Man Arrested in Robbery of Casino Worker

A Mission Viejo man was arrested Friday on suspicion of robbing $2,000 from a casino worker at knifepoint as she was returning home.

Edward D. Thompson, 19, was held in Huntington Beach City Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail after his arrest Friday on suspicion of armed robbery, police said.

Thompson and another man allegedly approached Lynn L. Bagley, 37, at 9:26 p.m. after she drove home from the casino where she works, police said.

Bagley was getting out of her car in the 17000 block of Bell Circle when the two men demanded her purse at knifepoint, Lt. Jeff Cope.

A witness looking out a window told police that the men ran to a car parked in the area. Police staked out the car and arrested Thompson when he returned to it shortly after midnight, police said.

Police were still looking for the accomplice.

Police said they did not know if the men followed Bagley home from the casino, or why she had $2,000.

“We don’t know if she was followed home or if they staked out the area or if it was a crime of opportunity,” said Huntington Beach police Sgt. Tony Sollicito.

Police in Orange County say people returning home from card clubs are sometimes targeted by robbers who follow them. In Newport Beach, police said a couple returning home on March 4 with $4,000 in cash winnings were apparently the latest victims of such robbers.