MIDDLETOWN — Bail was set at $750,000 for a Clearlake resident suspected of robbing Twin Pine Casino at gunpoint more than a year ago. John Alan Gillies, 43, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant obtained by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) after a 13-month investigation by the agency.
Lake County deputy district attorney John Langan confirmed Thursday that the three felony charges filed against Gillies include kidnapping in the course of a carjacking (California Penal Code 209.5 [a]), carjacking (PC 215 [a]) and robbery (PC 211). Gillies was arraigned Wednesday.
Gillies” next court date for the appearance of council and entry of a plea is set for today at 8:15 a.m. in Dept. 4 of the Lake County Courthouse in Clearlake. A firearm enhancement was added to each charge, adding 10 years of prison time for each charge. Langan said that for the kidnapping charge alone, Gillies could face life in prison with the possibility of parole.
According to two press releases from the Lake County Sheriff”s Department (LCSD) dated Nov. 6, 2006 and Nov. 7, 2006, Gillies allegedly carjacked a white truck at a Middletown car wash off of Highway 29 in Middletown at approximately 4:40 a.m.
He reportedly displayed a handgun and forced the carjacking victim to drive him approximately half a mile south on Highway 29 toward the casino. Gillies then allegedly forced the driver to get out of the truck and drove to the casino.
Inside Twin Pine Casino, Gillies went directly to the cash cage, where he held a gun on the on the cashier clerk. According to the LCSD, the cashier surrendered a box with a large amount of money inside. Langan estimated the amount of money taken was “in the tens of thousands of dollars.”
The BGC began to investigate Gillies as a suspect in the robbery after he was arrested in Colusa on April 16, 2007, according to a Thursday BGC press release. Gillies was pulled over by the Colusa County Sheriff”s Department while he was allegedly on his way to rob the Colusa Casino Resort.
A search of the vehicle turned up gloves, a mask and a Glock semi-automatic handgun, according to BGC special agent in charge Martin J. Horan. Horan would not say what kind of handgun was used in the alleged robbery of Twin Pines Casino in Middletown. Gillies faces related felony charges in the Colusa County Superior Court.
The BGC investigation linked Gillies to the crime scene with DNA evidence in September after issuing a warrant ordering Gillies to give a saliva sample. That evidence, along with evidence found during numerous interviews, review of casino video surveillance tapes and multiple search warrants, lead to the warrant for his arrest.
The warrant was issued Tuesday by Lake County Superior Court Judge Richard Martin. Gillies reportedly turned himself in Tuesday without incident at the Sheriff”s office on Martin Street in Lakeport.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
