The pair admitted targeting gamblers leaving casinos, following them onto highways and stealing at least $274,600 in cash, chips and property.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Two South Gate men who were accused of scouting casino winners and ambushing them after they left Los Angeles County card rooms have pleaded guilty to a federal robbery charge, admitting their roles in 15 robberies and attempted robberies during a 2023 crime spree.
Dereck Nathan Lopez, 22, and Juan Gabriel Gonzalez, 23, pleaded guilty June 4 to one count each of interference with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act. Federal prosecutors said the men admitted stealing at least $274,600 in cash, casino chips and other property from gamblers between May and December 2023. The guilty pleas marked a major change from May 2025, when a federal indictment first accused the two men of repeatedly targeting casino patrons and both were presumed innocent of the charges.
According to their plea agreements, Lopez and Gonzalez entered Los Angeles-area casinos under false names and watched gamblers who appeared to be winning or cashing in large amounts of chips. Prosecutors said the men then followed selected victims away from the casinos. The robbery crew would stop or box in the victims’ vehicles, sometimes on freeway ramps, approach with firearms and demand money or gambling chips. Vehicle windows were also smashed during some of the robberies.
The admitted robberies and attempted robberies took place on 15 occasions from May through December 2023, including three victims targeted on a single night in December, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Casinos connected to the investigation included Hustler Casino in Gardena, Parkwest Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens and Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce. Earlier court records also identified The Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens among locations connected to the original investigation.
One robbery described in court records occurred June 17, 2023, after two victims left Parkwest Bicycle Casino. Prosecutors said Lopez, Gonzalez and others followed them before the victims were stopped near the Florence Avenue entrance to the 710 Freeway in Bell. The group stole about $130,000 in casino winnings, according to federal records. The case also included a May robbery in which roughly $60,000 was taken from a gambler who had left the same casino.
Federal prosecutors described another incident from Oct. 26, 2023, involving a patron at Hustler Casino in Gardena. Lopez and Gonzalez, using false identification, monitored the man as he cashed out $11,000 in chips and left the casino, according to their plea agreements. Other participants in the scheme stopped the victim as he entered the 110 Freeway from Redondo Beach Boulevard. Armed participants approached both sides of the vehicle, and the victim was ordered to hand over money and open the trunk. Prosecutors said $1,050 in cash and golf clubs valued at about $6,000 were taken.
The original indictment also described an encounter in which Lopez appeared on casino surveillance video gambling alongside a woman he was allegedly scouting. Court records said he celebrated a winning bet with her and high-fived her inside Commerce Casino & Hotel. Less than an hour later, prosecutors said, other participants blocked her vehicle near an Interstate 10 off-ramp, displayed firearms and stole about $21,000. The allegation was among the episodes federal authorities cited when announcing the case in May 2025.
Lopez also admitted illegally possessing three firearms and more than 30 rounds of ammunition at his home in December 2023. Federal prosecutors said he was prohibited from possessing firearms because he had been convicted of grand theft in San Bernardino County Superior Court in November 2023. Investigators in the broader casino robbery case included the FBI, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Justice Bureau of Gambling Control and Montebello Police Department.
Both men agreed as part of their plea arrangements to serve 14 years in federal prison, although a judge retains authority over sentencing. Their plea agreements initially carried a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years on the robbery count. Lopez’s case later took another turn after a federal judge allowed him to leave custody temporarily before sentencing under conditions that included GPS monitoring and residence at his mother’s home.
Lopez failed to appear for his Aug. 13 sentencing, and federal officials said he was on the run. U.S. District Judge George H. Wu postponed sentencing until Lopez could be located and deferred a decision on a government request to find that he had breached his plea agreement. Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty to the same robbery charge, was reported to be scheduled for sentencing in October. No later sentencing outcome for Gonzalez was identified in the most recent public reports reviewed for this update.
Author note: Last updated October 10, 2026.