Gambler pleads guilty to leaving casino to rob bank

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia man has admitted to leaving a casino to rob a bank before returning to continue gambling.


The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports 52-year-old Kerry Johnson of Charleston pleaded guilty recently to a robbery charge.

Johnson had been at the Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro for hours Aug. 2 when he put down a $25 chip to hold his spot. 

Prosecutors said Johnson then drove 13 miles to a Charleston bank and gave tellers a note saying he had a bomb and a weapon and robbed it.

Johnson then returned to the blackjack table and kept gambling.

Johnson told a judge he’d taken quite a few drugs that day, but recognized himself after seeing video from the bank.

He faces sentencing in March.