'Get off my land': Pala Reservation woman accused of attacking elderly people

Tuesday, August 7, 2018  

A resident of the Pala Reservation has been accused of attacking three elderly people after they visited the tribe's casino in southern California.

Michelle Limon Cagey, 32, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of elder abuse, assault and vandalism, The Times of San Diego reported. She allegedly attacked the Pala Casino patrons with a bat and told them to "get off my land,” the news outlet said, quoting a sheriff's deputy who has been handling the case.

The incident took place in the early morning hours of July 29, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. After leaving the casino, the patrons had pulled over to the side of the road due to car trouble and were waiting for assistance when they were attacked, the agency said.

Following an investigation, Cagey was arrested at a home on the reservation on August 2, the department said. That's when sheriff's deputies found what they said was a "small clandestine drug lab."

County HazMat is on scene for the cleanup at the Pala meth lab. pic.twitter.com/XaTPrMq6FL

— ValleyCtrSubstation (@SDSOValleyCtr) August 2, 2018

The lab was not used to produce methamphetamine, as a Twitter post from the department had initially indicated. The San Diego Union-Tribune instead suggested it might have been used to make steroids.

Matthew Geyer, 37, another resident of the home, was taken into custody for possession of a controlled substance, the department said. The county's Hazardous Materials Division cleaned up the site.

While the bat incident and the drug activity presumably occurred in Indian Country, the state can exercise criminal jurisdiction in California due to Public Law 280.

Read More on the Story:
Woman Accused of Assaulting 3 Elderly People on Pala Indian Reservation Denies Charges (The Times of San Diego August 6, 2018)
Woman accused of beating three elderly people also suspected of housing steroid lab (The San Diego Union-Tribune August 2, 2018)
Woman Arrested at Drug Den for Allegedly Assaulting 3 Elderly Victims with Baseball Bat (NBC San Diego August 2, 2018)
Drug lab found at home of woman accused in beating near Pala Casino (Fox 5 San Diego August 2, 2018)