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Shawn P. Applewhite, 25, of the Burlington County town of Marlton, demanded money and jewelry, but the victim got up and fought him off, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.
A bystander also intervene before a Bally’s Hotel and Casino security supervisor and officer grabbed Applewhite following the failed December 2020 holdup, the attorney general said.
Applewhite was sentenced to eight years with no parole for seven on Monday, April 25, in exchange for his guilty plea last month to first-degree robbery in Superior Court in Mays Landing.
Superior Court Judge Donna M. Taylor also ordered Applewhite not to have any contact with the victim and permanently barred him from all casinos in New Jersey.
Applewhite “ambushed his victim in a public venue, creating an alarming and dangerous situation for everyone present,” Platkin said.
The plea and sentence were secured by Deputy Attorney General Katelyn Waegener of state Division of Criminal Justice’s Specialized Crimes Bureau following an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau, the attorney general said.
Platkin commended the bureau detectives while thanking “the security staff at Bally’s who apprehended Applewhite.”
Allenwhite “is reaping the consequences of his brazen and unlawful conduct,” state Division of Criminal Justice Director Lyndsay V. Ruotolo added. “We’re sending a message that this type of criminal activity will not be tolerated.”
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