Com m unity gathers for candlelight vigil
The recent deaths in the
community, including two
cases o f alleged m urder,
brought the community to
gether last Thursday evening
for a candlelight and prayer
vigil.
People gathered on the
cam pus law n, h o ld in g
candles in the coolness of
fall evening. D on Courtney
and Lucinda Greene shared
words and songs o f inspira-
October 17, 2012
Spilyay Tymoo, Wgrm Springs, Oregon
Pdge 8
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Duran Bobb photo for the Spilyay
Candlelight vigil and community prayer.
Vandals wreck bus stop
non.
P eo p le w ere on han d
from throughout the Warm
Springs com m unity, and
some from Madras.
T h e d eath o f Jo n as
Miller, 33, on September 23
was a shock to community.
Just days later, on Sep
tember 29, the community
le arn ed o f th e d eath o f
Faron Lynn Kalama, who
was 30.
2 indicted for murder, one as accessory
(AP) _ A federal grand
jury last week indicted two
women accused of killing
a Faron Kalama, 30, who
was found deceased in a re
mote area of the reserva
tion.
The U.S. Attorney’s of
fice says Tana Lawrence
and Angeledith Smith have
been charged with first-de
gree murder. There were
arraigned in Portland last
Friday afternoon.
The grand jury alleges
Smith and Lawrence mur
dered Faron Kalama on
Sept. 29 during the course
of a burglary, a kidnapping
Tana Lawrence
and a sexual
Lawrence
arrested last
been held in
assault.
and Smith were
week and have
tribal custody.
Angeledith Smith
The charge of murder in
the first degree carries a maxi
mum penalty of life in prison.
The grand jury also in
dicted Curtis Brown as an
accessory to the murder.
Brown allegedly aided the
Lawrence and Smith af
ter the murder, according
to authorities.
The charge of acces
sory carries a 15-year
maximum sentence.
Shortly before the ar
raignm ent, it was a n
nounced that Brown has
been charged in the Sept.
23 m u rd er o f Jo n a s
Miller on the reserva
tion.
All three are in federal
custory. A trial date was
set for Dec. 18.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
The shelter was vandalized just as the rainy and
cold weather is setting in.
Murder charge in shooting death
Curtis B row n, 38, was
charged with second-degree
murder and a firearms charge
in the killing of Monas Miller,
who was 33.
A ccording to a federal
criminal complaint, Brown
confessed to shooting Miller
in the back of the head with
a firearm on September 23
in a remote area of the res
ervation.
The charges of murder in
the second degree and dis
charging a firearm during and
in relation to a crime of vio
lence both carry a maximum
penalty of life in prison.
The judge ordered Brown
detained on these charge
pending his next court ap
pearance on October 29.
In an affidavit supporting
the charges, FBI special agent
Daniel Baringer said Miller’s
body was found Sept. 30 on
a dirt path about 250 yards
Curtis Brown
from County Line Road on
the reservation.
E arlier on th a t day,
Baringer said Warm Springs
police received a missing
person’s report from Miller’s
mother, Sharon Miller, who
said she had not seen him for
a week. During a subsequent
interview, Sharon Miller said
her son owned several rifles,
including an assault rifle that
was missing.
An Oct. 2 autopsy by, the
M edical E xam iner d eter
mined Jonas Miller was killed
by a gunshot wound to the
head, and positively identified
the victim, the FBI agent said.
The investigation deter
mined the body had' been at
the spot where it was found
for about a week.
In the affidavit. FBI agent
Baringer said he interviewed
a witness after several people
told investigators he and the
victim had been seen together
on Sept. 23.
The witness told the FBI
that Miller owned an assault
rifle and that he and Miller
had been at a home in the
Miller Heights area of Warm
Springs, and that Miller and
Brown left the house together
in a car.
The FBI agent said he.
then interviewed Brown at
the Warm Springs Police Sta
tion and that Brown talked
about the incident “and even
tually confessed to shooting
Jonas Miller, as well as dis
carding evidence o f the
crime.”
Mont. Indians sue over lack of election services
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -
Fifteen Native Americans are
suing state and county offi
cials over a lack of election
services on three Montana
reservations, saying their in
ability to vote early or regis
ter late there is an unconsti
tutional denial of equal vot
ing access.
The plaintiffs asked a fed
eral judge in Billings to issue
an emergency order requir
ing the state and counties to
open satellite election offices
on the Crow, Northern Chey
enne and Fort Belknap reser
vations.
They say they now must
drive between 27 and 113
miles round trip to reach their
county offices, the only places
that allow in-person absentee
voting and late registration,
b o th o f which began last
week.
“Our position is the state
has the duty to provide the
same opportunities for absen
tee voting as non-Indians,”
said plaintiffs’ attorney Terryl
Matt. “We have a system de
signed right now where non-
Indians can walk in and vote
(absentee). So why can’t In
dians?”
Traveling can pose an es
pecially heavy financial bur
den for residents of reserva
tion communities where un
employment rates can top 70
percent and the poverty rate
is as high as 39 percent; the
lawsuit said.
Montanans can vote early
by mail or by delivering ab
sentee ballots in person to
county offices. Late registra
tion begins at county offices
a month before Election Day.
Voting access on Election
Day is not an issue in the law
suit.
Secretary o f State Linda
McCulloch said she sympa
thizes with the plaintiffs and
would support opening satel
lite offices. However, she
added, a legal opinion from
the state attorney general's
office on the matter said the
offices are discretionary and
the state elections agency
can’t force the individual
counties to open them.
Also, time is running short
before the Nov. 6 election.
“I think their claims have
merit. I wish they would have
started it a year or more ago,”
McCulloch said.
Parents and school kids
were discouraged to find
the West Hills bus stop
shelter had. been vandal
ized.
ju st as the rainy
weather is setting in, one
or more vandals smashed
the window o f the shel
ter.
The shelter had been
paid for through a gener-
ous grant, rather than
S E Ir M
Madras
Redmond
Bend
B íllasa
Sunriver
1
875 SHwy 9 7 -Madras
if
2516 SW Glaciar PI - Redmond
56840 Venture LN Ste 1A * Sunriver
,
through tribal dollars.
The repairs, though,
will cost the tribes, said
Donny Bagley, who re
ported the matter. That
is money the tribes could
clearly use for other pur
poses, Bagley said.
If anyone has infor
mation on who damaged
the bus shelter, please
contact the police at 541-
553-3272.
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