Woman Faces Death Penalty For Tribal Shooting

A jury has recommended the death penalty for a Modoc County woman convicted of killing four members of her Native American tribe, including three family members, and trying to kill two others. 47-year-old Cherie Lash Rhoades had been ousted as Tribal Chairwoman and evicted from tribal housing because she was under investigation for embezzling from the tribe. The Cedarville Rancheria, which only had 35 members before the shooting, is a part of the Northern Paiute tribes.  Although the tribe does not own a casino, they’ve collected more than $13-million over the past decade from the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, which casino-owning tribes pay into. Rhoades’ son, Jack Stockton, also had been ousted as Vice Chairman.  A Tribal Council meeting in Alturas on February 20th was to consider her eviction appeal. Rhoades opened fire at the meeting and killed her brother Tribal Chairman Rurik “Two Bears” Davis, her niece Angel Penn, her nephew Glenn Calonico, and Sheila Russo.  When she ran out of bullets she injured two other people with a knife.  Rhoades was initially booked into Modoc County Jail but she was moved elsewhere because the husband of one of the murder victims worked at the jail.  Her trial was held in Placer County, where she was found guilty last month.  That same jury reconvened this month to recommend that Rhoades be executed for her crimes.  The formal sentencing is April 10th and the judge has the option to commute the sentence to life in prison.

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