Las Cruces man, woman arrested in violent robbery of casino prize winner in West El Paso

It must have seemed like a lucky day when a woman won $3,500 in cash at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, until she arrived at an El Paso hotel and a masked man pistol-whipped her and stole her winnings.

After a lengthy investigation, a man and a woman, who is a former teacher, were recently arrested by El Paso police in connection with the violent armed robbery outside a West Side hotel four months ago.

John Anthony Brinsfield, 49, and Jamie Marie Cowger, 46, both of Las Cruces, were each recently arrested on charges of aggravated robbery. They remain incarcerated in El Paso.

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Two El Paso assistant district attorneys described the case during separate teleconference bond hearings for Brinsfield on July 30 and for Cowger on Aug. 2.

The pair is accused of targeting a woman who won $3,500 gambling on April 30 at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, just over the state line in neighboring Sunland Park, New Mexico, prosecutors said at the hearings.

Sunland Park casino winner robbed at West El Paso hotel

The prize-winner told El Paso police investigators that she won the money and stayed at the casino for another hour before returning to her hotel on South Desert Boulevard, prosecutors said.

After the woman parked, she saw a vehicle circling the parking lot but thought it was looking for a parking spot. Then, she saw a man with a black bandanna mask, walking toward her, pointing a gun and telling her to give him her purse, prosecutors said.

"Wait, let me get my phone out of my purse," the woman told the gunman, Assistant District Attorney Tara Rutledge said at a hearing, citing police reports.

The robber pointed the handgun to the left side of the woman's head, continuing to demand the purse, but she refused because she wanted to grab her phone, prosecutors said.

The robber then pushed the woman down to the ground, pointing the gun at her face and struck her with the gun on the left side of her face. The woman then let go of the purse, which the man grabbed before getting into the getaway vehicle driven by an unseen person, prosecutors said.

The purse contained the $3,500 in casino winnings and an additional $700 in cash, prosecutors said.

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino cameras reveal timeline

An investigation by El Paso police with assistance from Sunland Park casino security soon began rewinding video surveillance and piece-by-piece began reconstructing the caper.

Hotel security cameras filmed the victim enter the parking lot and then recorded the suspected getaway vehicle, a Chevrolet Trailblazer, driving away four minutes later, prosecutors said.

Casino security retraced the victim's movements in the casino and found video showing a woman hanging around suspiciously when the victim cashed her winnings, prosecutors said.

Further video review showed when the suspicious woman had her identification scanned by security, allegedly leading to the identification of Cowger, who had a vehicle linked to her: a Chevrolet Trailblazer, prosecutors said.

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Earlier this summer, an El Paso grand jury indicted Cowger and Brinsfield on charges of aggravated robbery and warrants were issued for their arrest in the casino-prize robbery.

At the bond hearing, a public defense attorney said Cowger was a former Las Cruces teacher with a master's degree and no criminal history. Cowger was booked into jail on Aug. 18. She remains held under a $60,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.

In late July, El Paso police caught up with Brinsfield when officers pulled over a vehicle with a license plate that didn't belong to it. He was allegedly found with 285 fentanyl pills and a firearm, prosecutors said.

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Brinsfield, who is a self-employed construction worker, faces additional charges of unlawful possession of firearm by a felon and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance.

Brinsfield was initially jailed on a total bond of $400,000, which was described as "excessive" by public defense attorney Richard "Rick" Huffman at a hearing. The bond amounts have since been reduced.

On Tuesday, Brinsfield remained at the El Paso Jail Annex under a total bond of $95,000 — a $75,000 bond on the aggravated robbery, $15,000 on the drug charge and $5,000 on the gun case, according to jail records.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 2 arrested in robbery of Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino winner