Kickapoo trial postponed again

The Oklahoman
April 13,2006
By Ann Weaver

http://www.newsok.com/article/1814630/ McLOUD - The jury trial for several women involved in the 2003, two-week occupation of a Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma administration building was postponed again this week.

More than 100 tribal members were sent notifications last month to be part of the jury pool in Tuesday's criminal trial against Auchee Wahpepah, Juanita Prado, Valentina Jimenez and Glenda Deer. The four have pleaded not guilty in tribal court to charges of trespassing and burglary.

Last week, some tribal members reported receiving letters stating the proceeding had been changed to a bench trial and they need not appear.

According to court records, Tribal Judge Darrell Dowty canceled the jury trial March 30, because the defendants had not filed a written request for a jury trial and had not paid a required deposit for the jury.

Silas Wolf, the women's attorney, said his clients have made it known since their arrest that they wanted a jury trial and have never been notified that a deposit was necessary. He said he's unsure if the deposit is $100, or $100 for each defendant.

"Either way, it's excessive and a violation of their civil rights," Wolf said.

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The following is a CNN Report from January 3, 2004:

Tribal police raid headquarters, arrest protesters

McLOUD, Oklahoma (AP) --Kickapoo tribal police raided the tribe's headquarters and arrested three women who had barricaded themselves in the building demanding a change in leadership and a federal audit of the tribe's finances.

The women, the only ones in the building out of 10 who had been staging the demonstration since December 16, were booked on trespassing complaints and released on $100 bail each.

One of the women, Glenda Deer, said they were caught off guard when masked officers dressed in black broke through a window and a door early Friday, and she thought the men had been hired to assault them.

"I was really disappointed when I realized it was our own tribal police," she said. "They came in like gung-ho Rambos, like you'd see in the movies."

Tribal Police Chief Anthony Wheeler said two of the seven officers wore black hoods to shield their faces from broken glass and looked "pretty scary." No guns were brandished and no one was injured, Wheeler said.

Deer said the raid was overly aggressive. "They could have knocked on the door, and we would have let them in," she said.

The group took over the headquarters in McLoud, about 20 miles east of Oklahoma City, after the tribe's election board said a recall election aimed at ousting chairman Tony Salazar was invalid.

Salazar lost the December 10 election 168 to 150, but remained in office until December 24 when a tribal judge overturned the election board's decision.

The women had said they would remain in the building until federal officials agreed to audit the tribe's finances, saying they believe records will show misuse of funds from the Kickapoo casino.

Representatives of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs did not immediately return calls seeking comment Saturday.

The woman also have collected more than 80 signatures on a petition seeking a recall election of business committee's vice chairman, Patrick Suke, who took over from Salazar.

"This is only the beginning. We're not going to stop until people are held responsible for what is going on with this tribe's finances," Deer said.

The tribe has about 2,600 members in Oklahoma, plus related groups in Texas and Mexico.

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April 2006 Reports

Last updated on April 16, 2006