Hollywood Casino Columbus: Casino cheater gets 2 years for 3 crimes

Casino cheater gets 2 years for 3 crimes
By John Futty

The Columbus DispatchWednesday August 14, 2013

 

A 40-year-old Reynoldsburg man was sentenced to two years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to cheating at the Hollywood Casino Columbus and to unrelated charges of cocaine possession and illegally possessing a gun.

Arthur S. Murray of 6997 Treebourne Dr. reached a plea agreement with prosecutors on all three cases in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The sentence, imposed by Judge Pat Sheeran, was recommended by defense attorneys and prosecutors as part of the agreement.

Murray’s prison stay will be shortened by the 242 days he has spent in jail since his arrest.

Murray was among the first casino customers to be charged with casino-gaming offenses after the business opened on the West Side in October. Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Bond told the judge that Murray was playing blackjack on the evening of Oct. 28 and was captured on surveillance video as he added or removed chips from his bets after the cards were dealt.

He was already awaiting trial on a drug charge from a June 1, 2011, traffic stop in which police found crack cocaine in a car he was driving, Assistant Prosecutor Carol Farnese said. In January, Murray was indicted on robbery and weapons charges after a woman called police to say that he and others stole her purse at gunpoint.

What the judge called “difficulty” with evidence in the robbery case prompted prosecutors to dismiss the robbery charges in exchange for a guilty plea to a charge of possessing a weapon despite a previous felony drug conviction.

Murray, represented by W. Martin Midian on the gun case and Philip Churchill on the casino and drug cases, told the judge he was sorry for the offenses. “This will never happen again, your honor,” he said.


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