Affluent neighborhood rocked by gambling arrests

On any given Sunday, Huntcliff in Sandy Springs attracts dog walkers, horseback riders or golfers, drawn to the neighborhood’s views of the Chattahoochee River.

The 450-home enclave is not the kind of place where neighbors expect to see armed, camouflaged police — some disguised as bushes — surrounding a $650,000 house.

But that was the scene on Super Bowl Sunday, when Sandy Springs police arrested 14 people after executing a search warrant at a house on Waterpine Court. Police moved in after an investigation determined the 8-bedroom house was a regular host site for commercial gambling, said Lt. Anthony Eskew, commander for special operations, including SWAT.

The raid set off a flurry of phone calls in the normally staid neighborhood. Flabbergasted residents peeped through windows, trying to watch the drama. None wanted to be identified, saying they feared reprisal.

Several described the scene as surreal.

Police had received a tip that a home invasion robbery would be committed that afternoon at the house, where the games were protected by armed security, Eskew said. Players were invited to games by text messages, he said, which featured coded language for how much money would be needed.

The minimum amount to play ranged from $150 to $1,000, Eskew said.

Poker was played in the basement, where a bartender served food and drink. The events featured valet parking behind the house, shielding cars from neighbors’ view, Eskew said. Police determined the house had hosted at least two games in the previous week, he said.

In Sunday’s raid, police seized more than 5,000 high-quality poker chips, two professional tables, and other items, including several flat-screen TVs.

“Believe me, we were not after Super Bowl gamblers,” he said. “It was more than that.”

Commercial gambling, a felony crime, can involve high-stakes bets and police say it often is accompanied by other illegal activities. In 2007, Roswell police arrested 27 people after breaking up a game in which players needed $10,000 to enter. That sting followed a six-month investigation.

Since it started its own police force in 2006, Sandy Springs has not had large-scale gambling arrests, Eskew said.

Of the 14 people detained, three men face felony charges because they organized and profited from the poker games, Eskew said. According to police records, the men who were arrested and charged with commercial gambling, were: Allen Edwards, 42, of Hembree Park Terrace, Roswell; Robert Kinner, 26, of Hickory Creek Lane, Woodstock; and Robert Logan, 24, of Roswell Road, Sandy Springs.

Logan declined comment when reached Friday. Edwards and Kinner could not be reached for comment.

Eleven other people — most in their mid-20s and including three women — were charged with misdemeanor violations of a city ordinance, according to police records. The eleven were released and face a municipal court hearing in March, according to police.

The Huntcliff neighborhood, Eskew said, is “absolutely not” a place where crime is a problem.

Which is why Sunday, Dianne Fries stopped her car after she happened to drive by, and saw more than a dozen police vehicles and the city’s new police chief standing by. Fries, a city councilwoman, watched camouflaged officers moving in the woods, then decided to move along herself.

As the operation wound down, Eskew said, police found activity more typical of the neighborhood.

A neighbor brought the officers a plate of home-baked cookies. “Only in Sandy Springs,” he said.