Men robbing couple after big casino win accidentally steal their dinner, IL cops say
A couple won big at an Illinois casino, and their lucky streak caught the attention of armed robbers who followed them home, according to police.
Investigators say the couple “won a considerable amount of money” during a visit to the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the Fox Lake Police Department said in a Sept. 16 news release.
They had won about $130,000, officials told WGN.
It was about 6:50 a.m., Feb. 10, when they arrived at their home in Fox Lake, and an armed man approached, aiming a handgun at them as they got out of their car, police said. The man snatched a paper bag away from the couple “which was believed to contain the money,” police said.
However, the bag was actually filled with steak and lobster, the couple’s leftovers from dinner, WGN reported.
The couple’s money was safely stashed in the woman’s walker, where she had placed it shortly before they got home, officials told the Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
“The male subject fled the scene on foot before getting into a vehicle and fleeing at a high rate of speed,” police said.
After months of investigation, police announced arrest warrants have now been issued for two men.
“With the assistance of the Rivers Casino security and license plate recognition cameras, investigators were able to identify Marcell Britton of Chicago and Aramie Kent of Maywood as the subjects who followed the victims,” police said.
Surveillance cameras captured the men at the casino many times throughout the night, investigators said, and at one point were seen speaking with a female accomplice who had been talking to the couple during their visit, the Lake and McHenry County Scanner reported. One of the men was also seen pointing at the couple and “smiling and rubbing his hands together,” according to the outlet.
Britton was taken into custody on Aug. 28, according to police, but Kent is still at large.
Both men are facing charges, including robbery of a victim 60 years of age or older, armed robbery and aggravated robbery.
Fox Lake is a roughly 60-mile drive northwest from Chicago.
This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 7:37 AM with the headline "Men robbing couple after big casino win accidentally steal their dinner, IL cops say."