In the quiet of a Minnesota twilight, an ordinary celebration of fortune turned to a harrowing scene of crime when a 67-year-old casino victor fell victim to a violent robbery right at his doorstep. The serenity of Mahtomedi was shattered as two malicious figures emerged from the shadows, unleashing a tumultuous assault for the spoils of luck – a staggering sum of $38,000.
The elderly gentleman, with the bright glow of Treasure Island Resort & Casino’s jackpot still fresh in his memory, was brutally confronted and accosted by these predators. His winnings, the fruit of an evening’s pleasure some 42 miles away in the town of Welch, had attracted not the admiration but the avarice of villains.
Wordless terror played out in the drive of his residence as he faced the relentless kicks and punches. In a heart-stopping moment, two women of his kin, who had been nearby, dashed to his rescue. Their courage met with a chilling sight—a firearm brandished by one of the culprits, threatening their very lives should they intervene.
As the attackers fled in a scarlet steed of steel—a red pickup truck—the battered but undeterred senior summoned a strength born of distress. He poured himself into his own vehicle, anguish fueling the pursuit of justice on wheels.
The ordeal was not marked by lasting injury to the victim’s body, yet the corruption laid upon his trust and sense of safety would linger far beyond.
In a feat of swift retribution, the Maplewood police, a mere dozen miles from the scene of the crime, ensnared the wrongdoers, halting their getaway. Three men were rounded up, linked by their shared intent and the grim lineage of their act.
At the helm was Deangelo Romaine Jacox, 32, of Coon Rapids, with his accomplices, Shawn Eric Lewis, 35, from Bloomington, and Tristin Tyler Jacox Mann, 32, of Golden Valley—all now ensnared by the law. They faced an array of charges from first and second-degree aiding and abetting aggravated robbery to menacing threats of violence.
The courtroom of Washington County became the arena where two of these men faced the gravity of their actions. Lewis, his bond set alight at a quarter of a million dollars, and Jacox Mann, tethered by a $150,000 bond.
A twist of legality, however, saw the third evader momentarily slip through the fingers of justice due to procedural oversight. Yet, no crime so brazen could evade the long arc of the law, and on Tuesday evening, the final piece of this nefarious trio was apprehended once more.
Arrangements and courts awaited the suspects’ presence, their fates hanging in the balance as a community reeled from the violation committed within it. The darkness of their deeds lay in stark contrast to the casino’s flashing lights where it all began, and as the hour of judgment drew near, the question lingered—will fortune ever favor the bold, or will it beckon the malevolent?
