[sixties-l] Campground Owner Shot Dead by FBI

From: radtimes (resist@best.com)
Date: Tue Sep 04 2001 - 15:03:37 EDT

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    Campground Owner Shot Dead by FBI

    SEPTEMBER 04, 2001

    VANDALIA, Mich. (AP) - A campground owner facing drug and weapons
    charges was fatally shot by an FBI agent Monday night after a
    four-day standoff, authorities said.

    Grover T. Crosslin, 47, was shot and killed after he walked out of
    a building with a rifle and pointed it at the agent, Cass County
    Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said in a news release Monday night.
    The FBI did not immediately return calls for comment.

    Crosslin became agitated after authorities brought a phone to him
    in an attempt to begin negotiations, Underwood said. Crosslin asked
    to speak with a third party, and when authorities denied the
    request, he began making threatening remarks and gestures, the
    sheriff said.

    Crosslin left the building with another man and began walking
    around outside the building with his weapon.

    Crosslin ``approached an area where an FBI observer had been
    stationed, and upon seeing the FBI observer, Crosslin immediately
    raised the weapon to shoulder height and pointed it directly at the
    agent,'' Underwood said.

    The FBI agent shot Crosslin once, the sheriff said.

    A judge had signed a warrant Monday charging Crosslin with
    attempted destruction of an aircraft and using a firearm in a
    felony, FBI Special Agent Dawn Clenney said.

    She said Roland Rohm, who lived with Crosslin, remained inside the
    residence Monday night, and FBI agents were negotiating for his
    surrender. She said she had no additional details about the
    shooting.

    Authorities alleged Crosslin, who owns the southwest Michigan
    campground called Rainbow Farm, shot a news helicopter from WNDU-TV
    in nearby South Bend, Ind., as it flew overhead Friday. Shots also
    were fired at an unmarked state police plane Saturday but missed,
    police said. Both aircraft landed safely without injuries.

    The situation began Friday when deputies went to the farm after
    neighbors said Crosslin was burning buildings on his property,
    which is the target of civil forfeiture proceedings. It appears a
    house and four main buildings on the campground property have been
    burned since then, Underwood said.

    Deputies said they believe Crosslin was upset about a bond
    revocation hearing scheduled for Friday. It was set because police
    believed he was violating the terms of his release on bond on
    previous drug and weapon charges. A bench warrant was issued for
    his arrest when he didn't show up at the hearing.

    Authorities arrested Crosslin and five others in May after a
    two-year investigation into allegations of marijuana use at the
    34-acre campground, Underwood said.

    Crosslin was charged with felony possession of a firearm, growing
    marijuana and maintaining a drug house.

    A court order issued in June prohibited Crosslin from having
    festival gatherings at the farm, whose Web site says it ``supports
    the medical, spiritual and responsible recreational uses of
    marijuana for a more sane and compassionate America.'' Police
    allege he violated the order by holding a festival August 17-18,
    which prompted the bond hearing.

    About a mile away from the campground, about a half-dozen people
    displayed placards in support of Crosslin and Rainbow Farm.

    Crosslin's attorney, Dori Leo, said her client was upset because a
    child he helped raise has been taken from the home he shares with
    Rohm.

    The boy was placed in foster care about a month or two ago after
    Crosslin and Rohm were charged with the drug counts, Leo told the
    South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.

    ---
    

    On the Net: http://www.rainbowfarmcampground.com/



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