Police Probe Gambling Link in Robbery, Murder Near Casino

Huntington Park police were trying to determine whether gambling or drinking or both contributed to the murder of a 35-year-old Inglewood man who was fatally beaten with a tire iron or crowbar only a few hundred feet from the Huntington Park Casino.

An undetermined amount of money was taken from the victim, Ricardo Salinas. Police booked one man for investigation of murder but were withholding his name because they were seeking to arrest others.

The killing was preceded by a disturbance outside the casino, which also has a bar. Police said the victim may have been killed for casino winnings “or as a result of a gang thing.”

However, a casino employee who would identify himself only as “Tom” said the victim “was among a group of guys drinking at the bar--they’re drinkers, not players. They got into a big fight in the bar, and we threw them out and turned them over to the cops. But I guess they must have let them go because it was mutual combat, and then this guy gets attacked a few hundred feet down the street.”