Dozens of people were detained in Pomona Wednesday morning after police raided a business operating as an illegal casino.
Pomona Police and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation executed warrants at two locations: Holt Avenue and Mission Boulevard. Eyewitnesses captured the entire incident on camera, including several people who were detained.
“There were a lot of police, about 10 to 15. I thought it was an accident,” said Roberta Vasquez, a regular at the plaza.
Pomona police said officers served a search warrant at a hair salon at Mission and Town Avenues on suspicion of operating an illegal casino. Many of the employees around the business said they felt something was wrong and that whatever was going on behind the business' doors raised many questions.
“These were people who you could tell didn't have good intentions and were always sending mean emails, and they did it in front of the door, and it was always the same person opening it. It was very suspicious,” said a resident who works in the area. Yatana Martinez said.
Officers were seen entering the building with ladders and other tools. A restaurant worker next door, a woman identified only by her first name, Juliana, said someone had tried to escape by crawling through the ceiling.
“You would never expect that. “It used to be a place that actually did hair extensions, and it's still very worrying to see it still there as a cover for suspicious activity. ” Martinez said.
The store has now been red-tagged by police.
