Press release
TRENTON – Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that a fourth defendant pleaded guilty today in an armed robbery of the Caesars Casino in Atlantic City in July 2014 that involved a former casino security guard and targeted employees handling cash boxes.
Aaron Evans, 26, of Atlantic City, pleaded guilty today to a second-degree theft charge before Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr. in Atlantic County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that he be sentenced to eight years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 17.
Deputy Attorney General Kerry DiJoseph took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau-Casino Prosecutions Unit.
In pleading guilty, Evans admitted that he was involved in the robbery at Caesars. He did not admit his specific role. The state’s investigation revealed that Evans was one of two men who entered the casino and robbed casino employees. Evans grabbed cash boxes while the second robber held a security guard and another casino employee at gunpoint. The gunman, Izyiah Plummer, 22, of Atlantic City, a former security guard at Caesars who was fired prior to the robbery, pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 to charges of first-degree armed robbery, conspiracy, aggravated assault and weapons offenses. Plummer faces a recommended sentence of 15 years in prison, including nearly 13 years of parole ineligibility under the No Early Release Act. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6.
Two other men who were indicted with Evans and Plummer pleaded guilty in June. Nathaniel Greenlee, 23, of Bear, Delaware, and Donavon Jackson, 22, of Wilmington, Delaware, each pleaded guilty to second-degree theft. The state will recommend that each of those two men be sentenced to seven years in prison. They are scheduled to be sentenced on March 17, along with Evans.
The men were charged in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau-Casino Prosecutions Unit. They were charged in connection with an armed robbery of a security guard and a second casino employee who were removing cash from a kiosk inside Caesars Casino on July 21, 2014.
“We have now secured guilty pleas that will send all four men involved in this brazen armed robbery to prison for lengthy sentences,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This armed ambush inside a casino easily could have ended tragically, and the sentences these men face fit the violent nature of their crime.”
“The amount of money changing hands in Atlantic City’s casinos can tempt rash criminals like the men who committed this heist at Caesars,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “That’s why we work diligently with the New Jersey State Police to maintain a safe and secure environment in the casinos and ensure that those who breach that security pay the price.”
“Four of a kind is usually a winning hand, but in this case it represents four guilty pleas and time behind bars,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The reckless heist committed by these four men created an atmosphere of panic and chaos that put innocent lives in danger. However, thanks to some great work by the State Police Casino Gaming Bureau and our partners, these men won't be planning any heists in the near future.”
At about 6:18 a.m. on July 21, 2014, Plummer and Evans arrived at Caesars Casino in a car driven by Greenlee, with Jackson in the passenger seat. Plummer and Evans entered the casino wearing masks and gloves and approached a security guard and another casino employee who were loading full cash boxes onto a trolley from a self-redemption terminal at a kiosk. Plummer pointed a handgun at the two employees. Plummer pointed the gun at the security guard’s head while Evans removed three cash boxes from the trolley. As the two robbers were fleeing the casino, one of them dropped one of the cash boxes and left it behind. Plummer and Evans escaped from the casino with two cash boxes containing approximately $181,200 and entered Greenlee’s vehicle.
Greenlee drove to Plummer’s apartment in the Venice Park section of Atlantic City. There proceeds of the robbery were divided among Plummer, Evans, Greenlee and Jackson. A search warrant was executed at Plummer’s apartment, where a black ski mask, bullets for a .38 special handgun and $43,900 in cash were found. A search warrant also was executed at Evans’ home, where $4,300 in cash was seized. Detectives found a handle from one of the cash boxes in the street in front of Evans’ home.
The lead detectives on the case for the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau were Detective Michael Nelson and Detective Sgt. Charles Vicente. The Atlantic City Police Department, Pleasantville Police Department, Delaware State Police and Pennsylvania State Police provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
