02/02/2012 : POLICE RECOVER POKER CHAMP'S CASH (Update)
Stolen money recovered in a mailbox.
The Toronto Sun and other Canadian publications report that the police in Quebec have recovered half of the $115,000 stolen from poker pro and last year's WSOP champion, Jonathan Duhamel, in a home invasion late last year.
Duhamel was robbed and beaten after thieves broke into his condo last December, taking property and cash.
A police spokesman revealed this week that officers recovered part of the poker star's stolen cash on January 6, shortly after an anonymous tipster told them it had been stashed in a mailbox about eight kilometres northeast of Montreal. The box was found to contain nearly half of the amount taken in the same denominations and currency as the stolen money.
Four people, including Duhamel's ex-girlfriend Bianca Rojas-Latraverse, face several charges in relation to the home invasion, including robbery, assault, kidnapping and conspiracy. Duhamel’s assailants are alleged to have made off with $40,000 in Canadian currency, Euros 74,000, a Rolex watch and bracelet worth $40,000.
Rojas-Latraverse has pleaded not guilty to five charges related to the robbery. She and two others have been denied bail while the fourth accused has been freed for the duration of the trial and is expected to face charges in May.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 21.