Armed robbers struck a casino in Umatilla at midnight on Thursday, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the arrest document, the armed robbery took place inside the Hot Seats gambling facility on State Road 19. It was reported around 12:45 a.m.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered that three men had fled the scene in a grey Hyundai, going south on the highway.
According to witnesses, all three men were wearing black ski masks and carrying firearms.
“Just prior to the incident, a Black female was attempting to leave the business and opened the door, and within seconds, three Black males stormed in,” according to the witness statement.
Witnesses reportedly reported that one of the men aimed his gun at a security guard’s head, demanding that he remove his firearm and hand it over to the suspect, according to deputies.
“All three subjects then demanded everyone’s cell phone and money from each of them,” the document said.
The men then ordered one of the employees to enter the cashier’s booth, where they trashed it and hid money from the cash register in a pink drawstring bag, according to detectives.
According to investigators, deputies tracked the vehicle down to Great Lakes Boulevard, where the males abandoned the car and escaped on foot.
According to the affidavit, deputies examined the area, but as they did, another car—this time a Nissan Altima driven by a woman—drove toward the location where the grey Hyundai had been abandoned.
However, she promptly exited and drove slowly south along County Road 452 before parking at a nearby property, seemingly “waiting to likely pick up the suspects,” deputies reported.
“Deputies on a perimeter could see four subjects running in the woods directly toward the Nissan Altima, but when they saw the presence of law enforcement, they began running away,” according to the testimony.
Despite their efforts, deputies were eventually able to catch all four suspects, who were identified as follows:
- Gregory Jerone Hawkins II, 40
- Odaris Gene Wiggins, 21
- Lucien Byron, 24
- Cervantes Chandon Betts, 21
All four males are charged with armed robbery, grand theft of a firearm, three counts of aggravated assault, resisting an officer without violence, and three counts of obstructing communication with law enforcement.
Deputies also said they detained the driver of the Nissan Altima, who was identified as Betts’ girlfriend, Taniya J’nae Sanders, 21.
According to investigators, the Altima was linked to earlier crimes in Pinellas County, and more than $1,400 in cash was discovered inside the vehicle.
Sanders, on the other hand, denied knowing anything about the robbery, alleging that her boyfriend sent her an iPhone pin drop around midnight instructing her to travel to the spot and exchange vehicles, according to the affidavit.
Regardless, she is now facing charges of assisting and abetting.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating the suspects.
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