In a stunning turn of events prior to the start of her trial, the ex-girlfriend of 2010 World Series of Poker Championship Event winner Jonathan Duhamel pled guilty to an assortment of charges on Friday.
According to the Toronto Star, Bianca Rojas-Latraverse appeared in court in Montreal on Friday after a plea deal was worked out between her attorney and prosecutors. In the half-hour hearing, Rojas-Latraverse pled guilty to three charges – conspiracy, theft and kidnapping – and was remanded back into custody until her sentencing in December. Rojas-Latraverse’s attorney, Sarah Desabrais, stated to reporters, “She did this for the right reasons…to free her conscience, move onto other things (and) put this behind her as quickly as possible.”
Star writer Allan Woods reported a very odd-acting Rojas-Latraverse appeared in the courtroom. Coming in with a coat covering her handcuffed wrists, Rojas-Latraverse winked and, once the proceedings were completed, left blowing kisses (to whom Woods does not state). In between the odd actions, Woods recounts the story of Rojas-Latraverse and her relationship with Duhamel.
Shortly after winning the WSOP in 2010, Duhamel met Rojas-Latraverse, who allegedly posed as a medical student in an attempt to impress him. She moved in with the former World Champion in March 2011, but the relationship would end in August following a spat after an alleged threesome. Rojas-Latraverse allegedly attempted to reel Duhamel back in by claiming she was pregnant, but Duhamel didn’t fall for the plot.
This wasn’t the end of the story between the duo, however. In early December, Rojas-Latraverse spoke to a female acquaintance (oddly alleged to be the third party in the threesome) and the genesis of the robbery was discussed.
On December 21, two men gained entrance to Duhamel’s condo and, after beating him, demanded access to the safe they apparently had been told was on the property. After opening the safe, Duhamel was tied up and left as the robbers absconded with over $150,000 in cash (in various U. S., Canadian and Euro denominations), his WSOP Championship Event bracelet and a Rolex awarded him by his sponsor, PokerStars.
According to Woods, Duhamel “immediately suspected Rojas-Latraverse was behind the incident and told police” the day after the robbery. Authorities obtained text messages from Rojas-Latraverse’s acquaintance which cast her as the “mastermind” of the attack. “Tomorrow at 10 think of me,” one of the text messages the witness received in the early morning hours of December 21 from Rojas-Latraverse read (the attack occurred within hours of that text). “Everything is planned…we even have a driver if I choke.”
On Christmas Eve, Rojas-Latraverse was taken into custody and she almost immediately rolled over on her co-conspirators. Two men, Jon Stephen Clark-Lemay and Anthony Bourque, were apprehended shortly thereafter in a Montreal hotel after apparently spending large amounts of money on partying. A third man, Andre Perron, was arrested along with Clark-Lemay and Bourque, as he was wearing the Rolex when police arrived. Much of the money stolen was recovered and, in February, a badly damaged WSOP bracelet was recovered with Duhamel’s last name scratched off the back and missing its linkage to connect the plate.
Recently, a fourth man was arrested for being the alleged “getaway driver” Rojas-Latraverse spoke about in the text message. Andres Valderrama was arrested on Thursday and is awaiting a hearing on charges regarding his participation in the case.
Clark-Lemay is currently still in custody awaiting his trial, while Bourque was released after making bail in January and is expected in court next month. Perron, released on his own recognizance after his arrest, also still awaits his day in court. It is unknown how the Rojas-Latraverse plea deal will affect any of the other cases or, if found guilty or working out a plea deal of their own, how long any of the conspirators in the Duhamel robbery will go to prison.
