Police raid Kettering business, West Carrollton home; one arrested in illegal gambling operation
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The South Dixie address is the location of Computer Internet Café Inc., according to business records filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
“Kettering was investigating … an illegal gambling establishment,” Green said. “They did some control operations there where they went in and gambled. And they got enough for a search warrant.”
During the search, more than $200,000 and numerous gaming machines were seized, said officer Cynthia James, Kettering police spokeswoman.
She said the raid was the result of a multijurisdictional investigation lasting more than six months, that also involved Dayton police and Homeland Security Investigations Chicago.
A 29-year-old man was in custody at the Kettering jail following his arrest Thursday at the internet cafe on suspicion of operating a gambling house, possessing criminal tools and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, James said. The Dayton Daily News is not naming him because formal charges had not yet been filed.
The large glass front windows of the Dixie Drive storefront have opaque coverings, and there is both an electronic keypad and doorbell for entry next to the front door. The internet cafe is across Dixie Drive from Walmart, in the same building as the Buckin Donkey Grill, which said Thursday it was temporarily closed.
The West Carrollton residence was linked to the gambling crimes at the Kettering business, he said.
In a separate raid in March, Dayton police and the Ohio Casino Control Commission seized about 100 machines at a Dayton internet cafe during an illegal gambling investigation. Investigators also confiscated money after they served a search warrant at Lucky Day Internet Cafe at 1880 Needmore Road, said Dayton police Sgt. Jason Rhodes.
At the time, Rhodes said Lucky Day Internet Cafe would be declared a nuisance due to the city’s policy regarding illegal gambling, but that the owners could appeal.
Internet cafes grew out of sweepstakes cafes, which gave away chances to win prizes with the purchase of a product or service, such as internet time or phone cards.
The cafes were under intense scrutiny, and while he was Ohio’s attorney general, Gov. Mike DeWine said the cafes were skirting the law with machines that look and operate similarly to illegal slot machines.
