April 09, 2022
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Rancho Tehama residents want more law enforcement in their community - KRCR

A sign reading,
A sign reading, "WELCOME TO RANCHO TEHAMA," and other local, useful, information, at the intersection of Rancho Tehama Road and Stagecoach Road in the Rancho Tehama Reserve near Corning in Tehama County, CA. (KRCR)

Cellphone footage from a witness shows the moment Rancho Tehama Local Lo Bounlord shot live rounds in the air. His hours-long standoff with police, on Monday, prompted some citizens to discuss creating an armed, neighborhood watch-like group.

Rancho Tehama Reserve, where the standoff took place, is a half-hour drive down country roads from its nearest settlements: Corning and Red Bluff. With no law enforcement officials in the reserve area, people are worried about the ability to keep their community safe.

Tehama County Sheriff's Office Captain and SWAT Team Tactical Commander, Dave Kain, says the department has discussed getting a deputy to the area, but the department has struggled with staffing shortages.

Long-time Rancho Tehama residents say there used to be a full-time deputy in the community but they left years ago. Locals have long felt neglected and complain of drug use, squatters, water wells running dry, and even stray dogs in their neighborhoods.

Headquartered in downtown Red Bluff, District 4 Supervisor Bob Williams has served the area for nearly two decades.

"I would love to see a neighborhood watch. I would hate to see an armed militia," Williams said. "I don’t want to see an innocent person end up in jail because they accidentally shot somebody."

"I want the best for the people in my district," he continued, "I promised, when I first ran 16 years ago, that they wouldn’t be ignored and I haven’t ignored them...Rancho Tehama is no different than any other area and it’s gotten a bad rap because of some of the incidences that have happened. But there’s a lot of really good people in Rancho Tehama."

James Price has lived in Rancho Tehama for over 20 years and knows the struggle of getting law enforcement in the area.

"We haven’t been getting much support from the Sheriff's Department. And, I can understand why, because they are shorthanded," he said. "There have been a couple of people that had approached me about starting a citizens group to do something about that. But I’ve warned them, that they need to be careful in that respect because we are not a bunch of vigilantes...we are walking a very thin line."

Outside the office for the Rancho Tehama Association, near the reserve's Post Office off of Park Terrace Road. (KRCR)

Locals have said that because of the reserve's remote location, some people move to the area to hide from the law and get away with crime.

"A lot of people came to Rancho Tehama for the freedom to do what they want to do as long as it’s within constraints of the law," Price said. "[But] we do have a lot of people that want to do what they want to do outside of the law."

It is an election year for both Tehama County Sheriff and District 4 Supervisor, June 7.

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source: https://krcrtv.com/news/local/rancho-tehama-residents-want-more-law-enforcement-in-their-community

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