‘Drugs, gambling ruined my life’ — Chapin gambling boss gets probation, $10K fine
A 73-year-old Chapin man has been fined $10,000 for conspiracy to engage in an illegal Lexington County gambling operation.
Instead of prison, Jesse O. Helms will spend five years on supervised probation during which time he will not be allowed to do any form of gambling, according to sentencing U.S. District Judge Sherri Lydon. He will also be tested for drugs up to two times a week, according to court documents.
Helms, a former convenience store operator, must also participate in a gambling addiction program, according to court documents.
Helms was the last person to be sentenced in a profitable five-person conspiracy to run a video poker-type gambling business in Lexington County.
Since his arrest on gambling charges, Helms has undergone drug rehabilitation for an addiction to the prescription pain killer oxycodone, said Helms’ lawyer, Jake Moore Sr.
“He got addicted to prescription medicine, couldn’t get off it, and wound up trying to make some money to pay for a problem,” Moore said. “He said he wanted to thank the officers for arresting him because if he hadn’t gotten arrested, he’d be dead by now.”
“He said he felt like drugs and gambling had ruined his life, and he asked the court to accept his apology,” Moore said.
Moore said Judge Lydon “bent over backwards to see that justice was done. I was incredibly impressed with the way she approached the case. It wasn’t just another case.” Lydon went along “with the idea” that he should go into drug treatment before sentencing, Moore said.
The operation’s kingpin, Fred McCary, 68, a well-known Lexington County businessman, was sentenced last October to six months in prison, six months home detention and a $1 million forfeiture.
An indictment in the case said that McCary and Helms owned an ongoing illegal gambling business that had over 25 “Pot O Gold” slot machines and video gaming machines capable of playing games such as Shamrock Ts, Joker Poker, Keno, Deuces Wild, and Jacks or Better.
The video poker operation at times made up to $100,000 per week, according to evidence in the case. The operation was open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily and necessitated two shifts of workers to oversee the business.
McCary and Helms bought and maintained the slot machines and illegal gambling machines as part of their illegal gambling operation, which was located at 5042 Platt Springs Road and 1320 South Lake Drive, both in Lexington, the indictment said.
An investigation into the operation began in 2023 when the Lexington County sheriff’s office got a tip about people losing money at a building where the gambling was taking place. The tipster said there were gambling machines, fighting and guns at the building. When a deputy tried to investigate, no one would let him in the building, according to evidence in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris prosecuted the case. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the State Law Enforcement Division.