Sheriff deputies discover illegal gambling operation at Summerset Apartments in Central Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County's MAGEC team served an unrelated search warrant at an apartment when they discovered illegal gambling machines and computers along with cash and ammunition.

Investigators took away several slot machines and computers that ran online gambling operations. The suspects had already been arrested for this same crime back in August when they lived in a different house.

Undercover officers with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office MAGEC team took away several illegal gambling machines into an evidence truck. Deputies said the machines were part of an illegal gambling operation run by Patty Vang and Thanehock Linhthong. "We located a total of 4 machines, which had traditional poker-style you might see in a casino, along with multiple computers. They had a bank set up at a table where multiple people could play all at one time," said Tony Botti, Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators are still looking into how long the couple was operating machines out of their Summerset Village Apartment. The couple's daughter told Action News her mom and step-dad had lived at the place last November and December when a ruptured gas line left hundreds of people at the apartment complex without heat for several weeks. City officials and inspectors had been out at the property numerous times for the incident. Vang's daughter defended her mother and step-father for their actions. "They're good people. Not everybody can get a job. They're just trying to make a living. They're nice. They're no harm."

Deputies said the couple was actually arrested for the same exact crime back in August. Action News covered the story. Vang and Linhthong were taken into custody for having similar machines to the ones they were caught with Wednesday. "After that happened you go homeless, you know, and I mean, you try to come up again-- you're going to do what you can to live right," said Vang's daughter. "She's my mom, so I love my mom and my step-dad. They do everything for us, they help us when they can."

Since the couple was already facing charges for illegal gambling they're facing a felony charge for committing the crime again, in such a short span of time.