegal gambling charges.
Additionally, more than $14,500 in cash and the mother boards for the machines were seized at the scene.

Sex Offender Failed to Register (6:10)

Sheriff's Deputies located a sex offender who failed to register in Brownsboro this week.

The arrest prompted the Sheriff and I to talk about how the county keeps track of sex offenders. I learned there is someone at the Sheriff's Office who spends most of her time tracking the more than 200 sex offenders just in the unincorporated areas of the county.

Here are the details from the Sheriff's Office press release:

A wanted sex offender was captured by Deputies in Brownsboro Tuesday and charged with possession of methamphetamines which he tried to hide. Ronnie Gilmore, 60, failed to register as a sex offender and Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Randy Daniel signed an arrest warrant.
He was arrested while walking along St. Louise Drive by Deputy Matt Jistel. Deputy Meagan Hogan noticed a black, zipper pouch under the patrol car. It contained methamphetamines, and Gilmore admitted to removing the contraband from his pocket and kicking it under the vehicle.
Gilmore was taken to the Henderson County Jail on the Felony arrest warrant and was charged with possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence.