A San Francisco man accused of threatening to shoot staff and patrons at River Rock Casino in Geyserville has entered a guilty plea to felony charges, according to Sonoma County District Attorney, Stephan Passalacqua.
On April 13, 38-year-old Honcong Wu allegedly went to the San Francisco Federal Building and told homeland security and FBI agents that unless he received money that he believed River Rock Casino owed him in the next two days, he would start shooting people in the casino.
Agents could not arrest Wu, but escorted him from the building and contacted local officials.
Wu had a long history of problems with the casino, starting in 2008 when he was allegedly caught cheating and had his chips confiscated. Since that time, Wu has called numerous state agencies demanding his money back, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Wu was arrested for trespassing at River Rock on Christmas Day in 2008 and was prosecuted and banned from the casino.
In December 2009, Wu allegedly called the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and told them he would take a gun, find the “boss” and start shooting people. He said he had “no other ideas” but “to kill people.” Wu then allegedly later drove from San Francisco and appeared at the Sheriff’s Department lobby in Santa Rosa.
Wu was arrested in San Francisco on April 15 after a warrant was issued for his arrest because of the threats. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2, and faces up to three years in prison.
“Whenever anyone threatens to take a gun and kill people, those are words that must be taken seriously,” said Assistant District Attorney Diana Gomez in a prepared statement.
“His plea to a felony assures that he will be held accountable for his actions.”
