Slots Are the Downfall of Many, Argue Lawyers

Michelle MacLaren is getting some publicity these days, and most of it not so good. MacLaren’s lawyer is arguing that the slots are what made her gamble and are asking the courts for leniency when sentencing her.

MacLaren is a gambler, but she is also a thief, which is why she is currently looking at jail time. She says that she is a criminal for having stolen the money to play the slots, but she isn’t a criminal because she is an addict and thus not in control of her slots playing. Her lawyer is asking that they consider the fact that she is a “pathological gambler” and instead of sending her to prison, they send her for treatment instead.

Going against them is the fact that San Diego County has lots of ways to gamble, and most people see it as a religious or moral issue, not on the same level as drug or alcohol addiction. They say that in terms of slots and gambling addiction, people see them as they saw drug abuse 30 years ago, which does not help those with real problems today.

MacLaren is not alone in stealing to fund her slots and gambling addiction. David Macias stole more than $100,000 from the El Cajon Courthouse and ended up being sentenced to nine years in jail for the theft. Some states are trying to set up courts that would provide leniency for those that are victims of slots and gambling addiction, but they are slow in coming to those that are already in serious trouble.

MacLaren owes the IRS more than $1.5 million in taxes on her past winnings, and stole from people at the Solana Beach furniture store where she worked as a saleswoman. She did six months in jail for that, and then when she got out, she kept gambling. She got another job for a mortgage company after lying about her history, and stole from them as well. She says that the slots were her best friend, and that with help she is learning that she is.

 

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