Posted on 11/21/2019 9:37:09 AM PST by Gamecock
A Bushkill, Pa. woman and six other individuals are facing a multitude of charges, including counts of terrorism, assault, and kidnapping, following a failed takeover of the Pine Ridge community on Monday.
According to a criminal complaint from Pennsylvania State Police out of Blooming Grove, Tonia Scott, 49, of Bushkill was the alleged ringleader of a group of armed individuals who sought to forcefully take the land occupied by the Lehman Township community on the afternoon of Nov. 18.
A police interview with Scott revealed that she had claimed rightful ownership to the land of the Pine Ridge and Saw Creek communities.
In 2017, Scott filed a federal lawsuit against the Pine Ridge Community Association. According to court documents from the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Scott asserted “various aboriginal rights as an indigenous person to the lands upon which the defendant community is located,” and sought “to eject the persons residing on these lands, and recover damages.” The court recommended to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, and subsequent motions for reconsideration were denied.
Trooper Robert M. Urban released a statement on Tuesday morning stating that “It has been preliminarily determined that the actors committed this crime to ‘take the land back,’ claiming that they were indigenous Native Americans to the area and that the land belonged to them.”
Police identified Scott as “Black and Native American” in the criminal complaint, while her alleged accomplices only identified as Black.
Scott’s alleged accomplices in the operation include Sekou Rashid-Abdullah, age unknown, of Houston, TX, Keeba Harris, 43, of Bushkill, Sushane Steron Adams-Heylinger, 26, of Binghamton, N.Y., Musa Abdur-Rahim, 27, also of Binghamton, Adam Abdur Rahim, 31, of Houston, TX, and Troy Anthony Sutton, 50, of Brooklyn, NY.
In total, the group will face 18 first-degree felony counts including aggravated assault, terrorism, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, and theft; six second-degree felonies including aggravated assault, criminal trespass, robbery, theft and use or possession of an electric or electronic incapacitation device; 12 third-degree felonies including terroristic threats, criminal mischief, robbery, possession of firearms not to be carried without a license, and possession of instruments of crime; two first-degree misdemeanors including unlawful restraint and possessing instruments of crime; and 15 second-degree misdemeanors including false imprisonment, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person.
The incident
Pennsylvania State Police out of the Blooming Grove barracks reported receiving a phone call from the Pine Ridge community regarding an attempted break-in at 12:45 p.m.
According to accounts provided by employees at Pine Ridge, in the early afternoon, two suspicious-looking vehicles showed up in the clubhouse parking lot. One employee proceeded to lock the upstairs door to the clubhouse, and then go downstairs to warn her fellow employees about the vehicles.
One of the employees suspected that Tonia Scott might have something to do with the vehicles, as she had allegedly been causing issues in the community related to her claim to ownership.
One employee contacted Chief of Security Anthony Bonito while another called 911.
Employees stated that they heard sounds suggesting that someone had gotten in the clubhouse. Around this time, three employees had hid in the building’s office area and locked the door.
Sergeant John Derbyshire of the Pine Ridge Public Safety Department reported that several men forced their way into the public safety office in the building, handcuffed him, and took his gun and gun belt.
Benito responded to the scene and noted a broken door on the first-floor entrance. He entered the office and saw the five men holding Derbyshire down, raised his firearm to them and asked them to stop. The men pointed guns at Benito, and he retreated and called Pennsylvania State Police. Benito said that he saw the men place Derbyshire in a security vehicle and drive toward the community exit.
Adam Abdur-Rahim drove toward the community exit quickly, but was blocked by two maintenance vehicles.
Pennsylvania State Police from Troops R and N showed up on the scene shortly thereafter, and proceeded to take Scott and the six other individuals into custody.
Interviews with the state police later revealed that Scott allegedly had started arranging her crew with Sutton, who had been working as a corporate security guard at a McDonald’s in Brooklyn, NY about a month ago.
The ‘operation’
After having attempted to take control of Pine Ridge on Sept. 6 when she showed up at the community office with Harris bearing documents claiming ownership, Scott decided that she needed help with the operation.
According to Sutton, Scott approached him at work, remarked that she liked the way he operated as a guard, and informed him that she needed to hire private security to occupy land that she owned.
About three weeks ago, Sutton said that Scott contacted him and sent him documents that supposedly proved her right to the properties. Sutton sent the paperwork to his cousin, Adam Abdur-Rahim, who he claimed was a security specialist and owner of a business called Elite Protection Agency, for verification. Abdur-Rahim relayed that the documents were legitimate.
Scott said that if Abdur-Rahim helped to evict people from their homes in Pine Ridge and Saw Creek, he would be made chief of tribal police with a full staff, and he would be given a home for free, along with a $1,000 weekly salary and an additional $5,000 payment for commercial properties.
About a week ago, Abdur-Rahim and Rashid-Abdullah moved from Houston to Binghamton.
Abdur-Rahim offered Rashid-Abdullah, Adams-Heylinger, Musa Abdur-Rahim and Sutton positions for the operation. Abdur-Rahim allegedly promised the men $400 each for removing the “trespassers” at the community properties, along with a $500 weekly salary, and homes for $1 a year.
Adams-Heylinger said that he only took the job because he needed money for his rent.
The men came together at a McDonald’s in New York City to make a plan on Sunday, Nov. 17. Early Monday morning, the group left the city in two vehicles bound for Pine Ridge.
According to Abdur-Rahim, he was carrying a Smith and Wesson SD .40 caliber handgun, Sutton was carrying a Smith and Wesson gun, Rashid-Adbullah was carrying an unknown firearm, and Musa Abdur-Rahim and Adams-Heylinger were carrying BB guns. Scott claimed that she had pepper spray and a stun gun, and Harris had pepper spray.
Upon arrival, Scott and Harris stayed in one of the vehicles. Abdur-Rahim explained that the plan was to enter the clubhouse, remove the public safety officer and take him to the front gate.
Abdur-Rahim approached the front door of the clubhouse, which was locked. He proceeded to go to the back door, where he found four of the other men. Abdur-Rahim said that he kicked the door in, got into the public safety office, showed Derbyshire the documents provided by Scott, and handcuffed him when he would not obey his commands.
Abdur-Rahim took Derbyshire’s body camera, collected the keys to the public safety vehicles, and took Derbyshire out to one along with Rashid-Abdullah. According to Abdur-Rahim, the plan was to proceed to Saw Creek.
Sutton, unable to find the others after he went back in the building to get keys for a security vehicle, ended up driving around the area while trying to contact the others before being apprehended by police.
At about this time, Scott went to the front entrance of the community in anticipation of the police, where she was apprehended.
Urban reported that as of Tuesday morning, all those involved in the incident were being arraigned.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
Kill them.Kill them all.
Those pictures are a Buzzkill.
Such pleasant-looking folks...
Ain’t that the wrong Pine Ridge ? What a bunch of dummies.
What in the Sam Hill is up with the one in the middle on the lower row ?
Wow! All I can say.
Hmm...yeah, a genuine Native American just like Elizabeth Warren. They’re lucky nobody started shooting.
I’ve spent most of my life among Indians.
These aren’t Indians.
She’s the brains of the outfit!
Which one is Kaiser Soze?
They all look kinda numb...
Couple of really traditional Native American names in that bunch.
Blooming Grove, PA again. Pike County has very little crime. But in this one area, there is always something.
I think they’re confusing “Native” with “Inbred”.
That's Tonia Scott, the Indian.
radiation poisoning?
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