Police arrested a fourth individual in connection with a gambling raid Wednesday at an arcade in the Waiakea Uka area of Hilo.
According to the police booking log, 51-year-old Jean Marie Johnson of Hilo was apprehended shortly after noon Thursday on Kalakaua Street in Hilo. She was booked on suspicion of gambling and released from custody pending further investigation.
“She was a player from that same incident,” police Lt. Reed Mahuna of the Hilo Vice Section said Friday, referring to the Wednesday raid at Waiakea Games &Things, 511 Kawailani St.
Police seized more than $3,900 in cash and, according to Mahuna, 19 machines were confiscated in the raid.
“The best way to described them is video gaming machines,” Mahuna said. “They’re similar to a slot machine but … there’s no physical reels on the machine. It’s on a screen. … On these machines, you basically see a picture of wheels moving around or symbols changing.”
Mahuna said the machines print out receipts for winners and “then they would cash out at a cashier.”
Asked if the machines are games of skill or chance, Mahuna replied, “Our determination is that’s it’s gambling. It’s a game of chance.”
Three others were arrested Wednesday during the raid: Kapela Mauai, 31, of Hilo, on suspicion of possession of a gambling device and second-degree promotion of gambling; Dondi Feliciano, 33, of Pahoa, on suspicion of second-degree promotion of gambling; and Gene Mancia, 56, of Hilo, on suspicion of gambling.
All were released from custody pending further investigation.
The same site, plus a number of other establishments, were raided as part of a larger gambling sweep by Hawaii County police, plus Honolulu police officers, Prosecutor’s Office investigators and agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Those raids netted 124 machines and about $150,000 in cash, police said.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of gambling in those raids, but all were released pending further investigation. None have been charged.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
