Friends face charges in Wild Quail robbery
Buddy's brothers also arrested for alleged roles in hold-up 

By Melissa K. Steele
Staff writer
melissa.steele@doverpost.com 

A childhood friend of a former trooper charged in the Feb. 22 armed robbery at Wild Quail is the latest – and possibly last – suspect to be arrested in the case.

Timothy Longstreth, 28, of Stone Harbor, N.J., turned himself over to police Monday afternoon, March 24, at Delaware State Police Troop 3 in Woodside. He was accompanied by his attorney and charged for his role in the robbery of 11 poker players that netted $10,000 in cash and cell phones.

“To the best of my knowledge he was the only one left with a warrant out,” said Cpl. Jeffrey Whitmarsh, spokesman for the Delaware State Police.

Longstreth and HyunJin Kim -- the trooper first arrested in connection with the robbery -- were childhood friends who attended school together growing up, Whitmarsh said.

Longstreth’s arrest tops the capture of three Philadelphia brothers taken into custody Friday for their role in the card game hold-up.

Brothers Addae C. Powell, 26, Akua N. Powell, 22, and Jeffrey N. Powell, 30, were arrested after officers from the Philadelphia Police Department and Delaware State Police executed a search warrant at their Arch Street home, Whitmarsh said.

As of Monday, Whitmarsh said the three subjects were being detained as fugitives from Delaware and being held in Philadelphia pending their extradition. Once in Delaware, the three will be charged with 11 counts of first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony, second-degree conspiracy and two counts of offensive touching – the same charges Longstreth faces.

“They’re awaiting extradition at this point,” he said. “It can take weeks or months depending if they fight it.”

The brothers’ connection to the robbery was through the eldest, Jeffrey. Whitmarsh said Jeffrey was another close friend of Kim’s. The two attended Temple University and served in the armed forces together, Whitmarsh said.

Victim speaks

News of the latest arrests came as somewhat of a relief for Dennis Orrico, one of the 12 men hooded and bound during the armed robbery.

“It was more of a social event than anything,” Orrico said. “People want to create it like a high-stakes poker game but it wasn’t.”

For one, the $10,000 the robbers left with wasn’t all on the poker table, he said.

“They had us empty our pockets and some people had $800 or $1,000 in their wallets. There was only about $400 on the table.”

Orrico said he lost $1,200 himself and his cell phone that night. He received a restitution letter from the Department of Justice but doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in getting his money back.

He had played with the weekly Wild Quail poker group for three years and said he met Kim at an unrelated game in a private home in Middletown’s Legends development. Shortly after the Wild Quail robbery, police raided the home and arrested the homeowners and operators of the poker nights there.

“We were uncomfortable with Middletown because it was a cul-de-sac and I couldn’t believe the neighbors didn’t complain about all the cars there,” Orrico said. “[Kim] had been playing there for some time and he said he lived down in Dover so I invited him to come play at Wild Quail.”

Orrico said the other card players were country club members and several were horsemen.

“I know there’s been some connection of horse racing and gambling being made but I’ve never bet on a horse race in my life,” he said. “These guys joined the club because of golf.”

Kim played with the group about three times over a five-week period and Orrico said he didn’t socialize with him outside the group. The group protected Kim’s identity at first but when police called him in to look at some surveillance photos Orrico said he picked him out immediately.

“I said, ‘That’s Hyun,’” he said.

Police career over

On Friday, Kim was fired from the Delaware State Police where he had served for 2 1/2 years. He currently is being held at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown on $246,000 cash only bail.

Kim could stand trial in Superior Court for the same charges as the Powell brothers face. No trial date has been set but the charges were moved to Superior Court after a March 14 preliminary hearing in Kent County Court of Common Pleas.

Kim was arrested March 3 following a series of events after the early morning robbery Feb. 22. According to the court document from Justice of the Peace Court 7 in Dover, which is now sealed, Kim was part of a 12-man card game at the clubhouse when three armed, masked men entered. They placed pillowcases over the card players’ heads and bound their hands before taking $10,000 in cash, credit cards and keys. They fled and Kim – who was bound during the robbery – left before police arrived on the scene.

Subsequent investigation led police to the Camden Wal-Mart where the pillowcases were bought and surveillance photos of the alleged robbers were enhanced to reveal Kim’s identity. A search of Kim’s home property and car revealed a receipt for the purchase of the pillowcases and a burn-pit with keys from some of the victims.