Authorities raid stores in Warner Robins, Macon, other locations

Authorities executed a series of search warrants Tuesday at several convenience stores in connection with illegal gambling practices in multiple jurisdictions.

Arrests are pending, according to a Warner Robins police news release.

The raids, which started at 9:30 a.m., were conducted in Warner Robins, Centerville, Macon, Milledgeville and Jackson, police said.

The investigation was conducted by the Warner Robins Police Department, the state Department of Revenue, the state Lottery Corporation and the Houston County District Attorney’s Office.

“Our investigation led us to the following places of business and residences in reference to records, documents and proceeds on illegal gambling practices,” the release stated.

The stores are:

▪  Gas & Food Mart, 750 Russell Parkway, Warner Robins;

▪  Gas & Food Mart, 1660 Watson Blvd.,Warner Robins;

▪  Shell, 4331 Pio Nono Ave., Macon;

▪  Citgo Petroleum, 1803 Pio Nono Ave., Macon;

▪  MM Gas & Food Mart, 2769 Montpelier Ave., Macon;

▪  Valero, 1290 Gray Highway, Macon;

▪  7-11 Petroleum, 1904 Shurling Drive, Macon;

▪  PB Gas & Food, 4765 Riverside Drive, Macon;

▪  Jackson 76, 209 East Third St., Jackson;

▪  Family Korner, 191 West Andrews St., Milledgeville;

▪  Crossroads Spirits, 3510 North U.S. 41 Suite 2105, Centerville.

The residences where search warrants were executed were all in Centerville, said Jennifer Parson, public information officer for Warner Robins police.

The residences are 701 Arbor Lane, 108 Vanguard Court, 304 Montview Way and 6080 Lakeview Road, No. 3801, according to the release.

The search warrants were executed with the help of Warner Robins, Milledgeville and Centerville police, Macon-Bibb and Butts County sheriff’s offices, the state Department of Revenue, the state Lottery Corp. and the U.S. Marshal Service’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.

No other information was immediately released Tuesday. But Parson said authorities expect to release more details later. She said the investigation is ongoing.

In recent years, authorities across Middle Georgia have targeted dozens of stores related to illegal gambling practices.

On April 14, two brothers each pleaded guilty in Houston County Superior Court to one count of racketeering related to illegal cash payouts on gambling machines at Warner Robins convenience stores.

Bharatkumar Dhayal Amin, 35, of Centerville, was sentenced to 90 days in a county jail. Maheshkumar Dahyalal Amin, 33, of Warner Robins, was sentenced to 90 days in a state probation detention facility. Both were ordered to pay a $25,000 fine.

The Amin brothers were indicted in July 2014 following a series of raids by Warner Robins police targeting commercial gambling operations in which cash was paid out illegally.

Georgia law prohibits cash payouts for winnings on state-sanctioned video gambling machines. The law allows stores to pay winners only in store credit that can be used for merchandise, gasoline or lottery tickets. Redemptions for alcohol and tobacco products are also prohibited.

The illegal cash payouts took place between July 7, 2005, and June 17, 2013, and involved several stores, according to the indictment.

The stores were Gifts and More at 512 Russell Parkway; Davis Food Store at 1202 Davis Drive; Bi-Lo Mart at 1310 Green St.; USA Dollar Store at 1621 Moody Road; The Gift Shop at 1756 Watson Blvd.; and Fine Foods at 545 N. Davis Drive.

In Bibb County, District Attorney David Cooke filed a lawsuit this past fall alleging racketeering and illegal gambling violations involving 85 convenience stores, 69 people and a corporation that owns more than 600 gambling machines at 100 locations across Georgia.

Based on computer reports to the state, the stores submitted false tax returns, failing to pay state sales or use taxes on about $32 million paid to customers as winnings.

Defendants named in the suit owe more than $20 million in taxes to state and local governments, the suit alleged.

Cooke's office filed a similar suit in 2014 after 10 Bibb County stores were shuttered in the county's largest-ever commercial gambling raid.

Nine stores eventually struck a $1 million settlement with prosecutors. The other store agreed separately to pay $175,000.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Authorities raid stores in Warner Robins, Macon, other locations."