Local

Police shut down sweepstakes parlor, arrest 2 employees

The doors remain closed at a sweepstakes business in south Charlotte that Eyewitness News visited about two weeks ago.

A manager the business' machines complied with the law, but Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department detectives seized those machines, along with drugs and a gun.

The East Woodlawn Road sweepstakes is closed indefinitely after police said the business ignored gambling and electronic sweepstakes laws.

"It's their job to crack it down. It's illegal, you crack it down," Avianne Peterson, a concerned mother, said.

Some people in the area are glad police are enforcing the laws outlawing sweepstakes. The ban was recently upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

"People work hard to get their money, and as a mom, this is something that I would not like my son or anybody's children to be exposed to," Peterson said.

But other people don't understand why police have to cut down on what they see as a fun past time.

"They aren't harming nobody, and people go in there who want to go in there," Joseph Flanagan said. "If you want to spend your money in some place like that and try to take your chances, that's your choice."

Police said they launched an investigation after the business failed to comply with a written notice from the district attorney.

Police took more than 39 electronic sweepstakes gaming machines, along with more than $4,400.

They also found marijuana and a gun and arrested Achille Adair and Jeremiah Monroe for drug possession.

To see more local news stories, click here.