In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Pomona police and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations carried out a raid on a business operating as an illegal casino. Dozens of people were detained during the operation, which took place at two locations – one on Holt Avenue and the other on Mission Boulevard. Witnesses captured footage of the events, showing several individuals being taken into custody.
Roberta Vasquez, a regular shopper at the plaza, described seeing a large number of officers detaining around 10 to 15 people during the raid. She was surprised by what she saw, initially thinking it might be an accident. However, Pomona police officials stated that a search warrant was served at a beauty salon on Mission and Towne Avenue due to suspicions of an illegal casino operation. Workers in the area had sensed something was off about the business and questioned what might be happening behind closed doors.
Yathana Martinez, who works nearby, mentioned that the suspicious activities at the beauty salon were quite obvious. She described seeing people acting in a secretive manner and always using the same person to gain entry. Martinez shared concerns about the unusual behavior happening right in front of the salon. During the raid, officers were observed entering the premises with ladders and other tools. A restaurant worker named Juliana disclosed that someone had attempted to flee by crawling through the ceiling.
The transformation of a hair extension place into an alleged illegal casino came as a shock to many in Pomona. Martinez noted that continued cover-up under the guise of a hair salon raised red flags for locals following
