Crime & Safety
Police: Man Tried to Rob Casino Patron with Finger
Homeless man accused of sticking finger into the side of a woman playing slots and asking: "Do you want to see my pistol?"
A 62-year-old man went up to a woman playing the slots at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem at about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 25 and stuck a finger into her right side.
”Do you want to see my pistol? I need your money,” he told her.
The woman attempted to offer him whatever money was remaining on the slot machine but was unable to cash it out. Then she saw a dollar bill on the floor and asked him if he wanted it.
”The accused paused, and after some time, walked away,” court records say.
”The accused” – James Compton, who once lived in Easton but now claims to be homeless – was later charged with robbery, a first-degree felony.
He was arraigned later that day by on-duty District Judge John Capobianco of Nazareth and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail.
The criminal complaint was filed by Trooper Peter Diangelis of state police’s Sands Bethlehem gaming office.
A sheet in Compton’s file lists his former address as the 500 block of Spruce Street.