An armed robbery of an Alaskan home game saw one man arrested and two still on the run after the trio escaped with $3000. However, they were caught on camera during their daring raid…
Alaska poker home game robbery
The stick-up at the private game in Fairbanks occurred earlier this month, on April 11th. The police arrested one of the alleged robbers, Antuiohn Arazo, 11 days later.
Two of the men involved in the armed hold-up were not wearing face coverings, the Alaska State Troopers Public Information Office releasing two short videos of the robbery in progress.
The first shows two men armed with automatic guns apparently threatening the host of the private poker game…
…while the second shows another man, who was also armed, outside the victim’s residence during the robbery.
The PIO’s‘daily dispatch’ for the robbery reveals that the man in custody is23-year-old Fairbanks resident, Antuiohn Arazo, currently remanded at FCC on charges of Robbery.
Arazo is reported to have been previously arrested back in 2016 for armed robbery, part of a four-person home invasion attack that saw the robbers make off with a gun, camera equipment, and marijuana.
The other two, the unmasked people in the video, are still being sought by police, who have asked for the community’s help in identifying them…
It’s not the first armed attack
Alaska State Troopers Public Information Office stated on their website: “If you recognize any of the people in these videos or know their whereabouts, please call Alaska State Troopers at (907) 451-5100 and reference case number AK21040856.”
There have been many such armed attacks of poker home games over the years. A 2016 Colorado incident was caught on home CCTV and showed one robber wearing a horse’s head mask.
One of the armed thieves carried only a wooden paddle, although the other allegedly had a gun as they robbed $3500 from the game.
A similar stick-up in Australia last year saw two men arrested after robbing a private game of $10,000. The host was shot in the face at close range and miraculously survived.
Kenny Wang and nine other players were playing a game of poker in Wolli Creek, Sydney when the robbers struck, Mr. Wang pistol-whipped and then shot from close range.
Though he lost six teeth, and his jaw was broken, Mr. Wang survived after an operation, and police later arrested two men in raids that also uncovered a pellet gun, an electronic stun device, and mobile phones, as well as cannabis and cocaine.
Further poker robberies
“There is no doubt that these perpetrators had some inside knowledge that there was going to be some cash in the premises that night,” Detective Acting Superintendent Grant Taylor said.
Another inside job led to the death of one would-be robber in 2019, 25-year-old Ramon C. Vasquez shot dead while attempting to rob a Saginaw Township poker game in Michigan.
Saginaw County Prosecutor John McColgan refused to press charges against the individual who returned fire on the masked armed robbers, claiming the man had a concealed weapon permit.
In addition, three men were arrested and charged with armed robbery and other offences, including 27-year-old Jesse M. Bobain, a player in the home game who was also shot multiple times but survived.
A previous home game robbery in Saginaw Township had proved fatal to host Michael Kuhlman. The 36-year-old was shot and killed by Quintel A.West, who was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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