Jacksonville police on Monday arrested three convenience store owners on charges of engaging in illegal gambling, seizing drugs and guns in the process, a Tuesday news release states.
Officers serving search warrants located gambling devices or evidence of gambling at Max’s Convenience Store at 713 S. First St., owned by Venkata Melapu, 42, and Jacksonville Stop and Shop at 1116 S. First St., owned by Ahmed Ali, 47, the release states.
Police arrested Jagjit Singh, 36, owner of two AJ Mart stores at 1521 S. First St. and 3701 N. First St., after search warrants served at the stores determined gambling machines had been moved before officers arrived, the release states.
All three men were being held in the Pulaski County jail on Tuesday, an online inmate roster showed.
Melapu and Singh each face a felony count of keeping a gaming house and a misdemeanor charge of keeping a gaming device, the release states.
Police seized about $9,288 in cash from Melapu’s business and about $4,098 from Ali’s business, also seizing three gaming machines, two guns and about 2 ounces of marijuana from Ali’s store, the release states.
Ali faces felony counts of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, use of another person’s property to facilitate certain crimes, possession of Schedule IV drugs with purpose to deliver and endangering the welfare of a minor, as well as the misdemeanor gaming device count with an enhancement for being within 1,000 feet of a church or daycare, the release states.
