GAMBLING FOOL

26 December 2008

Burglar tried to gamble with stolen collector coins

 

Reports from Redding, northern California tell of a local burglar who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, having tried to gamble at two casinos using rare coins he had stolen in a burglary.

The Shasta County sheriff's department is holding 37-year-old James Smith of Anderson on suspicion of burglary and receiving known stolen property. He and another man are alleged to have exchanged the collector's coins for $50 at Win-River Casino in Redding, perhaps not realising that the true value of the coins was around $6 300. The duo then tried to repeat the sale at the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning on the following day but the alarm had been raised.

Anderson's companion was believed not to be involved in criminal activity and was released.