Montana Casino Bandit Facing 40-year Sentence for Magic Diamond Robbery after Pleading Guilty

The now-infamous Montana casino bandit has pleaded guilty to robbing the Magic Diamond Casino with a fake Molotov-cocktail. On Tuesday, the accused has pleaded guilty to felony robbery and arson in court. On April 27, 2019, the man entered the Magic Diamond Casino in Bozeman while highly intoxicated on meth. He was wearing a mask and holding a cologne bottle complete with a burning rag to resemble a Molotov-cocktail. The Montana casino bandit, real name Jacob Burritt, then demanded money from terrified staff before throwing the bottle. In doing so, he caused $1500 in fire damage but didn’t harm anyone. Moreover, Burritt attempted to distract police by claiming there was a shooting in a local mall. To do this, he reportedly went into a Petco store to report it. However, police caught up with him several hours later and talked him into surrendering.

Montana Casino Bandit Familial Connections

The Montana casino bandit seems to have taken a plea deal for his current charges. When he was first arrested, Burritt was charged with felony counts of arson, robbery, possession of explosives, and possession of dangerous drugs. As police found a quantity of meth in his car after taking Burritt into custody. His ex-wife also claims that Burritt’s robbery was inspired by a similar crime committed by his father. In 2013, Michael Howard Burritt tried to carjack a woman outside Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. He earned charges of carjacking, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and armed robbery for his troubles.

Crime Rates Rise at Montana Casinos

There are at least 1400 licensed gambling operations in Montana. Generally, bars and taverns offering card games, video gambling machines, and sports tab games. Robberies and shootings are thus regularly reported in the press. More so, this is not the first robbery at the Magic Diamond. One high-profile case in 2018 saw another Montana casino bandit rob the casino twice in the same week. Despite this, authorities claim that robberies in Bozeman are rare. Keep visiting CasinoUS for more casino news!