Monroe security guard charged with plotting to rob Chance bingo
Monroe LA September 26 2019
A Monroe man arrested Monday on armed robbery charges allegedly plotted with a security guard at Chance Bingo to rob the business in June.
According to an arrest warrant filed for Edward Daron Patrick, age 43, the Monroe Police Department responded to the robbery at 2102 Louisville Avenue shortly after midnight on June 7.
Patrick was later identified as one of the robbers according to arrest documents.
Video surveillance cameras in the business showed three suspects enter the business armed with handguns. Three customers at the bingo hall were taken into a room and held at gunpoint by one suspect while two others gathered cash.
According to the warrant, Gary Dewayne Thomas, age 42, was the security guard on duty at the business when the robbery occurred. Thomas is described as a convicted felon and registered sex offender. Detectives believe Thomas helped coordinate the robbery based on a review of security footage showing the robbery.
Per the report, Thomas distracted a worker at the business shortly before the robbery occurred by telling her a toilet at the site was clogged up with paper towels. The worker then left an area where a panic button was located.
When the worker returned and provided Thomas with gloves, Thomas reportedly delayed her in conversation. The three suspects entered the business at this point. They were wearing all black with long sleeves and had their faces covered.
The suspects did not take Thomas’ phone or seem concerned by his presence. The warrant notes there were multiple times Thomas was on his feet with the backs of the suspects turned to him, and he unlocked bingo machines while left alone “without being under any duress.”
The warrant states Thomas’ hands were not zipped tied until all the cash was gathered.
A Crime Stoppers tip received later the morning of the robbery reported the security guard was in on the robbery and had “done these previous times.”
A search of Thomas’ cell phone records indicated he was speaking with a phone number later traced to Patrick at three different times prior to the robbery, including seven minutes before the robbery started.
A review of Patrick’s cell phone confirmed the calls, and a search of his phone’s GPS data showed Patrick was within one-quarter mile of Chance Bingo when the last call was completed. The records also show he did not leave the area until the robbery was over.
Police conducted a search of Patrick’s home on Sept. 10 and located a black, zip-up hooded jacket that matched a jacket seen in surveillance videos.
Per the warrant, the jacket looked green in security videos, so detectives took it to the location to review it in front of the camera. The black jacket appeared green in the test.
During the robbery, the employee, an elderly and disabled female, was pistol-whipped and thrown to the ground by the suspect police later identified as Patrick.
Patrick is charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery in connection with the Chance Bingo robbery. He was also booked into OCC on additional charges of simple battery, two counts of criminal conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled dangerous substance.
Total bail has not been set.
An arrest warrant was also issued for Thomas on Sept. 17 on one count of armed robbery with use of a firearm and criminal conspiracy.
He was previously arrested on June 30 for failure to register as a sex offender
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