CEDARVILLE, Calif. — Practically everyone in this tiny town in the high desert of northeastern California’s Surprise Valley knew Cherie Lash Rhoades.
A leader of the Cedarville Rancheria, she worked in the tribe’s gas station and convenience store and wore brightly colored tank tops that showed off her tattoos.
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But it is tough to find anyone with a kind word to say about her.
“She bullied her way through life,” said Sandra Parriott, a lifelong resident of Cedarville and owner of two downtown markets. “But I would never think she would start blowing people away in a meeting.”
Police arrested Rhoades on suspicion that she did just that Thursday in Alturas, leaving four dead and two wounded in a gun and knife attack at a meeting on whether to evict Rhoades from one of the nine little houses on the rancheria.
Eviction from tribal housing is among the most serious punishments for American Indians. Though police have said they are still working on a motive, a nephew who lived with her, Jacob Penn, said she snapped under the pressure of her brother trying to evict her. The brother, Rurik Davis, who lived down the street on the rancheria, had apparently taken over as tribal chairman and was among the dead.
Investigators had been looking into whether Rhoades took federal grant money meant for the rancheria she once led, a person familiar with the tribe’s situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Alturas Police Chief Ken Barnes said they were looking into whether the embezzlement allegations spurred the tribe’s efforts to evict Rhoades, but had not established any definitive motive.
The investigation was no secret around town, where several people interviewed by the AP mentioned it, though they said they had not been contacted by investigators and did not want to give their names.
Though Rhoades was always ready to share a joke, “you did not want to get on her bad side,” said Penny Nash, Parriott’s sister. “She has a powerful personality.”
It was not immediately known if Rhoades had a lawyer. She was being held at an undisclosed location because the husband of one of the dead works at the Modoc County Jail, Sheriff Mike Poindexter said.
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