Robbers Who Targeted Casino Winners Face Life

• Two LA men are accused of followed jackpot winners home from casinos and robbing them at gunpoint
• Each faces federal charges that could add up to life in prison

Two L.A. men arrested Friday face federal charges for robbing more than a dozen casino winners at gunpoint on highways.

Juan Gabriel Gonzalez, 22, and Dereck Nathan Lopez visited various Southern California casinos, using fake names, according to the U.S. Justice Department. They befriended gamblers who appeared to be winning, then followed them out of the casinos and ambushed them on freeways before using weapons to smash their car windows and demand money.

This scenario happened at least 15 times, according to prosecutors. On busy nights, the two men and their conspirators would strike as many as three casinos, stealing upwards of $130K. (The only two casinos mentioned by name in their arrest report are the Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce and the Parkwest Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens.

One female victim caught on an unnamed casino’s surveillance footage can be seen completing a high-five initiated by Lopez an hour before he and his co-conspirators robbed her of $21K at gunpoint, prosecutors said.

The pair faces 10 felony charges each, including multiple counts of interference and attempted interference with commerce by robbery, one count of Hobbs Act conspiracy, and multiple counts of using firearms in a crime of violence.

Lopez was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. (He was convicted of grand theft in 2023.)

If convicted of all charges, each man could face life in prison.