Sheriff: 53 Illegal Video Gambling Devices Seized, Lexington Man Charged

A Lexington man is charged with unlawfully possessing a gambling device after 53 illegal video gambling machines were seized from a commercial building near West Columbia.

Brinton Lee Motley, 38, of Parkhurst Lane, was arrested on Sunday, Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said in a release.

Arrest warrants allege that Motley unlawfully possessed 53 video gambling devices — which included stand-up Chess Challenge II devices and table-top Double Platinum devices — as well as pieces, parts and components that are used to repair, replace and operate illegal video gambling devices, according to the release.

Lexington County Sheriff’s Department investigators along with the State Law Enforcement Division found the devices and parts in a work area and storage room that were partitioned off with plywood walls from the remainder of a commercial building at 2548 Morningside Drive near West Columbia on Sunday after executing a search warrant, the release said.

A Lexington County magistrate found that the 53 devices all were illegal video gambling devices, which are subject to seizure by law enforcement, Metts said. Under state law, a magistrate must determine whether each individual gambling device is illegal. The magistrate issued an order on Monday to destroy the devices. 

Motley was being held on Monday at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing.