By Onell R. Soto, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said she felt personally betrayed by Jamul tribal officials who demolished the homes of evicted reservation residents to clear the land for a casino Monday despite the tribal chairman’s promise that the homes were safe.

Holding a copy of Chairman Leon Acebedo’s written agreement not to demolish the houses, Jacob told reporters, “This promise is not worth the paper it’s written on.”

Acebedo said he suspected the Jamul Indian Village’s executive committee might overrule him when he made the promise.

He said he was talked into signing the agreement by sheriff’s officials in the middle of a standoff with local residents who oppose the casino.

The promise was key to ending the standoff prompted by the eviction of longtime reservation residents Walter Rosales, Karen Toggery and Toggery’s son, Louis Gomez.

The standoff followed a clash between officers acting on behalf of the tribe and casino opponents. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident. The FBI said it had received no complaints related to it.

Jacob, who lives near the reservation, is a staunch casino opponent. She fears it would bring crime and traffic, and says there is no way to make up for its effects on the community.

Acebedo said the tribe had been working to get the casino built for years, and was frustrated by opposition efforts.

Also yesterday, a San Diego Superior Court judge refused to grant an emergency order requested by Toggery and Rosales to prevent a contractor from grading any land or moving heavy equipment on the reservation.

Judge Ronald Prager said he didn’t think he had jurisdiction over an Indian reservation.

Toggery and Rosales say the land contains ashes of their relatives, as well as personal belongings burned and buried in Kumeyaay Indian rituals.

Members of the Jamul Indian Village say the presence of such objects won’t prevent them from building a casino on the six-acre reservation because they will treat them appropriately if they come across them.

Acebedo said there would not be any grading until plans for the casino were final.

Rosales and Toggery claim they are the true leaders of the tribe. They don’t recognize tribal leadership and have rejected compensation offers to get them to move.

Onell Soto: (619) 293-1280; onell.soto@uniontrib.com
© Copyright 2007 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

Posted on March 14th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Gaming, News