St. Jo Frontier Casino was robbed by a pair who claimed to have been authorized by management to secure a cash box. The incident was reported to law enforcement around 10:30 am on October 25, and the culprits fled with $151,000 in cash handed to them by an employee who fell for the ruse.
St. Jo Frontier Casino Reacts to Cash Box “Robbery,” Culprits Apprehended Less Than 30 Minutes Later
The manager on duty, however, was quick to act after finding out about the events and ended up notifying the Missouri State Highway Patrol. At that point, it became a race against time, as the culprits were making their way through traffic, which is precisely what led to their arrest.
Police immediately tapped the Flock license plate reader network across Missouri, which was able to spot their car and track its movement from the riverboat casino to the location where they were eventually apprehended.
Police turned to the St. Jo Frontier Casino surveillance footage first, and were able to identify a black Jeep Compass that the vehicle supposedly carried the cash box into before driving away. The license plate number was then put on the wire, and the vehicle was identified on US Highway 36 through the Flock system, which detected it immediately.
Roughly 24 minutes after the incident was reported, at 10:54, the Missouri State Highway Patrol was able to pull over the suspected vehicle and arrest couple Charles E. Blaisdell, 42, and Heaven L.R. Roberts, 21, both from Joseph, Missouri.
Police then obtained a warrant and searched the vehicle, whereupon officers discovered the $151,000 in cash stolen from the property. Blaisdell and Roberts were charged with Receiving Stolen Property, which is a Class D felony, and are currently held on a $150,000 bond.
Instances of Cash Boxes Getting Picked by the Wrong People Are Not Unique
The St. Jo Frontier Casino is a riverboat property owned by Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming. This is not the first instance of such incidents acorss casinos in general, as people posting as cash box pick-up have been successful elsewhere in the United States.
Sometimes, the employees handing over the money were held liable for their mistakes, and in other instances, they were offered additional training. The resolution of the St. Jo Frontier Casino cash box theft, however, bodes well for both Missouri’s ability to intervene in such cases, as well as the property’s internal training allowing it to respond to such incidents in the future.
St. Jo Frontier Casino was robbed by a pair who claimed to have been authorized by management to secure a cash box. The incident was reported to law enforcement around 10:30 am on October 25, and the culprits fled with $151,000 in cash handed to them by an employee who fell for the ruse. St.