The Fountain Valley Police Department (FVPD) made an illegal gambling bust inside a residence Aug. 19 after investigating it for several months, the department announced Aug. 25.
The residence, located on the 9100 block of Caladium Way, was reported to the department by multiple residents due to it being a “nuisance in the neighborhood,” police said.
The FVPD and West County SWAT Team served a search warrant at the residence, where they found four operating gambling machines, body armor, a large amount of methamphetamine, a loaded handgun, and $10,000, which are believed to be proceeds from the gambling.
Seven people were arrested as a result of gambling charges, five of which were already previously convicted felons. Of the seven, only three went to jail that night and the other four were released on misdemeanor charges with citations, FVPD public information officer Sergeant Donald Farmer told The Epoch Times.
Illegal gambling establishments is a trend that has been increasing in recent years in the area, Farmer said.
“[Essentially,] these things are inconsistent,” Farmer said. “At times, the levels of activity can vary, but basically the investigation was ongoing. Eventually they obtained a search warrant for the residence, and that’s when we served the warrant with the West County SWAT team.”
The homeowner was not involved in the activity, according to Farmer.
“These illegal gambling houses are inherently dangerous due to being frequented by armed gang members and other individuals with extensive criminal history,” the department said in a statement. “These houses are often used to facilitate other crimes such as drug distribution, drug use, prostitution, fraud and receiving stolen property.”
Those taken to jail for felony offenses were identified as Tu Tran, 39 years old, of Midway City, Tyler Nguyen, 34, of Westminster, and Juan Onate, 22, of Santa Ana.
