Guard at Oakland Gambling Den Set Free After No Connection to Unsolved Murder Is Found

(AsiaGameHub) –   Ray Gilbert, 27, who was employed as a “security guard” at an illegal gambling den in Oakland, California, and was found holding a firearm linked to an unsolved murder, has been set free after authorities were unable to connect him to the killing.

Man Goes Free After Officials Are Unable to Establish a Connection Between Him and the Killing

Gilbert was first taken into custody alongside three other people in July 2023 during a law enforcement raid on the illegal casino. A few weeks later, a search of his residence turned up a gun that detectives confirmed was used in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Mynyamani Stevenson in the parking lot of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oakland on July 29, 2023.

Federal prosecutors later indicted Gilbert, alleging he was part of a “robbery crew” with ties to Oakland’s Case Gang. Court records show that the group targeted victims, including a man who had won cash at the Livermore Casino, trailing him back to his home before robbing him.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Gabriela Bischof, Gilbert’s legal representative, noted that the government’s evidence only indicates Gilbert is connected to people and environments that may be seen as negative influences. She argued that based on the submitted facts, the Court cannot conclude that her client personally participated in violent behavior, nor should he face punishment for his associations.

Gilbert spent around two years in custody after the case was filed, and following his release, he has obtained a position at a warehouse in the East Bay. In court filings, Bischof stated that Gilbert has made a positive life change.

In other recent updates related to illicit gambling operations, Taiwanese law enforcement broke up a multi-billion-dollar criminal ring that used casinos in Macau to launder illegally obtained funds.

Hard Life Circumstances Drove Gilbert Toward Criminal Activity

Bischof explained that Gilbert has encountered violence for his entire life, having been shot five times, with the first incident happening at age 13. His father was killed when Gilbert was only 5, and as an adult in 2021, he was bitten for 45 seconds by Purcy, the K9 handled by disgraced former Antioch officer Morteza Amiri. Earlier this year, Amiri was handed a federal prison sentence for setting his dog on a man without valid reason.

Gilbert has been repeatedly targeted by law enforcement, but has so far avoided long prison sentences. In 2020, his phone was wiretapped, along with the devices of six other people suspected of being affiliated with the Case Gang.

This surveillance was conducted in connection with the murder of 27-year-old Shawn Tillis in San Pablo, and the nonfatal shooting of a former Case Gang member who had been labeled a “snitch” by the group. None of the suspects were ever charged, however. In other shooting-related news, a man was fatally shot by police last week in Thackerville, Oklahoma, after he pulled out a gun when officers approached him.