Two Oakland County residents are among five of seven people accused in a cheating conspiracy at Motor City Casino who have pleaded guilty to their charges, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced.
The seven defendants are
charged tied to an alleged scheme involving hundreds of dollars of individual player payouts on lost bets in Texas Hold ‘em poker games.
Farmington Hills resident Roxanna Mckinney, 49, 32-year-old Detroit man Eugene Davis, and Hayward Stampley, 57, of West Bloomfield all pleaded guilty to attempted gambling activities in the Wayne County Circuit Court. Their charges are felonies that are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Calvin Pullom, 47, of Detroit pleaded guilty to attempted larceny in a building, while codefendant Earl Railey, 65, also of Detroit, pleaded guilty to four charges as a habitual fourth offender. Railey’s charges include one county of conspiracy to cheat at a gambling game; one count of gambling activities; one count of conspiracy to commit larceny in a building and a final count of larceny in a building.
Pullom’s charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison, while Railey’s charge of gambling activities is a potential 10-year felony.
Railey, however, entered into a Cobb’s Agreement with Wayne Circuit Judge James Chylinski for 18 months probation, 20 days in jail and paying fines and court costs.
Two remaining defendants in the case — Detroit resident Darryl Green, 53, and Melvindale resident Leah Smith, 42 — are scheduled for a conference Friday, May 27, in Chylinski’s courtroom.
The charges against the group were filed following a Michigan State Police investigation into possible dealer and player collusion. The complaint alleges that Darryl Green, a former dealer, worked with his six codefendants to both pay them money on lost bets and not collect payment on lost bets.
“The investigation showed the other six defendants in the case knew Green and associated with him outside of the casino prior to and after the alleged cheating,” Schuette said in a statement.
Mckinney is set to be sentenced June 23 in Wayne Circuit Court; sentencing for Davis and Stampley is set for June 7; Pullom’s sentencing is scheduled for May 27 and Railey’s is set for June 24.