27 arrested in Roswell poker raid
By MIKE MORRIS, PAUL KAPLAN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/10/07
Roswell police arrested 27 people in an overnight raid on a high-stakes poker game in an upscale neighborhood off Holcomb Bridge Road.
The raid on a home on Nesbit Ridge Drive near Centennial High School capped a six-month investigation into the operation, which police said charged players $10,000 to enter the weekly, Monday night games of Texas Hold'em and other games.
Roswell police Sgt. B.C. Brackett said that when officers entered the house overnight, they found players gambling around three tables in the basement of the house.
Those arrested were "from all walks of life," Brackett said. At least two men arrested were from out of town, one from Savannah and the other from Macon, he said.
Two women hired to serve drinks were among those arrested.
Officers also impounded more than 20 cars parked along the street outside the house. The investigation began after neighbors complained about traffic in the otherwise quiet neighborhood.
Brackett said that while the game was by invitation only, potential players could apply to enter the game through a Web site.
The house is a modern stucco and wood two-story on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Nesbit Ridge subdivision of 39 homes.
The owners are Dan and Angela Tyre, according to neighbors and public records. He owns a car wash and she works for a wine distributor, said neighbor Mary Hager, who used to baby-sit for the couple's two young children. One is under a year old and the other is under 3, she said.
Hager and her husband, Tracy, who are retirees, said the gatherings at the Tyre residence have been a Monday night tradition for a couple of years. They started as a Monday Night Football gathering, the Hagers said, and apparently escalated from there. The Hagers said they were invited to come watch the games but declined.
They said Dan Tyre always made sure there was no noise, and the Hagers never knew the gathering had morphed into high-stakes poker games.
"They're wonderful people," Mary Hager said. "Andrea is a wonderful mother. Danny is friendly, always says hello.."
Tracy Hager said "a swarm" of police, including a SWAT team, arrived around 10:30 p.m. and forced their way into the basement of the house, where the card-players were gathered. There were about 20 cars parked in the cul-de-sac, and many of them were towed away, he said.
"I stood out here and watched it until about 1:30 in the morning," Tracy Hager said. "It was still going on when I went to bed."
The Hagers said it felt like a bit of an over-reaction by police to what seems to them to be a victimless crime.
Three cars were still in the Tyre's driveway this morning ? a Mercedes, an Infinity and a Pontiac ? along with a Cadillac SUV and another Mercedes parked inside their closed garage. A copy of the AJC was still sitting on the lawn at 10 a.m.
A middle-aged woman at the residence answered the doorbell, but she closed the door in silence when the visitor identified himself as a reporter.
While most of those arrested will face misdemeanor charges, two men believed to be running the game will be charged with felony commercial gambling counts. The names of those arrested were not released.
"I've been with the city for going on 27 years, and I've not seen an operation like this in my tenure," Brackett said.
...........................................................
:scared :scared :scared :shrug:
By MIKE MORRIS, PAUL KAPLAN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/10/07
Roswell police arrested 27 people in an overnight raid on a high-stakes poker game in an upscale neighborhood off Holcomb Bridge Road.
The raid on a home on Nesbit Ridge Drive near Centennial High School capped a six-month investigation into the operation, which police said charged players $10,000 to enter the weekly, Monday night games of Texas Hold'em and other games.
Roswell police Sgt. B.C. Brackett said that when officers entered the house overnight, they found players gambling around three tables in the basement of the house.
Those arrested were "from all walks of life," Brackett said. At least two men arrested were from out of town, one from Savannah and the other from Macon, he said.
Two women hired to serve drinks were among those arrested.
Officers also impounded more than 20 cars parked along the street outside the house. The investigation began after neighbors complained about traffic in the otherwise quiet neighborhood.
Brackett said that while the game was by invitation only, potential players could apply to enter the game through a Web site.
The house is a modern stucco and wood two-story on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Nesbit Ridge subdivision of 39 homes.
The owners are Dan and Angela Tyre, according to neighbors and public records. He owns a car wash and she works for a wine distributor, said neighbor Mary Hager, who used to baby-sit for the couple's two young children. One is under a year old and the other is under 3, she said.
Hager and her husband, Tracy, who are retirees, said the gatherings at the Tyre residence have been a Monday night tradition for a couple of years. They started as a Monday Night Football gathering, the Hagers said, and apparently escalated from there. The Hagers said they were invited to come watch the games but declined.
They said Dan Tyre always made sure there was no noise, and the Hagers never knew the gathering had morphed into high-stakes poker games.
"They're wonderful people," Mary Hager said. "Andrea is a wonderful mother. Danny is friendly, always says hello.."
Tracy Hager said "a swarm" of police, including a SWAT team, arrived around 10:30 p.m. and forced their way into the basement of the house, where the card-players were gathered. There were about 20 cars parked in the cul-de-sac, and many of them were towed away, he said.
"I stood out here and watched it until about 1:30 in the morning," Tracy Hager said. "It was still going on when I went to bed."
The Hagers said it felt like a bit of an over-reaction by police to what seems to them to be a victimless crime.
Three cars were still in the Tyre's driveway this morning ? a Mercedes, an Infinity and a Pontiac ? along with a Cadillac SUV and another Mercedes parked inside their closed garage. A copy of the AJC was still sitting on the lawn at 10 a.m.
A middle-aged woman at the residence answered the doorbell, but she closed the door in silence when the visitor identified himself as a reporter.
While most of those arrested will face misdemeanor charges, two men believed to be running the game will be charged with felony commercial gambling counts. The names of those arrested were not released.
"I've been with the city for going on 27 years, and I've not seen an operation like this in my tenure," Brackett said.
...........................................................
:scared :scared :scared :shrug:
