New Jersey Man Who Won Lottery Twice Arrested on Drug Charges

James B. Callahan is seen in a photo on Nov. 9, 2016, after he won a $75,854 Jersey Cash 5 prize. NJ Lottery photo

A man who won New Jersey’s lottery twice has been arrested on drug charges on Dec. 16, 2018.

Police in Jersey City stopped James Callahan for a traffic violation on the weekend. They allegedly seized nearly 350 prescription drug pills and at least two weapons including an assault firearm.

A subsequent search of Callahan’s apartment yielded cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs, police told the Jersey Journal. Three weapons and hollow-point bullets were allegedly found in a storage locker.

The 53-year-old Callahan won nearly $700,000 on winning tickets in New Jersey’s Cash 5 game—once in November 2015 and again in November 2016.

Callahan faced 37 counts of charges, including multiple counts of illegal guns. Cindy Sanchez-Medina, his 22-year-old girlfriend was charged with seven drug offenses, NJ.com reported.

News reports described Callahan as an ironworker who said he had worked on the World Trade Center transportation hub.

An attorney representing Callahan said Friday the case contains “many false assumptions.”

Winner of $19 Million Lottery Ends up in Jail

Winning lottery is lucky, but also can be ominous sometime.

In June 2018, a California man who had won $19 million SuperLotto jackpot in 1998 was sentenced to nearly three years in jail for serial bank robberies.

James Allen Hayes, the 55-year-old once lucky lottery winner, seems to have fallen on tough times and admitted in a plea agreement that he committed four bank robberies in 2017, the Epoch Times reported.

A copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Signal indicated investigators believe Hayes stole a total of $39,424.

Hayes admitted robbing the Union Bank in Carpinteria in May, the Wells Fargo Bank on Lyons Avenue in Newhall in June, the Logix Federal Credit Union on McBean Parkway in Valencia in July and the Coast Hills Credit Union in Santa Maria in September.

Authorities had given Hayes the moniker “Seasoned Bandit” due to his gray/white hair.

Hayes would follow the same robbery plan in each robbery, slipping a note to the teller demanding cash and threatening to shoot them if they didn’t comply, reported the Los Angeles Daily News.

Hayes is believed to have committed 10 heists in total but the plea deal only included 4 of them.

As part of the agreement, Hayes agreed to forfeit a light-colored Chrysler PT Cruiser, which was used in some of the robberies.

‘I Wish I’d Torn That Ticket Up’

Another lucky lottery winner, fifty-five-year-old Andrew “Jack” Whittaker, said he wished he had torn the ticket up, NTD.tv reported.

Whittaker was already a millionaire when he won the $315 million Powerball jackpot.

Months after winning the jackpot Whitaker was overwhelmed with legal and personal issues. To deal with the stress he gave in to drinking and visiting strip clubs.

Thieves broke into his car outside a West Virginia strip club on Aug. 5, 2003, stealing $545,000 in cash. A few months later on Jan. 25, 2004, robbers again broke into his car and stole $200,000, which was later recovered.

In 2007, Whitaker said that thieves had emptied all of his bank accounts. But the thefts were light matters compared to what happened to his family.

His granddaughter’s boyfriend was found dead from a drug overdose on Sept. 17, 2004. Three months later, the granddaughter died of a drug overdose as well.

Whitaker’s daughter, Ginger Whittaker Bragg, died on July 5, 2009.

The Associated Press, Zachary Stieber from NTD.com, and Ivan Pentchoukov from NTD.tv contributed to the report.