• Police link suspect to violent Oakland illegal gambling feud.
• Dao crashed BMW, fled on foot, later apprehended.
• Officers found drugs, gun, armor inside suspect’s car.
  

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A man suspected of involvement in a shooting linked to an escalating feud between rival illegal gambling operators in Oakland, Calif., is in custody after leading police on a car chase across the city, The Mercury News reports.

When police raided Dao’s slaphouse they found bags of methamphetamine, a loaded gun, and several thousand dollars in cash. (Image: OPD)

Police attempted to pull over An Dao, 44, on September 29 because he was driving a BMW with a missing front license plate, according to court records – but Dao took off at high speed with cops in pursuit.

When the suspect crashed the BMW into another car, he ran from the vehicle and was arrested two blocks away. Police found a stun gun and body armor inside the car, the filings said.

Gambling Den Shot Up

Dao was already on the radar of the Oakland Police Department at the time. Investigators believe he managed an illegal gambling den in a neighborhood east of downtown, and two weeks earlier, someone shot up another casino nearby, escaping in a BMW that police say matched Dao’s.

Dao is considered a person of interest in the non-fatal shooting, though no charges have been filed in that case.

Police raided Dao’s casino on September 17. He wasn’t there, but they did find bags of methamphetamine, a loaded gun and ammunition, several thousand dollars in cash, and a wooden board displaying the house rules, signed by “Waldo,” allegedly Dao’s nickname.

These “casinos” are often ordinary Oakland homes – although, in one instance, an RV – containing arcade-style slot machines. The machines usually come from overseas – most often from Japan, China, or Korea — and offer arcade-style, skill-based gambling games, such as the “Fish Hunter” genre. The establishments are sometimes called “slap houses” — named for the button-bashing sound made by players.

Brutal Assault

In March, police arrested 33-year-old Wai “Weezy” Hoang, who operated at least two gambling dens in the city, according to prosecutors. Hoang’s arrest comes just a year after he and two co-defendants accepted plea deals in a brutal 2022 assault on a patron inside an illegal gambling house.

The victim suffered extensive injuries, including significant loss of blood, after being stripped naked and beaten. The attack, captured by the venue’s security camera, showed the perpetrators stomping on the victim’s head for six minutes, according to court records.

Meanwhile, Dao has been charged with felony counts of evading police and being a14-time felon in possession of body armor. He is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin with bail set at $350K.

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