Another Month, Another SHOOTING on Soboba Reservation

Wow, it's definitely not safe there.

A woman was seriously injured after being shot on the Soboba Indian Reservation, a sheriff’s sergeant said today.

Sheriff’s deputies from the Hemet station responded to a call of an assault with a deadly weapon at 11:42 p.m. in the 43000 block of Castile Canyon Road, Sgt. Stephen Mike said in a news release.

Mike said the woman was traveling westbound on Castile Canyon Road when she noticed a small, dark-colored SUV parked on the side of the road. Multiple gunshots were then fired from the SUV, striking the woman and her vehicle, Mike said.

The victim suffered a serious gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital, Mike said.

Another Killing at Soboba Reservation. Is it Safe For Customers?

It might be better to head to Las Vegas than to tribal casinos in Riverside County.

A 21-year-old Soboba tribal member was the victim of a fatal shooting on the Soboba Indian Reservation Saturday night.

William Dusty Rhodes, of San Jacinto, was the man with several gunshot wounds found in a car pulled to the side of the road in the 43000 block of Castile Canyon Road, Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela said.

The victim was a tribal member, sheriff's Tribal Liaison Lt. Ray Wood said.

The shooting brought dozens of law enforcement officers to the reservation late Saturday. Authorities said the extra manpower was needed for crowd control and to secure the crime scene. Sheriff's deputies said the crowd was large but not combative, followed directions and quickly dispersed.

Another Day, More Violence at Soboba, But this time Teamwork Gets Job Done

At least, this time, Soboba assisted the Riverside Sheriff's Department in getting ONE of the 3 carjackers:

Riverside County sheriff's deputies searched for three carjacking suspects Wednesday on the Soboba Indian Reservation.
Authorities were called to the reservation by a construction crew working there who reported being carjacked by three men about 6:30 a.m. at gunpoint.
The crew was approached by the men, one armed with a handgun, another with a rifle, who stole their work truck, sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said.

The construction crew was not injured and tribal government assisted law enforcement searching the reservation for the carjackers. Anthony Del Rio, 18, a resident of the Soboba Reservation, was arrested on suspicion of carjacking, Sgt. David Kurylowicz said in a report. He said more arrests are expected.

A SOBOBA SUCCESS STORY

Not all stories from SOBOBA involve gangsters and those shooting at sheriff's deputies. Here's a great success stories. Two of my own children graduated from college before Pechanga threw them to the street in favor of car-jackers, violent criminals and child molestors.


Geneva Mojado didn't need anyone to push her toward success, her mother says. The young Soboba Indian woman always was driven.

As a child, Mojado pushed herself in school, softball and student government. Michelle Miranda recalls waking in the middle of the night once to discover her daughter studiously working at the kitchen table on a collage due for her fifth- or sixth-grade class the next day.

As a young woman, Mojado made it through San Diego State in four years and earned a degree in criminal justice. Back home, she got elected to the Soboba tribal council for two years, played some more softball and now is eyeing law school. She said she has been fascinated by criminology for years, especially by mystery stories or psychological thrillers such as "Silence of the Lambs."
Mojado, 24, and her mother hope Mojado can serve as an inspiration to other young members of the San Jacinto-area tribe. They hope more young people take advantage of the tuition assistance the tribe provides and develop their own talents.

"I hope that ... somebody wants to follow in my footsteps -- somebody in the tribe says, 'I'm going to succeed more than her,' which will make me even more proud," Mojado said during a recent interview in her spacious Hemet home as her 2-year-old son played outdoors.

Mojado, whose two-year term on the tribal council ended this summer, already has captured the attention of her tribe's leadership. Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado singled out Mojado at Soboba's 125th anniversary celebration over the summer, urging her publicly to become a lawyer and return to serve and inspire her people.

Press Enterprise Story

Are Soboba Tribe's Bad Apples Hurting The Tribe?

Now, schools aren't sending their kids to the Pow Wows.

The recent random shootings of criminals from the Soboba reservation, which forced the Riverside Sheriff's deputies to take them out, plus the news that even with Soboba per capita payments, they still have criminals that do home invasion robberies, have left a bad taste in the mouths of potential customers.

From a PE stories:

Security on the Soboba reservation has been in the spotlight in recent months after a series of shootings by Riverside County sheriff's deputies that left three tribal members dead. Another group, the Arizona-based National Sand Drag Association, pulled its races from the reservation, citing safety concerns.

