For Release: Immediate  Date: Thursday, May 20, 2004

Contact: Patty McQuillan Phone: (919) 733-5027 (ext.232)

RANDLEMAN - Superior Court Judge John O. Craig issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) today against Heath Amusement, 230 Railroad Ave. The business is one of the area’s largest video gaming machine vendors with machines located in businesses throughout several North Carolina counties.

The restraining order is the first step in a civil nuisance abatement case brought by Randolph County on behalf of the State of North Carolina and prohibits any illegal activity on the property and any unlawful use of its machines until a preliminary injunction hearing is held. Heath Cigarette and Music Service Inc., Clarence Ray Jernigan and James Worth Heath have been named as defendants in a civil suit alleging organized gambling.

In addition to the civil action, search warrants were served simultaneously upon Heath Amusement and 12 area businesses housing video gaming machines owned by Heath Amusement, Cary’s Amusements, George Metzgar, and Leonard McNeil. Owners and employees of the area businesses housing the machines were charged with numerous criminal violations of state gambling laws. Further criminal charges will be forthcoming and additional defendants are expected to be named in nuisance actions.

The State Alcohol Law Enforcement Division (ALE), Randolph County Sheriffs Office and Asheboro Police department began the round up as the first step in Operation Heat, designed to target conspirators of the organized criminal gambling operation. The 15-month operation used arrest information and records dating back to 2000 to target criminal activity including felony falsification of registration forms, illegal alcohol sales, and gambling activities in houses of public entertainment.

ALE agents and Sheriff's deputies with the assistance of the Asheboro Police Department set up a store and invited area vendors to furnish machines and instructions on how to operate them without being caught by law enforcement.

"For years wives, husbands and gamblers themselves have came to me in desperation because of the huge loses of money from playing these machines," said Randolph County Sheriff Litchard Hurley. "Money for the baby’s' milk and children’s clothes are being sucked up by these machines and the greedy individuals who prey on people's gambling addiction to these machines."

Video gaming has been widely described as the crack cocaine of gambling. In February 2003, Sheriff Hurley asked for assistance from ALE in addressing the gambling complaints. ALE worked with Hurley and Chief Mason of the Asheboro PD and organized a multi faceted approach that uses both the civil public nuisance laws and criminal statutes.

"The problem is that as soon as the sheriff picks up machines and charges those operating them, the vendors claim they didn’t know of the unlawful use and get court orders to have the machines returned" said Rodney Johnson, district supervisor for the Greensboro ALE office. "The same machines are then put right back in the same locations and the cycle is repeated. It was time to change our strategy."

"The nuisance abatement law gives us a civil tool to use in eliminating problems where traditional law enforcement methods have failed," said Chief Mason. "As limited law enforcement resources are stretched, we must use all the tools available to address public concerns."

Attorney Randy Reavis of the Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, PLLC law firm in Greensboro is representing Randolph County in the action. Reavis has considerable experience working with state and local government on public nuisance suits.

The ALE is a division of the N.C. Dept. of Crime Control and Public Safety.

###

Back to Top

CCPS Home

Back to News Release List