Dillon authorities arrest 10 in gambling operation investigation

The number of arrests have increased in the Dillon gambling operation since Tuesday, according to SLED Capt. Kin McKenzie. Ten people have been arrested now in connection with raid after Dillon authorities along with State Law Enforcement Division agents and U.S. Marshals foiled a Dillon gambling operation that involved betting on professional sports, McKenzie said.

Officers obtained six search warrants and raided the Johnnie Jennings Pool Room, Randy’s Pool Room and Lee’s Pool Room Tuesday, McKenzie said. All the pool rooms are located on the 200 block of Hampton Street.

Johnny Jennings is charged with operating a gambling house and simple possession of marijuana. 

James Samuel, Joe McRae, Bobby McRae, Willie McCollum Jr. and Allfonia McKeller are each charged with illegal gambling, according to the Dillon County Detention Center.

McKeller is also charged with simple possession of marijuana and unlawful possession, according to Dillon jail reports.

Johnny Campbell, Jimmy Campbell and Eddie Kirby are charged with punchboard for gambling.

Trashaune Lamar Jones was charged with distributing crack cocaine.

About $17,000 in cash was discovered during the raid along with seven vehicles, homemeade moonshine, wine, alcohol and the video poker machine, McKenzie said.

Officers confiscated gambling paraphernalia, including pool tabs and large amounts of betting tickets.

Authorities said patrons of the business were betting on professional baseball and football games but no local sports.

The operation was discovered in April while SLED agents and local police and deputies were doing a drug operation.

The suspects, with the exception of Johnny Campbell, were release Tuesday after posting bond.

McKenzie said the operation was large in scale and had significant payouts. “This is a highly organized operation, we have information that individual payoffs could be as high as $60,000 per month,“ McKenzie said.

He also said that the gambling problems were systemic of larger problems in the area.

“This type of illegal activity, illegal gambling per say, leads to other types of crimes… indicative to that would be the marijuana found in the street yesterday at these businesses in their vehicles, and also some illegal weapons, so this type of illegal activity also leads to other criminal behavior,“ McKenzie said.

Local officers say they had been concentrating their efforts on illegal drug activity in the city and county, and often find that other activities arise under those circumstances.

“We are finding that when we go out and we work and serve warrants and we try to work against that (drug activity), we’re discovering other illegal activity,“ said Dillon County Sheriff Major Hulon.

Dillon Police Chief Joe Rogers echoed those sentiments. “It just seems like the drug dealers come around and they set up and they set off another crime and it just rolls into crime after crime,“ Rogers said.

Investigators say they hope the raid and arrests will show residents in Dillon County that no type of illegal activity will be tolerated.