Soboba tribe, government officials try to ease tensions

Tribal leaders and government officials agreed Friday to draw up a plan to improve cooperation and reduce violence on the troubled Soboba Indian reservation near San Jacinto where three people were killed in the last week.

“The escalation of violence has produced bad blood between myself and the Sheriff’s Department,” Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado said at the start of the meeting held on the reservation, at the Country Club at Soboba Springs. “As the leader, you have to hold your cool. But when you get your back up against the wall, you express your feelings.”

After one tribe member was shot dead in a gunfight with Riverside County sheriff’s deputies last week and two more died in a gun battle with authorities Monday, Salgado accused the department of having a “shoot first, ask questions later policy.” He called the commander of a local sheriff’s station a “punk” and compared him to Lt. Col. George Custer and his deputies to the 7th Cavalry. He also described the tribe as “at war” with authorities.

“If I offended anyone, I’m sorry,” Salgado said to those seated around a small table. “We are here to protect our people. We want to be sure we are on the same page and have the same policy and procedure.”

Salgado carried a ceremonial eagle’s feather into the meeting and prayed, asking God to comfort the families of Eli Morillo, 26, Joseph Arres, 36, and Tamara Hurtado, 30, who was also known as Angelica Lopez. The three were killed in two separate shootouts on the reservation.

“Let’s come together and handle this issue in a good way,” Salgado said.

At that point, Craig Kilday, chief deputy for East County Operations for the Sheriff’s Department, demanded that the two reporters Salgado had invited leave the room.

“I don’t think we can speak freely with the media around,” he told the chairman, who immediately acquiesced. Kilday didn’t explain why he couldn’t speak freely.

Among those attending were representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, sheriff’s officials, tribal leaders, a staffer from the office of Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), and a mediator from the U.S. Department of Justice.

A few hours later, the grim-faced participants filed out of the room, stood stiffly at a podium, read a prepared statement and refused to take questions.

Dale Morris, regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said the meeting was “an important and productive first step toward reviewing and defining policies and procedures to effect change that will benefit all those concerned.

“We have agreed to meet next week to work on an operational plan,” he said.

One person who took part described the mood as “intense.”

As violence on the 6,000-acre reservation near San Jacinto has increased, so has animosity toward law enforcement.

There have been six shootings in or near the reservation in the last six months involving tribe members and deputies. The suspects involved in the most recent incidents carried assault rifles.

Morillo was the son of former tribe chairwoman Rosemary Morillo. Arres had a warrant out for his arrest at the time of his death. According to court records, he twice pleaded guilty in 2006 to being a felon or narcotics addict in possession of a firearm. Arres’ mobile home in San Jacinto burned down shortly after he died.

The MySpace page of someone purporting to be a 22-year-old Soboba member includes an obscene reference to the sheriff along with the words, “R.I.P. tam, eli, joe.” There is a drawing of a man shoving a gun in the mouth of a pig dressed like a police officer.

The reservation is patrolled by a tribal security force that doesn’t carry weapons. Deputies respond to 911 calls and do occasional patrols. The head of the tribal police, James Matthews, was terminated after Monday’s shooting, and a law enforcement officer who knows the tribal force well said that at least two other officers were fired. Matthews could not be reached for comment. The reason for the firings was unknown.

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david.kelly@latimes.com