The following was originally published on WGEM-TV in Quincy.
A McDonough County, Illinois, man accused of stealing $420,000 in poker chips from an apartment in Los Angeles, California lives with the county’s assistant state’s attorney, the sheriff says.
WGEM-TV in Quincy reports that Sheriff Rick VanBrooker says Dustin R. Campbell, 32, of Blandinsville, is charged with grand theft after being arrested in McDonough County on a warrant from the Los Angeles Police Department.
VanBrooker says Campbell lives with current McDonough County Asst. State’s Attorney Rachel Bloom.
“We have no indication from California that [Bloom] is a suspect in the theft,” VanBrooker said.
WGEM News reached out to state’s attorney James Hoyle for comment, but he hasn’t returned phone calls.
VanBrooker says the theft originally happened Jan. 26, when Campbell stole the chips from professional poker player Matthew Kirk’s apartment on Ventura Boulevard. The chips were from multiple casinos.
Detective Nicholas Petitgout says Campbell found the chips in the bedroom of the apartment. He says Campbell took them straight to the casino, where he cashed out $200,000 and immediately got on a plane to Chicago.
VanBrooker says LAPD has video footage of Campbell cashing in the chips.
Kirk’s biggest tournament win was in 2008, when he placed 11th in the Crown Aussie Millions Championship, earning $135,000 AUD in prize money, just under $142,000 USD, according to PokerPages.com. The site shows five other tournament wins through 2012, but WGEM News couldn’t verify Kirk’s cash game winnings.
After working with LAPD for the past month, McDonough County deputies arrested Campbell outside his home Monday, and say they found $40,000 cash and $20,000 in poker chips.
“The investigation is ongoing about where some of the money went,” VanBrooker said.
Illinois State Police, Macomb Police Department and Western Illinois Department of Public Safety helped with the arrest and recovering the money.
