Bingo patrons daub suspect in holdup try
A man who wanted to rob the night’s take at a Livonia bingo hall got more than he bargained for as three bingo patrons chased him down and held him for the police early Sunday morning.
Elton Mason, 20, of Detroit was arraigned Monday in 16th District Court by Magistrate Dennis Epler on seven counts including armed robbery, felony firearm, felonious assault and being an habitual offender.
He is currently being held in the Wayne County Jail on a $250,000 cash/surety bond. There is a 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, preliminary exam set for the case.
According to Livonia police reports, a Wyandotte woman who works at Shamrock Bingo, 33111 Plymouth, was leaving with a deposit bag at 1:45 a.m. Sunday when a man started yelling and running at her.
She managed to get into her car when the man caught up with her, trying to force the car door open and pounding on the window with a gun. The report said the man broke one of the car’s windows in the effort.
At the same time, a group of three bingo patrons came out of the hall and started chasing the man off the premises.
By the time Livonia police officers arrived on the scene, the patrons had apprehended the man and pinned him to the ground at the nearby Sheldon Pool - less than 100 yards southeast from the bingo hall.
During the citizens’ arrest, it was learned that the culprit had tried to fight off the three men and threatened one of them with the gun during the altercation.