A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order requested by the California attorney general’s office prohibiting feuding factions of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians from carrying firearms within 100 yards of the tribe’s casino, as well as other properties the tribe owns.
Judge Kimberly J. Mueller’s order, which will be in effect for two weeks, also prevents armed guards from being used by either side.
Attorney General Kamala Harris asked for the restraining order after she feared for the safety of both sides that are battling for control of the Rolling Hills Casino, which is in Northern California.
Two factions have been at odds since April when Chairman Andrew Freeman at the annual general council meeting engineered a vote that stripped a third of the tribe’s 210 members of their status and caused three other members of the council to walk off—a later declared their offices vacated. A later vote filed the vacated seats.
Since then the Bureau of Indian Affairs has ruled that the three council members who left the meeting, Leslie Lohse, David Swearinger, and Geraldine Freeman, were still part of the legal tribal council, despite the vote.
But in the meantime there have been several armed stand-offs as each faction tries to lay claim to the casino, which continues to function.
Several weeks ago 100 members of the tribe who support Freeman, demonstrated in front of the BIA Sacramento office while Freeman met with the bureau superintendent, Troy Burdick, who had issued a cease and desist order to both groups after he witnessed firearms, some of them assault rifles, being brandished during a stand-off, including 30 persons who purported to be “tribal police.” Burdick ruled that Freeman’s group improperly took over the casino. The Freeman faction has appealed that ruling to bureau Regional Director Amy Dutschk.
The dispute was sparked when the tribe suspended members of three families, including the Pata, Crosby and Lohse families. At the same tribe the tribe investigated claims of misuse of tribal funds. They also are investigating claims of a disappeared corporate jet belonging to the tribe as well as several hundred thousand dollars in gold bullion. Also alleged are cyber-attacks on tribal computers to try to destroy evidence of the alleged actions.
One of the ousted tribal council members, Leslie Lohse, recently told the Corning Observer that she and fellow council members shut down the casino’s gaming server in an attempt to control the casino.
Former Paskenta Enterprises Chairman John Crosby, who is also a retired FBI agent, has also been named by Freeman’s group for alleged wrongdoing, such as purchasing a house with tribal funds, buying the bullion and the corporate jet.
Crosby, who was hired as the tribe’s economic development director in 2001, told the Sacramento Bee, “I did buy the gold for the tribe,” and insists that the jet and gold are being kept in a secure location.
Freeman has met with the FBI to document his allegations about Crosby, et al.
According to Freeman, commenting on the other faction, “The more they lie, the more it shows how desperate they are.”
The faction headed by Vice Chairman David Swearinger says they would prefer that the casino be shut until the dispute is resolved.
Meanwhile the casino continues to operate, although who is legally in charge of it remains up in the air.
The attorney general was forced to resort to a federal court because state police officials are limited in what they can do on the sovereign territory of a tribe. They can, however, maintain the peace. Deputies from the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department continue to be deployed at the reservation, although more than half of the force has been required. The effort has prevented homicide investigations for proceeding and has led to thousands of dollars in overtime. This has, according to the judge, “taxed the resources,” of the department, and poses a threat to public safety. The tribe may also be in violation of its compact with the state for not maintaining public safety, said the judge.
U.S. Marshal Albert Najera, whose responsibility it is to enforce the judge’s order, commented last week to AllGov, “What gives me a little bit of hope is that the Tehama County sheriff is heavily involved and has done a good job up to this point and avoided any issues.” He added, “We have seen that nationwide, other intra-tribal problems can get pretty ugly.”
The tribe has operated a casino since 1999 and brings in over $100 million annually. Funds from the casino are the source of $54,000 paid annually to each adult member. The funds are also the source of the membership dispute.
