Arrest Made in DraftKings Casino Queen Holdup, Three People Face Felony Charges
Posted on: May 26, 2025, 09:40h.
Last updated on: May 26, 2025, 09:42h.
- Police are seeking two people charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action
- A third person allegedly involved in the criminal act has been arrested
- The armed robbery occurred after a man left an Illinois casino with a wad of cash
Three arrests have been made related to the alleged March 15, 2025, robbery that occurred after a man left DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Ill.
On the night of Saturday, March 15, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a 911 call from a distraught 41-year-old man in the 5000 block of Goodfellow Blvd. in the Walnut Park West neighborhood. Police said the man explained that he was earlier at the DraftKings Casino awaiting a cab home.
A couple approached him, offering to take him home. He accepted.
Soon after departing the casino that’s operated by the Bally’s Corp., the man realized the supposedly good Samaritans were anything but. Instead of driving him home, they took him to an alley off of Goodfellow Blvd. where he was held up at gunpoint and ordered to hand over the approximately $2,500 he had in cash.
The alleged victim complied. The suspects, who included a third man who entered the vehicle after he accepted the ride, fled after receiving the money. They did not take the victim’s cell phone, which allowed him to call the police.
However, the man said one of the suspects struck him in the face with a firearm and fired several shots into the air as they sped off.
Investigation Leads to Charges
Police said in their report that casino surveillance identified a 2008 gray Honda Civic with Ohio license plates as the vehicle used in the criminal act. Law enforcement was able to track down the vehicle, which led to criminal charges against Jeffrey M. Burnett, 32, Mone D. Edwards, 27, and Jalyn T. Freeman, 32.
Freeman was apprehended on May 16. The two others remain on the run.
All three are facing first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Burnett additionally faces a count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
The three alleged suspects have criminal records, with Burnett and Freeman having felony convictions. Freeman previously pled guilty to felony use of a weapon and a controlled substance.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office is leading the prosecution.
In Missouri, a person found guilty of a first-degree robbery conviction, a Class A felony, faces prison time ranging from 10 to 30 years, with a mandatory 85% of the imposed sentence required to be completed before possible parole. A first-degree armed criminal conviction could add another five years.
Casino Queen Gunman
In March, a man from Georgia was sentenced to 49 years in prison for his part in a robbery and shooting at the Casino Queen in 2017.
Daryl S. Muhammad, 48, was one of three armed individuals who entered the casino on Sept. 17 that year. Muhammad was determined to have been the gunman who shot casino security guard Larry Weber during the incident. Weber was critically wounded but recovered and has since returned to work.
Muhammad’s two accomplices were never apprehended and remain at large.
During the 2017 robbery and shooting, the casino was known only as Casino Queen. The property rebranded to DraftKings at Casino Queen in 2020 through a partnership with the sports betting and iGaming company. Queen Casino & Entertainment merged with Bally’s in a deal that was completed in February 2025.
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