Man Pleads Guilty in Killing at Card Club

A 30-year-old card dealer pleaded guilty to murder and theft charges Monday, admitting that he fatally shot a co-worker five times in the head during a dispute at the Ventura club where they worked.

Without explaining the circumstances behind the crime, Michael Gawlik entered the new plea after prosecutors reduced charges in the case to second-degree murder and theft.

Initially, authorities accused Gawlik of killing 36-year-old floor manager Craig Gronenthal during a late-night robbery at the Ash Street Card Club, located behind the Elks Lodge in downtown Ventura.

But further investigation by Ventura police led prosecutors to conclude that Gawlik, a Camarillo resident, did not go to the club on April 15 intending to rob or kill.

Instead, they say, he went there after closing to pay down a $264 gambling debt, and got into an argument with Gronenthal that turned deadly.

“As the investigation unfolded, the Ventura Police Department came up with evidence as to why Gawlik went back,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Ellison. “It became very questionable to us that it was a robbery.” Ellison said evidence showed that Gawlik desperately tried to withdraw money from an ATM just hours before the slaying.

He even deposited an empty envelope to trick the machine into giving him $100--evidence that led authorities to conclude that he wasn’t planning a robbery but trying to get enough cash to pay his gambling debt.

In addition, Gronenthal made a call to his boss the same night to say that Gawlik, who had dealt cards that evening, had gone to the bank to get money to pay off his debt and would be back shortly.

Authorities suspect Gawlik returned to the club with the $100 and a 9-millimeter handgun, which he may have intended to sell. Instead, Gawlik fired the gun several times and fatally wounded his co-worker, whom friends described as a friendly, outgoing ex-Marine.

Gawlik fled to Mexico and turned himself in to border guards in Nogales, Ariz., three days after the slaying. He then led officials to the spot where he disposed of the gun--a patch of bushes off Highway 19 in Arizona.

Outside the courtroom Monday, Ellison explained the plea arrangement to friends of Gronenthal, who expressed frustration at the senselessness of the crime.

“It was a really, really stupid act and for a pitiful amount of money,” said card club manager Michael Moore, one of six witnesses to testify at a preliminary hearing in July.

It was Moore who identified Gronenthal to police after the shooting--a moment that haunts him still. Moore said Gronenthal, who lived in Ventura, was more than just a co-worker. He was a close friend and a remarkable human being.

“I’ve never met anyone as wonderful as him,” Moore said.

Gawlik faces up to 43 years to life in prison when sentenced later this month. According to Ellison, he will be eligible for parole at age 64.

Gawlik would have faced the same sentence if he had been convicted at trial, which Ellison said would have been likely given the “overwhelming” evidence against him.

Moore said he was pleased to see Gawlik plead guilty to the charges, which spares him and others from having to endure testifying during a murder trial.

“I am glad that we are not going to be dragged through this,” he said. “It was really brutal and awful. I hope [Gawlik] thinks every day of his life about what he has done.”