Three arrested after trespassing near Hiawatha Lake
"We've had deputies patrolling the area," Grant County Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said. "They've made contact with people who are found on the property. The Colville Confederated Tribes have made it clear that there shouldn't be anybody on the property. The three arrested Friday are part of the group of people that trespassed last month. So, because they'd already been given a trespass notice last month warning them not to return, they were arrested for second-degree criminal trespassing, which is a misdemeanor."
The three arrested included Raymond Lazier, 52; Michelle L. Jenkins, 56; and Joseph R. Jenkins. They were lodged in Grant County Jail for investigation of second-degree criminal trespassing. Foreman said if people return after receiving a warning and a second-degree trespassing citation, they could receive a first-degree trespassing citation, which is a gross misdemeanor.
Foreman said this isn't the first call they have received in regard to people being back at the site. He explained the spot has been a problem for the last handful of years, after the county trespassed people from the Moses Lake Sand Dunes.
"Hiawatha homeless camp started attracting occupants around the same time that the county trespassed people from the Moses Lake Sand Dunes, a few years ago," Foreman said. "They continued to be a public nuisance and a public safety hazard. Then complaints of crime happening within the homeless camp and crimes being committed by occupants of the homeless camp — including burglaries, other crimes and several fires that started at the camp and threatened nearby property."
The property is owned by the Colville Confederated Tribes. Foreman said the Colville Confederated Tribes reached out to GCSO asking for people to be removed from the camp. GCSO deputies, on May 7, showed up to the camp and trespassed on the people living on the land. Prior to the deputies' arrival to trespass people, Foreman said there were more than 50 trailers at the site.
"It's the tribe's property and they asked us to help remove people by issuing trespassing notices to help them remove the trespassers from the property," Foreman said. "Last month and over the past couple of weeks, we've received reports of people starting to accumulate again back out at the Hiawatha site."
Foreman wants to remind residents that nobody should be out at the property and the tribe has specifically asked for anyone found at the location to be trespassed.
"We will continue to patrol the area and make sure if people are found at the property, if they haven't been previously warned, they will be given notice that they're on private property, they shouldn't be here," Foreman said. "If they are someone that we've issued a trespass notice to previously, then they were already warned, and they can be arrested for criminal trespassing."
Foreman said if residents of nearby areas notice people located in this area, they should contact 911 and report it.
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