Prosecutors of the eighty players arrested in the dramatic raid at South Baltimore club have been set free without charges. The raid on an illegal poker tournament at the Owls Nest Club was described by the police as the biggest operation since Prohibition days, when police carried out a raid in Greektown in 1932. Police said 72 people were arrested, while news put the number at 118.
Prosecutors dropped their charges because they said that police did not apply the law when they completed the citations. Carrying out the whole process of citations applying the right subsection of the law would be too expensive for the already stretched city resources. Patricia Deros, Chief Attorney at the Eastside District Court, said that it is unlikely that there will be new charges against players. After she received the approval of States Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, she dismissed the citations. She said that it was a matter of judicial economy, due to the high cost of the process. Matt Jablow, spokesperson for City Police, said that although the law was not applied perfectly, the police did the right thing because they stopped an illegal poker game.
The Owls Nest Club is located south of the Camden Yards, which is a sports complex. After the police raid, over 90 people were arrested, and near 26.000 dollars were seized, along with 141 decks of cards, 16.020 poker chips, and circuit boards of a dozen of slots and other electronic gaming machines, boxes of liquor, beer, and wine, because the club did not have a license for selling alcohol. 80 players, 9 dealers, and 4 managers were charged with illegal gambling, along with 2 waitresses with selling alcohol without a license.
Spokesman Donny Moses said that gambling and liquor violations charges remain against 15 persons, among them, the dealers, the waitresses, and the tournament organizers Gerald C. Dickens and Joseph A. Cary. When asked about future police actions regarding illegal gambling, the Police simply said that they are going to enforce the law.
