Florida man caused wreck to steal driver’s casino winnings from Alabama, report says
A Pensacola man is in custody roughly four months after police say he deliberately caused a crash in order to rob an older man of some $8,000 he won at an Alabama casino.
Police identified 45-year-old Edward Jerome Butler Jr. as the suspect in early January after investigators watched surveillance video and located the vehicle from the crash.
Butler was taken into custody this week by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and is facing multiple charges stemming from the Dec. 27 incident, Florida TV station WEAR reported.
According to the WEAR report, Butler was driving on Highway 97 when he purposefully caused a crash with the vehicle directly in front of him.
When the other driver pulled to the side of the road and activated his emergency flashers, Butler approached the vehicle, opened the passenger door and, brandishing a weapon, ordered the man to turn over his money, according to a police report obtained by the TV station.
The victim — reportedly over the age of 65 — attempted to draw his open weapon, but Butler grabbed it, according to the report. Police reported that Butler then pulled off the man’s boot, where he had hidden some $8,000 he won earlier at Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, Ala.
The report also indicates Butler and another person drove off with the victim’s cash, firearm and other items belonging to the victim.
Butler later used the man’s credit card three times later that same night, withdrawing $600 each time, the report states.
Butler is in the Escambia County Jail, charged with credit card fraud, battery, aggravated assault, two counts of larceny, and robbery. He is being held under total bond of $117,500.
He has a court date of April 21, according to the jail docket.