JACKSONVILLE, TX (KLTV) -
Police raided a business in Jacksonville on Friday and arrested a man for running a gambling establishment.
According to Jacksonville Police, Saeed Oehme, 58, was arrested and charged with Keeping a Gambling Place, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Oehme is the owner Jacksonville Beer and Wine and DC Warehouse.
Jacksonville Police say they had been keeping an eye on Saeed Oehme for five years when nine gambling machines were removed from his store Friday afternoon.
Jacksonville Police had been watching a couple of eight-liner gambling machines in the front of the store, but they did not have proof of the gambling ring until they responded to a disturbance between Oehme and a disgruntled employee at the business on Thursday. While there, they noticed a locked door in the back of the business labeled "Lavatory."
"I had officers in the building doing the disturbance notice signs on the wall that were, one of them said $500 maximum cash payout, and the other said this game hit $260 three days ago," said Jacksonville Police Chief Reece Daniel. "So it was obvious it was gambling going on. And we got information at the same time that the machines in the front were just for show, that there was an actual gambling place in the back behind a locked door."
Officers returned to the establishment Friday with a search and arrest warrant and discovered nine electronic gambling machines behind the locked door.
"Sure enough, behind the locked door we found nine or ten machines and a full-fledged gambling establishment there," Daniel said.
Police say gamblers would pay cash into the machines but would have to receive their payouts from the front of the store.
They say they only plan to charge Oehme for operating the establishment - although they say they've already received complaints for shutting the gambling room down.
"I've already had a woman up here complaining that we put him out of business," Daniel said. "So, I suppose some of them enjoyed it."
Oehme was arrested around 11 a.m. Friday. He is currently behind bars in the Jacksonville City Jail awaiting a bond hearing, which should take place Saturday.
Copyright 2013 KLTV. All rights reserved.
Saeed Oehme (Jacksonville Police Department)
