The head of law enforcement for the Comanche Nation says local authorities are refusing to prosecute casino crime cases.
The state exercises jurisdiction over non-Indian criminals at the Red River Casino. But police chief Vernon Griffin said Comanche County has refused to take any cases from Indian Country since 2005.
County district attorney Fred Smith wouldn't explain his Indian Country policy to KSWO. He said he sent a non-Indian theft case at the casino back to the tribe for further investigation.
Griffin, however, said his officers already already presented enough information to Smith to prosecute the case. A non-Indian woman from Texas was robbed in September 2012 but has yet to see any justice despite video of the incident and the identification of the suspects.
"I believe this case is fully packaged together here," Griffin told KSWO.
The tribe just opened a hotel in hopes of drawing more patrons, Indian and non-Indian alike, to the casino.
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Tribe, state clash over crime cases
(KSWO 4/12)
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