Casino robber rolls dice - loses

Casino robber rolls dice - loses
Written by Kimball Perry

Kenyatta Erkins rolled the dice by taking his case to trial. It cost him a conviction and, after Wednesday’s hearing, 31 years in prison.

Erkins was convicted earlier this year of robbing patrons of Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind., after stalking them in the casino and following them home.

Erkins, 36, was arrested a year ago with Ugbe Ojile and Amy Hoover.

• Video: Robbery caught on surveillance camera

Ojile’s sentence was delayed because he was taken last week to University Hospital with internal bleeding, likely from an ulcer.

Carl Lewis, Erkins’ attorney, said his client could be rehabilitated and should be sentenced to no more than 10 years. Erkins told Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Nadine Allen there “was no evidence” that connected him to the crimes, a comment that Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier called an insult.

“He’s a gangster. He ought to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Piepmeier said, noting Erkins and Ojile planned the robberies and stalked their victims.

They were caught when police, after receiving a series of complaints from patrons who said they were followed home from the casino and robbed, ran a sting operation.

They had an older officer pretend he was gimpy and, using a walker, went to the casino and flashed a wad of cash, getting Erkins’ attention. Erkins and Ojile followed the man from the casino and were soon arrested.

Hoover, 26, of Colerain Township, testified against Erkins – with whom she has a six-month-old daughter she bore in jail – and Ojile, an act the judge used to call Hoover a hero because her testimony came despite repeated threats from Erkins and female inmates at the Justice Center not to do so.

In August, Allen sent Hoover to prison for three years for her role in the robberies, a sentence that was greatly lessened due to Hoover’s cooperation with authorities. The five robberies to which she pleaded guilty carried a maximum prison sentence of 50 years.

Erkins faced a maximum prison sentence of 90 years.

Ojile’s sentence was delayed because he was taken last week to University Hospital with internal bleeding.

Carl Lewis, Erkins’ attorney, told Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Nadine Allen his client could be rehabilitated and should be sentenced to no more than 10 years.

Erkins told Allen there “was no evidence” that connected him to the crimes, a comment that Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier called an insult.

“He’s a gangster. He ought to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Piepmeier said, noting Erkins and Ojile planned the robberies and stalked their victims.

They were caught when police, after receiving a series of complaints from patrons who said they were followed home from the casino and robbed, ran a sting operation.

They had an older officer pretend he was gimpy and, using a walker, went to the casino and flashed a wad of cash, getting Erkins’ attention. Erkins and Ojile followed the man from the casino and were soon arrested.

Prosecutors had several key pieces of evidence that helped win the convictions.

One was a striking video – that was synced with intercepted cell phone conversations between Erkins and Ojile – that showed the pair choosing targets, talking about them and planning how to rob them.

Several of the victims also testified, naming Erkins and/or Ojile as the criminals.

The most important witness, though, was Hoover.

The 26-year-old Colerain Township resident testified against Erkins – with whom she has a six-month-old daughter she bore in jail – and Ojile, an act the judge used to call Hoover a hero because her testimony came despite repeated threats from Erkins and female inmates at the Justice Center not to do so.

In August, Allen sent Hoover to prison for three years for her role in the robberies, a sentence that was greatly lessened due to Hoover’s cooperation with authorities. The five robberies to which she pleaded guilty carried a maximum prison sentence of 50 years.

Erkins faced a maximum sentence of 90 years.

Ojile faces a maximum prison sentence of 116 years when he is well enough to be sent to prison.