Two Get Life Sentences for 2018 Shooting and Robbery at Illegal California Casino

  • In 2020, a jury found Ramos and Moore guilty of attempted murder and armed robbery
  • Wednesday’s sentences for both men included two, 25-years-to-life prison terms each
  • After robbing the casino, the fleeing men shot the pursuing security guard twice
  • The District Attorney said life sentences were in line with offenders’ serious criminal history
Closeup of a judge holding a gavel
Two men were sentenced to life behind bars on Wednesday for their roles in the armed robbery of an illegal internet casino in Bakersfield, California in 2018. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Judge handed out stiff sentences

Two men, who this week appeared before the Superior Court of Kern County in California, will spend life behind bars for their roles in an armed robbery and shooting which took place at an unlicensed Bakersfield internet casino in 2018.

The Kern County District Attorney’s (KCDA) office announced the “life in prison” sentences for Frankie Ramos and David Moore via a tweet on March 5:

Judge Charles R. Brehmer sentenced the two men on Wednesday.

In September 2020, a Kern County jury found both Ramos and Moore guilty of “attempted murder, armed robbery, conspiracy, and active participation in a criminal street gang” reported BakersfieldNow, the online news site for Eyewitness News KBAK-CBS and Fox 58.

According to a news release from the KCDA, Brehmer gave Ramos two 25-years-to-life prison sentences, including an extra 29-year, four-month sentence. Moore received two 25-years-to-life sentences plus a 25 year, four-month term.

Security guard took two bullets

The KCDA’s news release, as reported by The Bakersfield Californian, stated the crime took place on January 14, 2018. On that date, four men – Ramos, Moore, Eric Grijalva, and Anesia Ribeiro – conspired to rob an illegal internet casino on Baker Street in Bakersfield.

The four conspirators entered the casino, disarmed a security guard, stole money from gambling machines and a cashier box, and then fled the scene. As the four were fleeing, the security guard gave pursuit, firing his taser. The armed robbers returned fire. Although struck by two bullets, the security guard’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Pleading separately “to other charges stemming from the incident,” Grijalva received a sentence of 15 years in prison, while Ribeiro got six years. According to BakersfieldNow, Deputy DA Hunter E. Starr prosecuted the case.

Consequences for violent crime

Referring to the four men as gang members in the news release, Kern County DA Cynthia Zimmer said laws were in place to deliver maximum penalties to violent criminals in order to ensure they don’t endanger the community again.

life sentences in this case are a proper reflection of the serious criminal history of the offenders”

Zimmer added: “The life sentences in this case are a proper reflection of the serious criminal history of the offenders as well as the extremely violent actions of the crimes they committed.”

In a previous guns and gambling incident in South Bakersfield in 2019, a raid by California law enforcement officers exposed an illegal gambling den housing an eight-person fish table, six computer devices for illegal gambling, four illegal firearms, and 3,000 rounds of ammunition.

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