One of Maryland’s largest distributors of video gaming machines was ordered Wednesday to forfeit 114 machines and more than $20,000, after a judge ruled three of his devices were illegal.
Carroll Bond III, 44, president of Carbond Inc., did not contest a prosecutor’s statement of facts, but maintained his innocence in Baltimore County District Court, where he was sentenced to probation before judgment. Judge Darryl Fletcher sentenced Bond to three years of unsupervised probation, along with the forfeitures, after Assistant State’s Attorney Jill Savage told him prosecutors could prove that three of Bond’s machines — at Walther Liquors in Parkville; R.C. Rodgers in Catonsville; and Victor’s Place in Lansdowne — were illegal.
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“I’m hoping this resolution will stop Mr. Bond from putting illegal machines in businesses in Baltimore County,” Savage said.
Police seized more than 100 of Bond’s machines from 41 locations in Baltimore County on May 8, prompting some lawmakers to say they’re returning his campaign contributions. Prosecutors later charged him with 110 counts of possessing or distributing slot machines.
Bond, who has donated about $40,000 to a wide variety of politicians from both parties, has been charged 15 times with gambling crimes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County — but never convicted.
Bond’s attorney, Stephen Tully, said his client has always believed his machines were legal and received the proper permits from the Baltimore County government. Tully said it’s difficult to tell whether a machine has an “internal recording device,” which makes it an illegal machine.
Tully said Bond is now looking forward to another hearing in Baltimore County Circuit Court that should clarify which machines are illegal.
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