LIBERTY, May 21, 2010 - On the evening of Thursday, May 20th, the Liberty Police Department (LPD) conducted raids on four businesses that were reported to have illegal gambling operations. Teams of officers simultaneously served search warrants on the four convenience stores that were operating video gaming equipment, commonly known as “8-liners”. While the video games themselves aren’t against the law, the alleged means of payouts for winnings are against Texas gambling statutes.

The search warrants were signed by 253rd District Court Judge Chap Cain. The four convenience stores were all located within the city limits of Liberty. The stores were Toor Food Mart, in the 800 block of Main; Budget Foods, in the 2700 block of Main; Liberty Food Mart, in the 200 block of Virginia at U.S. 90; and Happy Chap’s, in the 2700 block of U.S. 90 at FM 563.

Liberty Police Chief Billy Tidwell explains, “We had received numerous complaints about these establishments over the past few months. Our investigators compiled all of their information and got the search warrants for each business. The search warrant teams were briefed on specifics, and then the raids were conducted without incident.”

Seized in the raids were mother boards (the controlling electronics) from 27 video gaming machines. Officers also seized over $13,600 in cash. There were nine citations issued for Gambling. Lead investigator Chip Fairchild said there could be at least four arrests pending in addition to the seizures and citations.

Chief Tidwell added, “Our local businesses need to be aware that if they are participating in illegal gambling, our department will take appropriate action against them, too.”

Assisting LPD were officers and investigators with Dayton PD, Cleveland PD, and the Precincts 2 and 6 Constable’s Offices.