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December 18, 2006

Judge orders tribe members back to court

WAKEFIELD -- A District Court judge ordered seven members of the Narragansett tribe to appear in court next month to answer charges related to the 2003 raid on their tribal smoke shop.

Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas is among the group set to be arraigned on Jan. 16 for an array of charges ranging from resisting arrest to assaulting a police officer to disorderly conduct. A juvenile also arrested during the raid has been referred to Family Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to weigh in on the case, a decision which let stand a 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the state had the right to enforce its laws on tribal land.

Following the decision, Attorney General Patrick Lynch decided to follow through with the prosecution of the tribe members arrested during the raid. Most had been arraigned before a justice of the peace immediately after the 2003 clash with police, but Judge Frank J. Cenerini moved today to force them all to return to court next month.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 3:16 PM | Permalink

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