Ski Mask Poker Robber Foiled Into Stealing Only $10
October 22, 2009 8:29 amTwo teenagers who hatched a plan to relieve a poker player of his winnings from the poker room at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club have had their scheme found out and now face charges of armed robbery.
The incident took place on May 18th when Phillip Niles Jr., 18, and Eric Roberts, 19 put their criminal plan into operation. Having persuaded Roberts to go along with his plan, Niles then sent him in to the poker room to identify a winning player worth robbing. Roberts observed four people who had a good size stack of poker chips in front of them but after reporting back to his partner they decided to go after the first one of those players to leave the casino.
Niles was already concealing a shotgun, which he obtained from a friends house unbeknown to him while Roberts had borrowed his parent’s car and when Daniel Partridge left the poker room with his winnings, the pair proceeded to follow him 27 miles to his home in Alemander Avenue in DeBary.
As Partridge had pulled in to his drive he was confronted by Niles wearing a ski mask and pointing a shotgun at him, albeit unloaded. Niles ordered him to hand over his money and empty his pockets unsuspecting that Partridge had already hidden his wallet with $1,500 inside in the car. Eventually all Niles managed to steal was $10 left inside his victim’s work apron before high tailing it from the scene after Roberts in the getaway car signalled things were taking too long.
It wasn’t until September when Sheriff’s Investigators Virgil Ford and Charles Lee got a breakthrough in the case after security at the Kennel Club received a tip off linking Niles and Roberts to the robbery, and were then able to use cell phone signals and surveillance videos to build a case against them.
Niles handed himself in to authorities for questioning this morning but would not admit or deny his involvement as yet. Nonetheless an arrest warrant for Niles was secured and he has now been taken to VolusiaCounty Branch Jail on a robbery witha firearm charge with bail set at $20,000.Eric Roberts will now be brought in on an arrest warrant for armed robbery in Illinois where he lives.