3 charged in armed robbery of $22,000 from poker tournament winners

Palm Beach County sheriff's detectives, working with Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents, arrested three men in connection with an armed robbery of two men who won nearly $25,000 in a poker tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood.

The two victims told investigators that several men followed them into a Wellington neighborhood on March 30. Detectives and agents suspect the robbers watched the men in the poker tournament and, after casino security guards escorted the men to their cars, followed them north.

A driver with a gun cut off the two men at the intersection of Wellington Trace and Forest Hill Boulevard, according to sheriff's officials. The suspect driver and another man from his car, both wearing ski masks, pointed handguns at the victims, officials said.

The victims sped off to the sound of gunfire, one of them told investigators. But the gunmen pursued, even as the victims bailed out of their car and tried to hide, officials said.

The suspects demanded the men's winnings. One handed over $3,000 and the other directed the suspects to his car, where they retrieved about $19,000, officials said.

Jahson Rayon Linton, 18, of Boynton Beach; Emmanuel P. Alexis, 18, of North Miami Beach; and Clinton Ellington Jr., 18, of Miami were all arrested on charges of armed robbery and aggravated battery with a firearm.

Investigators tracked them down in part through surveillance footage, officials said. Detectives will now examine items seized from the three suspects' homes for possible ties to the incident.


Palm Beach Post

News Added: 11 June, 2008

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