charges
dismissed
By BOB HIGH
All charges against four individuals were dismissed by the state Tuesday night after not guilty verdicts were rendered in District Court involving the operation of video poker machines.
Kenneth Paul Nance, owner of the Five Points Grocery just west of Chadbourn, was found not guilty of gambling, allowing gambling in a public house, allowing gaming tables and operating and possessing slot machines in a three-hour trial.
Assistant District Attorney Lisa Freedman dismissed six more charges against Nance after the verdicts, plus she dropped all charges against Rachel Renee Mincey of Whiteville, Arnold Kay “Pete” Williamson, 51, of Chadbourn, and James Martin Lewis of Delco.
Agents of the state’s Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) unit and Freedman said they planned to bring new charges against Nance, Mincey, Williamson and Lewis under different state statues after digesting District Court Judge Doug Sasser’s rulings.
The ALE agents didn’t declare their full intentions, but left an option open to include other defendants whose video-poker gambling cases were dismissed by the district attorney last fall because the state had passed the lottery bill since the November 2004 arrests.
Sasser sided with defense attorney Craig Wright’s arguments over language in several statues governing crimes involving video poker and slot machines in Nance’s cases.
Skill, not chance
Two ALE agents testified that playing video poker was a game of skill, although Nance and others were charged with operating a game of chance – not skill. This declaration led to the not-guilty decision by Sasser when presented language from laws that didn’t include games of chance in the definition.
Freedman countered that the payment of cash changed the “skill” to “chance” under state law, but Sasser didn’t buy her argument.
Sasser also declared that although chairs, ashtrays and other amenities were furnished to poker machine players, he didn’t think legislators meant chairs when they mentioned “comfort” in the statue defining a “public house.”
And, he cleared Nance of a charge of having slot machines – a term used to include video poker machines -- in his business when Wright pointed out the law noted it was illegal to have the machines in a “house,” not a “house of business,” and the machines weren’t in Nance’s residence.
Nance’s trial began at 3:30 p.m. and continued until a 5 p.m. break for supper. Sasser reopened court at 6:15 p.m. and the cases continued until shortly after 8 p.m.
First payoff
ALE Agent David Ashley testified that he went to the Five Points Grocery with an undercover informant on Aug. 21, 2003. He accompanied the informant into the store, and the informant greeted Nance and Ashley then casually went to the back room to play video poker.
Ashley put a $20 bill into one of the poker machines on Aug. 21, 2003 and continued to play until he increased the value of credits in the machine to $300.
Ashley said he printed out 25 tickets that were good for $10 in merchandise each – a total value of $250 -- then continued to play until the remaining $50 in credits diminished to zero.
Ashley said he went to the store’s cash register where Nance was standing and quietly slid the 25 credit tickets under his palm to Nance. The agent said Nance took the tickets and Ashley followed him back to the gaming room at the rear of the store. Nance opened each of the three machines and gathered $250 in cash and gave it to the agent.
Nance denied he was in the store on that date because he had been to a Tabor City doctor on Aug. 20, 2003, and ordered to rest at home in bed because of a serious problem with his back.
Nance had a bill from the doctor dated the day before Ashley said he was paid cash instead of merchandise for his winnings. He also produced a telephone bill that showed he used his home phone on Aug. 21, 2003 to call an insurance company about his disability.
Denies cash payout
On another date, Ashley said he was paid $100 in cash by a store clerk who called Nance at home before making the payout. Nance denied that he was called on that date or authorized the cash payment.
Nance admitted that he kept paper records of the three machines and said they were kept at his home during the months of operation in 2003 and 2004. Nance did not bring any of that paperwork with him.
Nance denied making any cash payments to any person on any date as a result of people playing video poker in his business.
ALE agents played video poker in locations across the county several times in 2003 and 2004 and in most cases managed to win cash and stated in several search warrants they were paid cash instead of merchandise, as required by law.
Five raids by ALE agents and sheriff’s deputies on Nov. 22, 2004 resulted in more than a dozen machines being seized, plus cash and paper receipts, record books and other paraphernalia.
During a break Tuesday evening Sasser called this reporter to the bench and laughed as he displayed a roll of Lifesavers. “If I unwrap these, is it a game of skill or chance?” the judge said with a grin and pointed to a promotional message on the wrapping that showed “Win up to $50,000.”