Seized: Etowah County authorities uncover gambling machines at five locations

Donna Thornton, The Gadsden Times
·1 min read

When the Etowah County Sheriff's Office and the Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit followed up on complaints from residents in one East Gadsden neighborhood, it marked the start of a two-week probe that led to the seizure of 108 illegal gambling machines and more than $13,000 from makeshift gambling halls, according to Sheriff Jonathon Horton.

Horton said the investigation determined the operations were causing unsafe issues in neighborhoods, such as traffic hazards, along with loud noise and music at night.

Deputies and agents executed search warrants Thursday at five locations in Gadsden. No one was present when the searches were conducted at locations from East Gadsden to South Gadsden and Alabama City. Cash totaling $13,579.79 was seized, along with the gambling machines.

The Etowah County Sheriff's Office seized gambling machines from multiple Gadsden-area locations after a two-week investigation prompted by citizen complaints.
The Etowah County Sheriff's Office seized gambling machines from multiple Gadsden-area locations after a two-week investigation prompted by citizen complaints.

Three of the five locations had caught the eye of law enforcement before and had been presented with an order to "cease and desist" signed by the sheriff and the Etowah County district attorney. The order gave the businesses 48 hours to remove the machines from the state. Horton said the three entities instead moved the machines to different locations in Etowah County.

The sheriff's office will ask that the machines be destroyed and that the seized money be turned over to the state. The investigation continues, Horton said, and arrests could be made later.

Alabama state law says: "A person commits the crime of promoting gambling if he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity otherwise than as a player.

"A person commits the crime of possession of a gambling device if with knowledge of the character thereof he manufactures, sells, transports, places or possesses, or conducts or negotiates any transaction affecting or designed to affect ownership, custody or use of:(1) A slot machine; or (2) Any other gambling device, with the intention that it be used in the advancement of unlawful gambling activity."

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: More than 100 gambling machines, more than $13,000 seized by sheriff