News writer
Winning the lottery is usually a dream come true unless you're cashing in on tickets that were never yours to begin with. That's the situation facing one Florida man who recently found himself on the wrong side of the law in Indiana.
What began as a seemingly routine inventory issue at a Warsaw convenience store quickly unraveled into something more suspicious. As store managers took a closer look, the missing scratch-off tickets led police straight to an unexpected suspect: one of their own employees.
Lottery tickets missing in Indiana
A police officer was called to a Pak-A-Sak location in Warsaw, Indiana, on October 1, 2024, regarding the theft of lottery tickets. The manager of the convenience store told police she noticed lottery tickets were missing on September 26, 2024, according to court documents obtained by Ink Free News.
The manager told police that she confronted 36-year-old Demarcus Jamone Bulger of Quincy, Florida, about stealing $250 worth of Indiana Lottery scratch-off tickets. At the time, Bulger was an employee of Pak-A-Sak.
Bulger proceeded to give the manager $250. He then turned in his store keys and left the business.
During their investigation, authorities determined Bulger allegedly stole lottery tickets on September 18 and 24, 2024. In total, he took over 90 lottery tickets from the Warsaw business while he was employed there.
Several of the tickets were winning tickets, with Bulger receiving the winnings in cash. Authorities used surveillance cameras from the store, which showed Bulger taking tickets without paying for them. He would then scan the winning tickets and collect cash.
In total, police said he took 91 lottery tickets, with the total value of the tickets and wrongful payouts being $4,520.
An arrest was made
The Florida man was recently arrested by police. He declined an interview with police, instead stating he wanted to speak with a lawyer.
Bulger was charged with two counts of theft where the value of the property is between $750 and $50,000. Both of those charges are level 6 felonies.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on those charges. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, April 10, at 1 p.m. EST for an initial hearing.
Should have tried his luck in Florida
While Bulger was allegedly stealing the lottery tickets in Indiana, he should have been trying his luck in Florida — after buying the tickets, of course.
The Florida Lottery recently announced that Miozotis Quintana, 55, of Cutler Bay, claimed a top prize of $1 million playing the PLATINUM MINE 9X scratch-off game. She made her way to the lottery headquarters in Tallahassee and chose to receive her winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $605,016.
PLATINUM MINE 9X is a $5 scratch-off game, which Quintana purchased at Publix, located at 20951 Old Cutler Road in Cutler Bay. For selling the winning ticket, the lucky lottery retailer received a $2,000 bonus check from the state lottery.
The $5 scratch-off game launched in December 2024 and featured four top prizes of $1 million and 20 prizes of $10,000. After Quintana claimed her top prize in the game, there still remains two other top prizes to be claimed.
Enjoy playing the Hoosier Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
Comments