A homeless man allegedly tried to steal a ticket from a slot at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip earlier this week. He then got into a fight on the gaming floor with the player who owned the ticket, police said.
Deon Newton was later charged with battery and committing fraud in a gaming establishment, KVVU, a local TV station, said.
The victim was playing a slot machine at 12:38 am Monday. He momentarily turned away to speak to his wife.
Newton went up to the slot and pressed a button, KVVU said. A ticket appeared that was valued at $67.07, police said. The incident was caught on surveillance cameras.
Newton appears to be attempting to take the gaming ticket out of the machine,” police said.
The player then returned to the slot machine. An argument broke out.
At first, Newton walked away from the slot. But then he came back and allegedly punched the other man in the face. The duo then got into a struggle, police said.
There were no serious injuries. Police later responded.
Newton explained to officers he comes to casinos to collect tickets which appear to be discarded. He later cashes them in, police said. He is homeless, police add.
When appearing before a judge this week, Newton was told to stay away from the Strip. Newton is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 30.
New Ordinance
Earlier this week, Clark County Commissioners expanded a local ordinance which will allow authorities to ban individuals from the Strip who are convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
The ordinance will be enacted in the next couple of months.
Under the new ordinance, if the suspect is found guilty of going to the Strip, it can mean six months in jail and/or paying a $1,000 fine.
Currently, judges can prohibit convicted drug dealers and prostitutes from the Strip for up to a year.
Rescued Puppy
In an unrelated incident, also at the Bellagio, last month a California man now faces an animal abuse charge after security officers rescued a confined three-month-old puppy, TV news reports revealed. The 50-year-old man allegedly left the young dog in a sweltering car at the casino. Its mouth was taped shut.
The temperature in the car was close to 108 degrees. The puppy, a Siberian Husky, had no food or water. The air conditioning was not turned on. The dog’s mouth was taped with black electrical tape, according to KSNV.
The car was parked on the hotel-casino garage’s top floor for about two hours, KLAS said. The car was in direct sunlight.
The puppy survived the ordeal. The puppy was breathing heavily when it was in the car. The puppy was placed in a cool car after getting rescued. It was given water.
The arrested man was identified as Raul Carbajal of Corona Del Mar, Calif.
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