Fifteen of the participants in an armed confrontation, which took place within the premises of the Chukchansi Gold casino, were found guilty of a number of felonies.
The confrontation happened on October 9, when one of the groups involved, led by Tex McDonald, leader of a Chukchansi Indians faction, charged into the gaming room of the casino carrying guns. Since then, the casino has its doors closed and it is not clear when it will be opened again.
McDonald and his tribal police chief were some of the sentenced invaders. The charges included kidnapping, causing major injuries, assault with firearms, deadly weapons, stun gun, etc. The felons will be able to bail out at a costly prize – $800k for all thirteen of them and $1 million for McDonald, who was charged twice in the past for similar crimes.
McDonald held control over the casino up until late August, when the faction of Lewis entered the casino and took control, leading to the armed conflict on October 9.
The Court of Fresno announced last week that members of the Lewis fraction were also armed and additional fire arms were found on the premises of the casino.
The Madera County district attorney explained that due to the big number of felons, the case was divided into two complaints each containing twenty-nine counts. The complaints were submitted by the district attorney and the county sheriff who presented them to the country judge Thomas Bender.
The district attorney further explained that former cases against the Picayune Rancheria factions were not completed, due to lack of evidence. Mr. Keitz stated that despite having the authority and legal tools to prosecute criminal proceedings, the attorney office cannot get involved into solving civil issues within local tribes. Only if there is violation of the law, like the casino break-in, the authorities can get involved.
A representative of the McDonald faction, David Leibowitz, stated that the group has done nothing which went against the law. He explained that the group had the right to take over the tribal gaming commission and that the entrance of the casino put no patrons in risk of getting harmed.
The group is ready to collaborate with the attorney’s office in order to reach a mutual decision in an attempt to clear the names of the faction members.
On the other hand, a lawyer, representing the Lewis faction, welcomed the arrest and said that the things the McDonald people did to the employees and tribe members of Lewis “was a great loss”.
Lewis demanded that the arrest should have been done much earlier, as what was seen on the casino security tapes was clearly a violation of the state laws. He shared that many of the casino staff told him they feel scared despite the arrests. He stressed on the decision of Judge O’Neill, which shows that the blame falls on the McDonald faction, and said he hopes the casino will be opened in the upcoming weeks.
