The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday that the man who held up Oklahoma poker pro Jason Potter at knifepoint in January 2008 lost an appeal against a minimum two-year jail sentence. Dwayne Johnstone, a 34-year-old felon and drug addict, and another man stole more than $31,000 from Potter as the poker pro was leaving the Crown Casino in Melbourne following his elimination from the Aussie Millions Main Event. Johnstone will now face prison time.
Potter, 25, was walking back from a McDonald’s at 4:00am after finishing in 31st place in the Main Event when he was robbed of his winnings and other money he was holding. According to the police report, one of the men struck Potter in the head from behind. While he was still stunned, the thieves took the money from the front pocket of Potter’s hooded sweatshirt and then fled the scene.
Melbourne detectives issued warrants on two men, Johnstone and Vhyharn Arumughasamy, on January 31st, 2008 and police arrested both the following day. Johnstone was on parole at the time after acting as a getaway driver in another violent robbery. He had 69 prior convictions and was a regular user of marijuana and methamphetamines.
During Johnstone’s appeal, his defense team argued that his four-year jail term was too severe because it failed to take into account a brain injury he received from an earlier assault, combined with his depression. They argued that it reduced his moral responsibility and that he did not get enough credit for pleading guilty to charges of armed robbery, possession of a drug of dependence, and theft.
However, the Court rejected the appeal and found the sentence to be reasonable. Johnstone’s co-accuser, Arumughasamy, was jailed in 2008 for a minimum of 12 months after pleading guilty to armed robbery.
Potter told CardPlayer Magazine earlier this month that he was “ pretty naive at that point and didn’t understand the danger” in walking back to his hotel alone. Said Potter, “The guys followed me from the casino, hit me in the back of the head, and took my money. I was surprised at how huge of story it became in Australia. It was all over the Australian media. It was crazy. Still to this day, there are people who only know me from that, which is kind of unfortunate.”
Since the robbery, Potter has made a name for himself as a player rather than a victim. He has more than $1.4 million in online tournament earnings under the monikers “JP OSU” and “Ouemoekid” and has close to a million dollars in live earnings. His biggest career victory came at the 2010 World Poker Tour (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic, where he won a $5,000 buy-in event for $201,730.