AND

The assurances of safety came after officials from San Jacinto School District declined to send elementary school students to the powwow's traditional pre-opening visit hosted by the tribe.
The reasons for San Jacinto's absence from the event are unclear. Tribal officials say they received word from San Jacinto district officials that the students were not coming because of safety concerns. San Jacinto schools Superintendent Shari Fox and other district officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
Students from the Hemet Unified School District also did not attend. Soboba Vice Chairwoman Rosemary Morillo said the tribe did not receive a response to an invitation sent to the school district.

IS THIS WHAT THEY MEANT BY SELF RELIANCE?

Soboba Tribal Member Arrested for Robbery, Soboba Cooperated

It appears that the Soboba people aren't earning enough per capita to keep them from becoming criminals. Pechanga has the same problem. Is this what is meant by self-reliance?

After a 12-hour standoff, authorities on Tuesday arrested a Soboba tribal member suspected of robbing a woman and taking refuge on the Soboba Indian Reservation.

Riverside County sheriff's investigators tracked David Neil Morreo, 34, (who has many felony arrests) Monday afternoon to a home in San Jacinto, where he barricaded himself inside before a SWAT team invaded the home at 3 a.m. according to a sheriff's report.

Sheriff's officials said tribal officials cooperated fully with deputies during the investigation.

The Sheriff's Department and the tribe have been locked in a dispute about access for deputies in emergencies or investigations on the reservation. Sheriff Stanley Sniff has threatened to bring criminal charges against any members of the tribe who impede deputies in their duties.

Congratulations to Riverside County Sheriff's Deputies for putting their lives on the line to protect us.

Sand Racers Pull Races out of Soboba Due to Violence

The National Sand Drag Association has pulled its races from the Soboba Indian Reservation, citing safety concerns following a series of fatal shootings by deputies that left three tribal members dead.

The Arizona-based organization, with a membership of more than 500, decided in June to pull its events off the reservation and instead will hold its races at a new facility near Mystic Lake west of San Jacinto, said Alfonso "Chachy" Zavala, one of several organizers.
"We didn't feel safe going back there," Zavala said Tuesday. "We didn't want to put anyone else in danger. It was better for the racers, organizers and spectators to hold it somewhere else."

Parolees Ordered to Leave Soboba for their own Safety

In another escalations of issues at Soboba

Parolees on the Soboba Indian reservation have been ordered to leave or face possible arrest after the state corrections department said Wednesday that the area isn't safe for its officers to enter."Due to escalating violence, we have asked our parolees to immediately leave the reservation," said Gordon Hinkle, deputy press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. "Statute allows us to relocate any offender for their safety or the safety of others."
Hinkle said the decision affects five parolees and was prompted by reports of tension and violence between Riverside County sheriff's deputies and tribal members. Three members were killed in gunfights with deputies in May. Despite a deal to cooperate with authorities, tribal leaders said last week that deputies would be stopped and questioned before entering the reservation unless responding to an emergency.
Sheriff Stanley Sniff threatened to arrest anyone who interferes with officers doing their jobs.

Soboba and San Pascual Casinos Face Closure

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SAN PASCUAL
In a move that could force the closure of Valley View Casino, the Bureau of Indian Affairs said yesterday the tribal government for the San Pasqual Indian band has collapsed in a rift over tribal membership.
“I am unable to recognize any tribal government for San Pasqual and strongly urge the members of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians to take immediate action to address this matter,” James Fletcher, the bureau's local superintendent, said in a letter.
“Only federally recognized tribal governments may operate governmental programs, businesses, conduct business or act on behalf of their membership,” he wrote.
In addition to its hillside casino in Valley Center, the tribe operates a quarry and provides government services including fire protection, housing and education.
The tribe last year expanded the casino and is planning to open a hotel.
But it has long struggled over who belongs in the tribe and the disagreement now has broken up a five-member committee the BIA considers the tribe's governing body.
Only legitimate governments can operate tribal casinos, say the BIA and the National Indian Gaming Commission, which oversees such gambling.
Story HERE

SOBOBA

Soboba Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado confirmed Friday that members of the National Indian Gaming Commission will visit to the casino near San Jacinto

Tribal members should NOT be displaying their weapons during this visit.

Soboba's Response: This isn't the 1800's!

