A 27-year-old aspiring professional poker player was sentenced today to nearly nine years in state prison for following casino goers to their homes and robbing them, including a Long Beach woman, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Blair Roberson, of Paramount, was handed down the eight years and eight months sentence after a jury found him guilty on October 31 of four counts of second-degree robbery and one count of attempted second-degree robbery, according to a release.
Deputy District Attorney Brian Kang, who prosecuted the case, said Roberson was an aspiring professional poker player at the time of the crimes.
The prosecutor said that on October 8, 2015, the defendant followed a 42-year-old man from the Hawaiian Gardens Casino to his Westminster home. While at the victim’s home, Roberson tried to rob him in his driveway, but the victim was able to get away.
The next day, the defendant followed a 50-year-old woman from the same casino to her Long Beach home where, armed with a replica gun, he robbed her in her driveway. He took $1,000 in cash and the victim’s purse, according to the prosecutor.
The defendant, less than a week later, followed another Hawaiian Gardens Casino patron to her Westminster home where he robbed her in front of her residence. Roberson took the 41-year-old victim’s purse and about $3,1000 in cash, the prosecutor added.
The defendant returned to the casino following the robbery and used the victim’s money to gamble, the prosecutor said.
On October 21, 2015, Roberson followed a 59-year-old woman from Hollywood Park Casino to her home in Torrance where he robbed her of at least $6,000 in cash. Roberson punched the woman during the incident, the prosecutor added.
Over two weeks later, the defendant trailed a 51-year-old woman from the Hawaiian Gardens Casino to her La Puente home. At the residence, Roberson robbed the victim of at least $2,000 and then went to another casino in Gardena where he was later arrested, officials stated.
The case was investigated by the Long Beach, Torrance and Westminster police departments and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.