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Ohio: Ethiopian man, 6 others charged in $75,000 robbery

By Stan Donaldson | Plain Dealer Reporter

SOLON — Seven men have been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of $75,000 in cash and property from a private high-stakes poker game in Solon, officials said.

Randall Barnes, 25, of Euclid, Solomon Berhane, 31, of Cleveland who immigrated from Ethiopia, Andres Arzola, 18, and William Masters, 37, both of Lorain, will be arraigned Sept. 15 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on charges including kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

The men — who were part of a seven-man crew — helped rob a dozen card players who organized the poker game April 17 at the Allied Lighting warehouse in the 5300 block of Naiman Parkway, said Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office spokesman Ryan Miday.

The three other men involved in the incident have already been arraigned by Judge Brian J. Corrigan.

They are Jose Arzola-Torres, 20, of Lorain, the older brother of Andres Arzola; Dominic Berlingeri, 24, also of Lorain; and Wayne Bunkin, 31, of Cleveland. All seven men were in the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Miday said Barnes, Berlingeri and the Arzola brothers wore masks when they approached a card player smoking a cigarette outside of the warehouse. The men then entered the room with an AK-47 assault rifle, an SKS rifle, a pistol grip shotgun and an automatic pistol and demanded money from the players.

Miday said the men took $50,000 in cash and $25,000 in jewelry and other property, then fled. He said Bunkin, Berhane and Masters helped set up the robbery.

“The defendants knew this was a high-stakes poker game where there was going to be a lot of money on the table,” Miday said.

About a week after the incident, Berlingeri, who served four years for a 2003 aggravated robbery, was arrested in Sheffield after a traffic stop.

Authorities said he purchased the car he was driving with the stolen money. Police also found credit cards and other items that belonged to the victims.

Miday said police contacted Solon police detectives, who conducted the investigation.

If convicted, the men face up to 20 years in prison.

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