Three young men were indicted by a Tompkins County grand jury last week for robbing a private poker game in Ithaca, New York. Eric R. Cruz, 23, Robert J. Johnson Jr., 26, and Antonio C.J. Padin, 25 are charged with Robbery in the First Degree, Robbery in the Second Degree, Burglary in the Second Degree, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree. There may have been two other accomplices involved, but they have neither been identified nor caught at this time.
The frightening event occurred on the evening of November 15th at the Hair Graphics East salon, located in the East Hill Plaza at 327 Pine Tree Road in Ithaca. The salon was the venue for a poker game attended by more than three dozen people. According to IthacaJournal.com, there was a “$40 ante,” which likely means that the buy-in for the game was $40. Thus, there was quite possibly as much as around $1,600 involved in the poker games at the beginning of the night, not to mention any other cash the attendees had on them.
After midnight, there were reportedly about 12 people remaining, so the amount of money involved was almost certainly much lower, though not insignificant to the average person. It was at that point in the proceedings that Cruz, Johnson, and Padin – one of whom brandished a handgun and concealed his face with a black bandana – crashed the game by entering through the rear entrance of the salon. They ordered the players to hand over their wallets, cell phones, and money and get on the floor.
According to witnesses, it was shortly thereafter that some of the players got either very brave or very stupid. The masked robber pointed his gun at a player’s head, prompting a different player to yell, “Shoot me, I’m not scared, I want to die!” as well as “I don’t give a [blank]! Shoot me!”
Apparently, that aggressive tactic worked, as it caught the robbers off guard. The player took the brief moment of confusion as an opportunity to run out the door and start shouting for police. At that point, the robbers took off, chased by the poker players. They climbed into a silver Nissan with out-of-state plates, but not before one of the players smacked one of the robbers in the head with a two-liter soda bottle.
The players were able to note the license plate number of the vehicle and dialed 9-1-1 as the car, reportedly containing the two additional accomplices (one of whom was allegedly the driver) sped down Pine Tree Road. Police caught up with the robbers in Slaterville Springs, just over seven miles away, and arrested Cruz, Johnson, and Padin.
Robbery in the First Degree is considered a Class B Violent Felony in the state of New York and comes with a prison sentence of anywhere from 5 to 25 years, depending on the defendant’s criminal history. Both Robbery in the Second Degree and Burglary in the Second Degree are Class C Violent Felonies, with prison terms of 3.5 to 15 years. Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree is a Class E Felony, with a sentence of zero to 4 years. Thus, all told, the three defendants could be facing incarceration terms of 12 to 59 years.
Arraignments are scheduled for January 6th.