Four Plead in Horse Racing Case

11/27/2007 -- Four defendants charged after a July 29 raid on an illegal horse racing operation in Thackerville pleaded guilty yesterday in Love County, Oklahoma District Court.

Jeroldo Ruiz, 46, will serve a five-year deferred sentence and pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to one felony count of conspiracy against the state. He also pleaded guilty to one felony count of managing unlawful proceeds, and he received a five-year deferred sentence and a $2,500 fine on that charge. As the track’s manager over vendors and employees, Ruiz collected vendors’ rental fees and paid employees at the Red River Playground. He also agreed today to forfeit property seized in the raid, including $12,000 in cash.

Martin Trejo, 35, received a 10-year suspended sentence and a $10,000 fine on one felony count of conspiracy against the state; a two year suspended sentence and a $1,000 fine on one felony count of commercial gambling; a five-year deferred sentence and a $20,000 assessment to the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission (OHRC) on one felony count of charging an admission fee at an unlicensed horse racing track; and a five-year suspended sentence on one felony count of managing unlawful proceeds. Trejo was an organizer at the track.

Juan Rocha, 39, pleaded guilty yesterday to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit gambling on the premises. He was sentenced to a two-year deferred sentence.

The track’s main organizer also pleaded guilty yesterday to numerous felony charges. Jesus Romero, aka Jesse Romero, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against the state, 22 counts of commercial gambling, 26 counts of charging an admission at an unlicensed horse racing track and one count of managing unlawful proceeds. Romero’s sentencing is set for 2 p.m., Jan. 22 before Judge Charles Roberts in Love County District Court.

All of the defendants who pleaded yesterday will also pay court costs.

Including today’s defendants, 16 people have now pleaded guilty in the investigation of the Red River Playground.

“Today’s guilty pleas mark the disposition of all the criminal cases currently filed in conjunction with this investigation,” Attorney General Drew Edmondson said. “The investigation, however, is ongoing.”

Today’s defendants were all charged July 31 after an investigation by the OHRC and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).

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 and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. The case is being prosecuted by the attorney general’s office.

Source: Oklahoma Attorney General

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