Vinton, Louisiana

From Beaumont’s (TX) KFDM.com of September 26, 2007

Shoot Out At A Vinton Casino

It's something you would usually hear about in a movie, but Wednesday it happened.

What started as an armed robbery in Calcasieu Parish Louisiana led to a group of men in a shoot out with a security guard at a casino.

The men didn't get far.

“Mr. Budwine has been a constant nuisance to Vinton for a long time,” said Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John Degrosier.

Investigators say Kenyon Budwine from Vinton and three men from Orange began a crime spree in Calcasieu Parish early Wednesday morning.

The four men were armed with handguns and a shot gun. Authorities say they took what they could grab from an EZ Mart.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Mancuso said, “Took money from the cash register and some cigarettes. A handful of them from behind the counter.”

This was only the beginning of their trip. Down the road, three of the men attempted to rob the Cash Majic Truckstop casino about an hour later.

“We got another call of a robbery in progress,” said Mancuso.

But a quick thinking security guard kept them out. They exchanged gunfire and bullets struck Budwine.

In an attempt to get away, the men drove across the Texas border where Orange County Deputies stopped them.

“Getting ready to put him out of business, where he's going he won't bother anyone for a long time,” said Degrosier.

This isn't the first offense for Budwine. Vinton police say in the past he robbed a truck stop and got away with more than $1,000.

“Likes to rub in the nose of authorities, he called Vinton PD and asked why we were dragging his name through the mud,” said Chief Rick Fox.

Now his name is once again in the jail computer for a crime that cut across two states.

Budwine was treated at Memorial Herman Baptist in Orange and released to authorities.

All four of the men are being held under one million dollar bonds in the Orange County jail, but they'll be headed back to Louisiana soon.