Home News Crime & Punishment Sioux Falls Man Indicted On Charges For Two 2016 Armed Casino Robberies

Sioux Falls Man Indicted On Charges For Two 2016 Armed Casino Robberies

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A Sioux Falls man was indicted last week on aggravated assault and robbery charges for casino robberies he was alleged to have committed more than two years ago.

Mdeng Alier Mlouk, 35, was indicted by a Minnehaha County grand jury last week on three charges of aggravated assault and two charges of first-degree robbery connected to two 2016 casino robberies.

The arrest warrant for Mlouk was served in November 2018. He was indicted by a Minnehaha County grand jury Dec. 19. Mlouk is scheduled to make a court appearance in January. It is unknown why it took two years to arrest Mlouk.

According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant filed in July 2016:

An employee at the Crown Casino on South Minnesota Avenue called police in June 2016 after an armed man robbed the casino.

The man — wearing all black clothing and a brown fedora and partially covering his face with a white bandana — pointed a black handgun at the female employee and said, “I’ll pop you in your shoulder.” He pulled a trash bag from behind the counter and told the employee to put the money in the bag.

The man got away with more than $1,500 from the cash register.

Three days after the Crown Casino robbery, police responded to an attempted robbery at the Happy Jacks Casino on West 12th Street. A man matching the physical and clothing description of the first robbery pointed a black gun at an employee, who ran into a back office and pushed the panic button.

A witness at Happy Jacks Casino, a Coca-Cola delivery driver, told police the suspect got into an older black Buick Park Avenue. The vehicle had duct tape on the driver’s side, and the suspect had to get in through the passenger side to drive.

Police found that vehicle on South Western Avenue a few hours after the incident. The witness said “without a doubt” the vehicle was a match. A hat, shoes and white bandana matching the ones the suspect was wearing were found in the car.

The vehicle was registered to a man lodged at the Minnehaha County jail. He told police the vehicle belonged to his brother. Police went to a matching address for the brothers and spoke with their mother, who said her sons had just gone to go get the robbery suspect to turn him into police.

Her son who was in jail was accused of stabbing Mlouk, who borrowed the vehicle matching the description of the one used in the attempted robbery of Happy Jacks Casino.

Police went to Mlouk’s address. Mlouk’s roommate and girlfriend identified Mlouk in security footage. A fingerprint test conducted on the door of the Happy Jacks Casino matched Mlouk’s prints, police said.

Mlouk is in custody at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, according to the Department of Corrections website. Mlouk was sentenced in 2014 to five years in prison with two years suspended for a fourth offense DWI. He was released on parole later in 2014.