Illegal gambling parlor in South Carolina man’s home lands him in jail, cops say
A Lexington County man who was running an illegal gambling parlor out of his home was recently arrested, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
On March 3, Walter Limann Hicks Sr., a 51-year-old Gaston resident, was charged with unlawful possession/operation of a slot, video, vending machine or gambling device as well as a count of unlawful games and betting, SLED said Friday in a news release.
During a search of Hicks’ home, 18 illegal gambling machines were seized, arrest warrants show.
Each machine was identified as a “Pot O Gold” gaming device that offered various forms of blackjack, keno and poker, according to arrest warrants. Those are illegal games of chance which are prohibited by South Carolina law.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department asked SLED to lead the investigation of Hicks, who will be prosecuted by the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
When he was arrested, Hicks was booked into the Lexington County Detention Center.
Bond was set at $3,087.50 on the combined charges and posted March 4, Lexington County court records show.
Information about how law enforcement identified Hicks as the operator of an illegal gambling parlor was not available.
The day before he was charged with the gambling crimes, Hicks was arrested and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to court records. Bond on that pending charge was set $8,500 and was posted March 2, court records show.
This is not the first time that Hicks has been arrested in Lexington County.
In August 2020, Hicks was arrested and charged with third-degree domestic violence and later pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge, according to court records. Prior to that, Hicks also pleaded guilty to that same charge in 2017, months after he was originally arrested on a malicious injury (value $2,000 or less) charge, court records show.
In July 2023, Hicks was arrested on a count of first-degree domestic violence and pleaded guilty to a second-degree domestic violence charge that December, according to court records.
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