Eleven Plead Guilty in Illegal Horse Racing Case

11/14/2007 -- Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said eleven defendants charged in connection with a July 29 raid on an illegal horse racing operation in Thackerville pleaded guilty today in Love County District Court.

The eleven defendants, which included workers and horse owners at the Red River Playground in Thackerville, were charged in Love County District Court July 31 after an investigation by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission (OHRC) and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).

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Pleading guilty today were vendors Galvan Jehu Candanosa, 60, and Norma Isela Gomez-Castillo, 44; track employees Graciela Morino Cardoza, 23, and Victor Ramon Torres, 35; security guards Darel Waterhouse, 27, and Steve Trout, 32; and horse owners Jose Jesus Mireles, 32, and Victor Mireles, 38. Each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit gambling on premises, and each will serve a one-year deferred sentence.

Horse owners Juan Pablo Navarro, a 28, and Josue Garcia, 35, also pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to permit gambling on premises, and each received a two-year deferred sentence.

Horse owner Isreal Lerma Candanosa, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make a wager and was sentenced to a two-year deferred sentence.

All of the defendants agreed to pay court costs and forfeit property seized during the July raid. They will also provide testimony against the track’s operators and managers.

Jesus Romero, aka Jessie Romero; Geraldo Ruiz, aka Gerardo Ruiz; Martin Treja, aka Martin Trejo; and Sonja Romero are each charged with four counts of commercial gambling, one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy and seven counts of charging an admission fee to an unlicensed horse racing track. A hearing in that case is set for 9 a.m. Nov. 26 before Judge Charles Roberts in Love County District Court.

The OHRC and the OSBI were assisted in the raid by officers from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Office of the Attorney General, the Chickasaw Nation Light Horsemen, the Love County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. The case is being prosecuted jointly by the attorney general’s office and the Love County district attorney’s office.

“This has been a coordinated effort involving numerous agencies,” Edmondson said. “I would like to commend the investigative agencies as well as those agencies that assisted in the Red River Playground raid for their work on this case. I would also like to thank Love County District Attorney Craig Ladd.”

Source: Oklahoma Attorney General