Frenzied Friday winds down with no raid; Country Crossing closed

Round three of the battle between Country Crossing and the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling appears to be at a stalemate hours after more than 150 troopers arrived at the site for an apparent third attempt at a raid of the facility.

The electronic bingo pavilion remains closed, as it has been since 1:30 a.m. Friday, more than two hours before the troopers arrived. The troopers did not raid the facility, however. They were met by attorneys Will Matthews and Will Somerville, who represent Country Crossing and the Houston Economic Development Association (HEDA). When it was learned the troopers did not have a search warrant, the attorneys told them they were trespassing and asked them to leave the property.

The facility remained closed Friday night and developer Ronnie Gilley said it would reopen after attorneys had placed the development in the best legal standing.

Troopers remained there for more than seven hours when, again, attorneys asked the troopers to leave, this time in writing. Troopers soon left the site but stayed close to the development.

Meanwhile, a flurry of legal activity took place on both sides, with task force Chairman John Tyson seeking a search warrant but being denied, then asking the Alabama Supreme Court to appoint another special judge in the case. Tyson was also engaged in a legal battle at VictoryLand in Macon County, where a judge blocked a planned raid there.

Conecuh County Judge Jeff Brock, assigned to the case by the Supreme Court, asked Tyson to provide a gaming expert before issuing the warrant and asked to meet with the expert Monday. Tyson then asked the Supreme Court to appoint another judge. The Supreme Court issued no rulings on either the Country Crossing or VictoryLand cases as of Friday evening.

Attorneys for HEDA and Country Crossing attempted to stop the raid on several legal fronts, filing motions in Houston County District and Circuit Court asking Tyson to be disqualified as task force chairman due to alleged donations from gambling interests made during Tyson's 2006 run for Attorney General.

HEDA also filed motions in federal court, asking for an injunction to halt any raid. A hearing is set to hear arguments Monday.

"(The task force) has no legal authority to come in here at this present time," Matthews said early Friday evening at Country Crossing. "They didn't want to come in here and search anything. They wanted to come in here to destroy."

Officials with Country Crossing have not made a determination on when or if they will open again. Tyson said earlier Friday he believed a search warrant was not necessary if the bingo pavilion was open to the public. Matthews said it would be "foolish" to open again as long as Troopers were staged nearby.

Tyson said the fact that Country Crossing had shut down was a victory.

"If they open their doors again, we will be there with an undercover officer to observe illegal activity there," Tyson said.

Troopers spent most of the day at Country Crossing milling around, while Matthews and Somerville stood at the entrance to the Bingo Pavilion. Several Country Crossing supporters and employees were on hand throughout the day, some with signs showing support for the development and criticism for Gov. Riley.

Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said Gov. Riley acted irrationally in authorizing the raids.

"This is not being handled right. There is a better way that won’t hurt families and children of Alabama, further depress our economy and destroy a huge tourist destination for our State," Culver said.

This is believed to be the third attempt by the task force this month to raid Country Crossing. The first attempt was halted by a restraining order signed by Dale County Circuit Judge P.B. McLauchlin. The Alabama Supreme Court vacated that order and the site appeared to be vulnerable to another raid Jan. 15, but was halted when the former task force chairman, David Barber, abruptly resigned after it was learned he recently gambled at a Mississippi Indian casino.