Students at a Bradenton elementary school will soon be able to work on 40 computers — and they have some illegal gambling businesses to thank for them.
When Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies shut down the first operation last summer, they seized dozens of gaming machines and thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment.
Randy Warren, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said school leaders and law enforcement worked together to identify who could really use the computer gear.
“We found a school where they were able to donate them to families, students, even teachers, that might need a new computer,” said Warren.
Forty computers and dozens of monitors worth $12,000 were donated to Daughtrey Elementary School, a Title I school in Bradenton that supports low-income families. Warren said the sheriff’s office cleaned out the hard drives before giving the computers to the school.
“We were surprised and very thankful that they thought of supporting our schools and our students and our community by donating those computers,” Manatee County Schools spokesperson Michael Barber said.
After giving multiple warnings that were ignored, the Sheriff’s Office raided three illegal gambling businesses in July 2023. They seized 69 gambling machines along with more than $52,000 in illegal profits, the Bradenton Herald reported.
“Last year, we saw maybe 30 out of 50 of these businesses shut down,” said Warren. “The message was definitely sent.”
The estimated cost of each computer is $1,000. School leaders hope to have them distributed in the next few weeks.
