SAN CARLOS — The San Carlos Apache Tribal Council has put a limit on the number of people who can take part in residential gatherings.
The ordinance, known as Dezirea’s Law, was announced in a press release issued Thursday, June 18. There were no details on how many people would be allowed at residential events.
The move comes after another homicide occurred on the reservation. On June 13, Dezirea Nichole Harney, 16, was shot at Belvado Park in San Carlos. She died from her wounds two days later.
A juvenile was taken into custody in the incident, and San Carlos Apache Police are searching for others who may have been involved.
It was the fourth homicide on the reservation since March.
On March 7, Brandon Hinton, 24, was taken into custody for the shooting death of a 20-year-old man March 6, near the Bylas Fitness Center; on March 12, a suspect identified only as “Lang” was apprehended in the stabbing death of a 42-year-old tribal member in Bylas earlier that same day; and on May 28, DeDonte Pike was taken into custody for the stabbing death of a tribal member in the Navajo Point Community in Bylas on March 5.
In addition to the gathering restriction, the Tribal Council suspended the June 18 Apache Independence Day celebration, and commissioned a study of crimes on the reservation that “may justify banishment from the Tribe’s reservation and/or disenrollment.”
