No Suspects Identified in Shooting of Bettor : Crime: The victim, a Newport Beach man, had just won $88,000 at Hollywood Park racetrack when he was killed.
No suspects have been identified in the shooting death of a Newport Beach man who was gunned down during an apparent robbery in Los Angeles after winning $88,000 at Hollywood Park racetrack, police said Monday.
Members of Robert Unger’s family, meanwhile, disputed statements by racetrack officials who said that the 33-year-old man was publicly bragging about his winnings before leaving the track Saturday evening.
At Unger’s home Monday, a woman who identified herself as Unger’s mother said her son was “a successful businessman” who operated a publishing company.
“He would never have bragged about his winnings like that,” said the woman, who did not give her name. “He would have taken precautions, and it is unforgivable the way he has been portrayed.”
Unger was shot once in the chest about 7 p.m. Saturday while sitting in his late model gold Jaguar in the Stouffer Concourse Hotel parking lot, which is near the Los Angeles International Airport and within 2 miles of the Inglewood racetrack. He died 20 minutes later at Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, according to police.
Los Angeles Police Lt. Phil Roberts said detectives have been unable to determine if Unger was bragging about his winnings. He said two men detained after the shooting were Unger’s friends and were not suspects in the shooting. Roberts said that a lone gunman was seen fleeing the scene and that about $40,000 was found on Unger’s body.
Track officials said Unger left the racetrack about 6 p.m., taking his winnings in cash, and had bragged about his success to those around him.
Unger won when he correctly selected the Late Triple--picking the winning horses in the seventh, eighth and ninth races--on a $30 ticket. He also picked five of six winners on the day’s Pick Six, which requires the bettor to select the winners in races four through nine. After taxes, he pocketed about $72,000.
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