Sturgeon Falls man arrested after violent robbery at North Bay casino
Police say an armed man struck a worker, smashed a slot machine and demanded cash at Cascades Casino before officers stopped him outside.
A 44-year-old man from Sturgeon Falls is in custody after what police describe as a violent robbery at Cascades Casino in North Bay in the early hours of Thursday, Aug. 13.
Police said they were called at about 12:15 a.m. after a lone man carrying two weapons entered the casino on Pinewood Park Drive. He went onto the gaming floor and began damaging property, police said, and struck an employee several times. He is then alleged to have smashed a slot machine and a computer before demanding money from an employee, who handed it over.
Stopped on the way out
As the man was leaving, he was confronted by two officers with the North Bay Police Service, according to police. He is alleged to have run back inside the building and smashed a window in an attempt to get away. Police said he was arrested immediately and taken to police headquarters, where a search turned up a set of brass knuckles. All of the stolen cash was recovered, police said.
Police have since identified the accused as Paul Joseph Phillion, 44, of Sturgeon Falls, BayToday reported. He faces 17 charges. They include robbery with violence, two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of assault, one count of mischief over $5,000 and five counts of mischief under $5,000.
He is also charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, causing a disturbance and two counts of failing to comply with a weapons prohibition order.
He was held in custody to await a bail hearing. None of the charges has been tested in court.
Police have not said how much money was taken, or whether the employee who was struck needed medical care.
Sturgeon Falls is a community in the municipality of West Nipissing, west of North Bay along Highway 17.
None of the charges have been proven in court.