Because a few Soboba Tribal Members shoot up the area and potentially could have killed dozens, San Jacinto is concerned. Let me guess, they just hate Indians? Public safety IS an issue when you bring this violent reservation closer to San Jacinto. Bullets go a long way.
PRESS ENTERPRISE
Citing a recent string of violent incidents on the reservation, the San Jacinto City Council is asking the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians to halt its proposed annexation of hundreds of acres the tribe wants to use to build a hotel and casino complex.
The May 20 letter, signed by Mayor Jim Ayres, said the city would be forced to "actively oppose the application" if the tribe did not withdraw its request for the federal government to add the 535 acres to the reservation.
"Unless the City Council can be assured that the residents of San Jacinto, the public who would be visiting the Reservation, and the Tribe's own residents of their personal safety, the City Council believes that any expansion of the Reservation would be inappropriate," the letter stated.
Rose Salgado, a member of the Soboba Tribal Council, said Wednesday that the letter was received Tuesday and the full council has not had an opportunity to compose a response. She said the panel will meet today to discuss the matter.
"Personally, it took me by surprise," Salgado said.
The U.S. Department of the Interior must approve the tribe's proposal -- a detailed process that can take several years and requires community input.
Relations between the 900-member tribe and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department have been strained since two fatal shooting incidents in which three tribal members died.
On May 12, deputies killed Joseph Arres, 36, and Tamara Angela Hurtado, 29, in a gunbattle in a remote part of the reservation. The two tribal members were shot multiple times by SWAT officers, who said they had been fired upon by one of the two. Nine deputies fired their weapons in that incident, authorities said.
Four days earlier, deputies shot and killed 26-year-old Eli Morillo after they went to investigate gunfire on a remote part of the reservation and found themselves under attack, authorities said. Five deputies fired in the first shooting. Read about it HERE
Full story here
They need to talk and come to their senses. The people of San Jacinto need to be safe, and Soboba should have their land.
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