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It's probably best to avoid Soboba while tempers are flaring. Three tribal members were shooting indiscriminately endangering San Jacinto and travelers.


The head of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians on Wednesday decried claims that his security officers have been obstructing Riverside County's sheriff deputies.
“This isn't the 1800s when the Calvary came,” tribal Chairman Robert Salgado said.
Salgado spoke out the day after Sheriff Stanley Sniff Jr. told the county Board of Supervisors that he had written to the National Indian Gaming Commission, asking that it suspend the tribe's gaming license.
“My recommendation was for them to suspend the license unless — and until — the sheriff's department has free and unrestricted access” to the reservation, Sniff said.
He said the tribe had a “history of violence and a propensity to violence.”
When sheriff's deputies come on the reservation, tribal security guards merely want to know where they are going and why, Salgado said. He added that deputies have no right to patrol sovereign tribal land at will.
Salgado said he and the sheriff interpret the federal law that applies to local law enforcement differently.
He said he understood that deputies should be allowed unrestricted access to the reservation in the case of an emergency. But, in the case of routine business, sheriff's deputies should at least tell to tribal authorities where they are going and why.
The reservation covers about 6,000 acres.
A forum is scheduled for Aug. 11, during which a discussion is to take place about the issues surrounding Public Law 280, which turned over law enforcement duties to local governments in 1953.
Sniff said last week that he understood the law to give sheriff's deputies unrestricted access to the reservation. Permission from the tribe is not necessary to enter at any time, he said.

Shutter SOBOBA CASINO says RIVERSIDE SHERIFF

I guess the "agreement" wasn't all it was purported to be? This IS serious. A law enforcement agency requesting the shutdown of a sovereign nations casino. But the NIGC had alread put Soboba on notice that this was a possibility.
What will the reaction of tribal members be? The FBI is certainly spending a LOT of time around our local Indian tribes. Is this what we expected from self-reliance? UPDATED


When the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians signed an agreement a few weeks ago, the sheriff and tribal chairman posed for photos side-by-side as they talked about their cooperative relationship.
But it was clear, as soon as the photo ops ended, that the two parties had different opinions on how much access deputies should have to the reservation. Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado said the deputies needed tribal permission to enter the reservation for anything other than 911 calls and hot pursuits; Sheriff Stanley Sniff said his deputies needed no such permission.

That difference of opinion has reached a breaking point, with Sniff announcing this morning that he is requesting the federal government shut down the casino. Sniff said he sent a letter Monday to the National Indian Gaming Commission, formally requesting the federal regulatory agency close Soboba Casino near San Jacinto.

Sniff announced the letter this morning at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors' meeting.
Sniff also has asked the FBI to review two officer-involved shootings that left three tribal members dead on the reservation in May.
County Supervisor Jeff Stone called for Soboba to replace Salgado as chairman and for residents to avoid the tribe's casino as unsafe.
"Unfortunately, tribal members at least from this tribe believe they are above the law," said Supervisor John Tavaglione. "I hope that Mr. Salgado will either show some leadership or step down." Press Enterprise

The Desert Sun reports: Smith said deputies were being stopped at a guard shack, obstructing them from getting onto the reservation to serve warrants or conduct routine patrols. OP: Didn't a former Pechanga tribal council member run onto the rez like a punk-assed-bitch to escape talking to RCSD in an assault issue?

Soboba Lawyer Accuses Riverside Sheriff of Negligence in Killing

Sadly, three members of the Soboba Tribe put themselves in the position to be killed. Indiscriminately firing their weapons and then turning them on RCSD deputies, they were taken out. Now, an attorney accuses them of negligence in their training. Apparently, the deputies, who saved San Jacinto citizens from dangerous criminals, didn't say: "pretty please, criminals, would you put your gun down?"

A lawyer for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians has accused the Riverside County Sheriff's Department of inadequate training and negligence and of killing a tribal member partly because of his ethnicity.Attorney Jack Schwartz recently filed a tort claim notice with the county Board of Supervisors and vowed to follow up with a federal lawsuit if the panel ignored or denied the claim.
Arres, 26, was shot Dec. 28 after his vehicle was stopped by deputies in Hemet. Authorities said Arres ran from the deputies, who shot him after he pulled a gun from his waistband.
Schwartz said Arres was unarmed. OP: What Scwartz was doing in the car, witnessing all this first hand, he doesn't say..........

David Kelly's article is HERE