Casino In Payson Az Robbed
PHOENIX
Submitted
Security camera footage shows suspects in a Payson robbery.
- Armando Pablo Ochoa of Payson acknowledged in a plea deal Monday that he and another man used guns to rob the Mazatzal Casino on the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation near Payson in mid-July.
- Two casino employees were arrested on Monday (6 August) in connection to an armed robbery last month at the Mazatzal Casino in Payson, Arizona.
- PAYSON, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - A former employee of Mazatal Casino was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after officials said he used a firearm to rob his workplace last July. Ryan Pearson, 32.
The FBI and Arizona law enforcement partners are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two violent casino robbers.
Man sentenced to prison for casino robbery in Payson March 7, 2019 at 4:51 PM MST - Updated March 7 at 4:51 PM TUCSON, AZ (KOLD News 13) - 32-year-old Armando Pablo Ochoa of Payson was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for robbing a casino.
On July 17, 2018, at approximately 12:25 a.m., two males dressed completely in black and wearing hoods and masks entered the Mazatzal Casino (mile marker 251, Highway 87) on the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation by Payson, Arizona.
The subjects, brandishing a long gun and pistols, fired rounds inside the casino and threatened casino employees. No one was injured. The subjects are believed to have fled the casino and crossed Highway 87 to a waiting vehicle.
The suspects are both approximately 5’10” and average build.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of these individuals.
If anyone has any information regarding the identity of the suspects, please contact the FBI at 623-466-1999, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
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PHOENIX – On April 15, 2019, Ryan Pearson, 32, of Payson, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Pearson had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Pearson admitted to using a firearm, along with co-defendant Armando Pablo Ochoa, to rob the Mazatal Casino, in Payson, Ariz., on the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation. Ochoa and Pearson entered the casino armed with handguns and demanded employees open a vault. When they did not receive immediate compliance, Ochoa and Pearson each fired a round from their weapons. Both Ochoa and Pearson were employees of the casino at the time.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Anthony W. Church, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR 18-01169-002-PHX-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2019-054_Pearson
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.