Attorney General Tim Griffin announced the arrest five people in Bradley County on charges of illegal gambling, and issued the following statement after the arrests were made:
“Agents in my Special Investigations Division worked with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and the Warren Police Department in a joint investigation of multiple illegal gambling operations in and near the city of Warren. The investigation led to the arrest of five individuals and the confiscation of nearly $40,000 in illegal funds.
“I have long said that my office serves as a resource for law enforcement agencies across Arkansas, so I am proud to see my Special Investigations team help shut down these operations and bring these criminals to justice. I appreciate Bradley County Sheriff Herschel Tillman and Warren Police Chief Shaun Hildreth for inviting us to be part of this investigation, and I congratulate them on their good work.”
After a months-long investigation during which probable cause was established that illegal gambling was taking place inside Que Lindo Michoacan in Warren and Spanky’s in Bradley County, warrants were executed at both locations Monday by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, the Warren Police Department, the Office of the Attorney General, Arkansas State Police, and the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force.
At Que Lindo Michoacan, Pablo Ceja, 32, of Warren was arrested and charged with one count of Keeping a Gambling House, a Class D felony, and one count of Gaming Devices-Prohibition, an unclassified misdemeanor. Authorities seized $15,000 and confiscated five electronic gambling machines.
At Spanky’s, Kaysie Miskell, 44, of Pine Bluff, Sandra Huntley, 41, of Kingsland, and Shony Penister, 36, of Warren, were all arrested and each charged with one count of Keeping a Gambling House. Keithron Gibbs, 39, of Warren, was arrested and charged with one count of Gaming Devices-Betting, a violation classified as neither a felony nor a misdemeanor. Authorities seized $24,150 and confiscated 41 electronic gambling machines. The two illegal gambling operations are not related.
However, this is not Sandra “Leann” Huntley’s first offense. In 2019 Huntley was arrested with three felony counts in Cleveland County where she served as Kingsland city treasurer from July 2013 until she resigned in August of 2018. Kingsland Water Department office manager Betty Graham discovered charges had been made to the city’s credit card that were not associated to the city. Graham then informed the mayor, after which the Cleveland County Deputy Prosecutor Tom Wynne was contacted. After Wynn recused himself, Chief Deputy Gary Young of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department interviewed Huntley and reported that Huntley made purchases with the city credit card that were not for city business.
State auditors discovered $12,846.10 in unauthorized personal purchases and payments that were made on the city’s credit card between November 27, 2014 and June 17, 2018. As a result, Huntley was charged with theft of property valued between $5,000 and $25,000, abuse of office, both Class C felonies, and fraudulent use of a credit card or debit card, which is a Class D felony. Huntley was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution plus your costs after pleading guilty to misusing a city-issued credit card.
