Man threatened with a tire iron, robbed of his winnings in Muckleshoot Casino parking garage

AUBURN, Wash. — On Friday, Auburn Police arrested two people, accused of threatening a man with a tire iron and stealing his casino winnings.

According to court documents, Tahiri Ponce and Arturo Perez-Nava followed the man to his truck on August 30 which was parked in the Muckleshoot Casino parking garage.

The man told police that Perez-Nava pulled out a tire iron and demanded he hand over his wallet.

The man grabbed a hammer from his truck to try and fight back and, according to the documents, Perez-Nava then pulled a knife on him.

Surveillance cameras in the parking garage were able to capture the license plate of the pair’s getaway car, which according to documents, was registered to Perez-Nava.

Police say they were able to able to identify Perez-Nava and Ponce by their ID cards, which were scanned by employees when they’d gone into the casino.

On September 6, the pair was arrested at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma.

Officers say Ponce admitted to setting up the man at the Muckleshoot Casino to steal his wallet, and to working with Perez-Nava to do it.

According to court documents, Ponce was recently charged and convicted of burglary and theft in Lewis County and has ‘rapidly reoffended.’

She also has a pending case of assault in Mason County.

Perez-Nava has a pending charges of burglary and theft in Lewis County and has ‘violently reoffended.’

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