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Thuhuong Nguyen was accused of cheating at blackjack at the Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center and she has now filed a lawsuit against the State Police and West Virginia Lottery Commission. The lawsuit was filed this past Tuesday and Nguyen alleges that she was wrongfully arrested and detained in August while gambling at a blackjack table. Derek Maple was the dealer and both were arrested and charged with a racetrack violation which is a felony. According to court records prosecutors dropped the charges against Nguyen on August 29th. However the County Magistrate found probably cause in the case against Maple and his case will go to a grand jury.
"Based upon information and belief, the criminal charges against [Nguyen] were dismissed because a review of video recordings of the events of Aug. 22, 2009, clearly demonstrated that [she] committed no criminal violation," states the lawsuit, filed by Charleston lawyer Mike Callaghan.
The lawsuit filed by Nguyen names the Lottery Commission Director John C. Musgrave, State Police Superintendent T.S. Pack and Timothy Humphrey, a lottery employee in the Tri-State as the defendants in the suit.
The above mentioned looked at a video tape and they found that the cheating dealer was showing people cards and one of them was Nguyen. Nguyen was then banned from the casino. She contends that she played at several tables that night legally with many different dealers. She states that her arrest was a violation of her First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights.
2010-01-08
