LEE COUNTY, Fla. – A man and woman were arrested after pretending to work for the Florida Gaming Control Commission and robbing the 777 Arcade on Littleton Road in North Fort Myers.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, an employee said a woman in a business suit and an older man in a security uniform entered Monday night. According to the report, the man had a gun in an open holster.
The man and woman, later identified as Joseph Thomas Zimmer and Kelly Lynn Whalen, knocked on the door of the 777 Arcade and asked to enter.
LCSO states that the Cape Coral duo claimed to be from the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
After being let in, they asked for the keys to the slot machines.
The report states that the witness said he had no access to the keys. The two then produced plastic bags that appeared to be evidence bags.
The witness called their boss and put him on speakerphone with the suspects. He stated that he was gone for two hours, but he was on his way.
LCSO reports that the suspects stated they started without him and requested that the money be placed in plastic bags as evidence.
The witness opened the safe and put the money in the pockets.
The man tried to open the machines, but failed. He stated that they had vehicles on their way to confiscate the machines and told the witness to leave.
They were escorted from the building by an unknown man, according to the report.
An operating partner of the company stated that he was missing an unknown color door opener, worth about $50 dollars; an unknown color DVR system, worth about $50 dollars; an unknown color computer mouse, worth about $50 dollars. LCSO states that the total amount of the missing items is approximately $818 dollars.
LCSO states that the incident was not reported because it was not sure whether it was a scam.
Upon later investigation, it was discovered that the 777 Arcade was using illegal, unlicensed machines.
The sheriff’s office said the ex-wife and ex-husband tried their luck again at the Quick Hits arcade on N. Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers to pull off a similar robbery.
Being Fake Florida Gaming Control Commission Officials they got away with $2,000 this time in a car registered to one of Whalen’s children.
Deputies put the two in a car near where they live in Cape Coral, and found evidence linking them to both robberies.
The duo were taken to Lee County Jail but have since been released.
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