Document 01: July 22, 1992: On this date, Sherrie Ann DeVee (formerly married to Stephen or Steven Jinks) applied for Membership into the Northeast Woodlands-Coos Band of the Abenaki Republic-Algonquin Confederation. Her genealogical records were allegedly recieved, reviewed and was acceptable. Subsequently on that same date of July 22, 1992 Sherrie (nee: DeVee recieved a Membership Card No. 00016 to the Northeaster Woodlands - Coos (Pisowakamigw Wobanakiak) which indicated that she resided at 4330 Harness Tract Road in Camino, El Dorado County, California 95709. That her date of birth is November 27, 1959 (Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington State). It also indicates that her "Clan" was (RED) Turtle. (that's what Howard Franklin Knight Jr. created and appointed to her upon his acceptance of her Membership Application into his alleged Cowasuck Abenaki "group").
I posted this document before on November 18, 2009 (See Step 12 of this blog link: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/11/step-12-foward-along-yellow-brick-road.html) but to show reinforce the awareness of "timeline" events, I am placing this information here "again." Remember Paul Wilson Pouliot applied for Membership on July 08, 1992, was reviewed and accepted on July 15, 1992 into Howard Franklin Knight's Inc. Abenaki Nation of Vermont/ Cowasuck group on , the same month as Sherrie (nee: DeVee) Jinks - Labat.
Document 02: Mountain Democrat and Placerville, CA Times Newspaper 142ND Year No. 178 article dated Friday November 06, 1992 of Page A-1. "Indian mother surrenders, faces criminal charges in custody case." By Michele Mariner, Staff Writer. Cameron Park - A Camino (in Eldorado County, California) American Indian woman who said she "can't hide forever" surrendered in municpal court Thursday saying the county is forcing her to allow her children to visit their father whom she suspects abused them. Sherrie DeVee was officially charged with keeping her two children from visiting their father when the court has ordered visitation rights. The case has a twist in that she and her attorney, J. David Nick of San Francisco, contend local courts are ignoring federal law allowing American Indian tribes to provide their own foster care. A tribal ruling granted DeVee custody of her children. Remember this "A tribal ruling...." DeVee said she is of Abenaki Indian ancestry. The tribal ruling came after visitation rights were granted to DeVee's ex-husband (Steven Jinks) following their divorce a year and a half ago. DeVee said....see INDIAN, page A-13.
Document 03: INDIAN....continued from A-1. the man was (allegedly and unsubstantiated) abused her children, so she went to Child Protective Services for help. C.P.S. placed her children in a foster home and said she should go to a woman's shelter, Nick said. "I asked for help and they took my children," DeVee said. A juvenile court then gave DeVee and C.P.S. joint custody of her two children, ages 10 and 12, and granted supervised visits to her ex-husband. An ambassador of the Abenaki tribe (Roger "Running Elk" Deshanais) took the case to a tribal court in Massachusetts. Chief Howard F. Knight Jr. ordered custody be granted to DeVee and the tribe. Under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, the tribal council is given sovereign jurisdiction to tribal members. Every public official, judge, CPS are duty-bound to obey the above. Nick said, "the law is on the books to allow Indians to keep their heritage and not allow their culture to be washed away in incidents in which they would be placed in a non-American Indian foster home." "The tribal ruling supersedes any local ruling," Nick said. "It's a bureaucratic disregard for Indian rights," Nick said, "She's acting according to what the law has provided." Ed Zylman, social services.....see INDIAN, page A-15.
Document 03: INDIAN continued from Document 02 (page A-13). program manager for the El Dorado County Welfare Department, said in cases with American Indian children, C.P.S. is required to contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs. If the tribe is recognized by the bureau (B.I.A.), then the tribe has the authority to take the case and provide its own foster care, Zylman said. However, Zylman said he could not comment on any particular cases. Although she has surrended herself, DeVee said, "she will not surrender her children." Her attorney said adamantly he will, "fight this cast to the end" and won't "settle for any deals." Municipal Court Judge Thomas A. Smith released DeVee on her own recognizance and set a preliminary hearing date of November 30, 1992. At that time the Judge will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Document 04: Mountain Democrat and Placerville, CA Times Newspaper 142ND YEAR NO. 191 dated Wednesday, December 02, 1992 Front Page. "Woman ordered to face parental kidnap charges" By Michele Mariner, Staff Writer. CAMERON PARK-A Camino woman who said she hid her children (going directly to or eventually ending up on the Rosebud Lakota Indian Community) from authorities to protect them from an (alleged and unsubstantiated allegations) abusive father and an equally abusive legal system was ordered Monday to face felony charges in Superior Court. The prosecution in the case, however, claims Sherrie Anne DeVee blantantly disregarded court appearances, depriving the court of determining whether the children's father should have any visitation rights. Sherrie Ann DeVee is charged with two counts of depriving and hiding her children, ages 10 and 12, from her ex-husband. (Aided and abetted by none other than Abenaki ambassador to Homer St. Francis, Roger "Running Elk" Dashanais and Howard F. Knight Jr.) A Camino woman was ordered Monday to Superior Court in the face of allegations that she kept the county, and ultimately her ex-husband, from their children. She said she did it to protect her children from abuse.
Retired Judge Lloyd Hamilton, sitting on the bench Monday for Municipal Court Judge Thomas Smith, ordered DeVee to answer.....see KIDNAP, page A-16.
Document 05: A-16 Montain Democrat - Wednesday, December 02, 1992 (REMEMBER the date of when Paul Wilson Pouliot alleged was "elected" as Chief of Howard F. Knight's group of alleged Cowasuck Abenakis was ALSO on this date) KIDNAP Continued from page A-1......the charges in Superior Court on December 11, 1992. (REMEMBER the date of Howard F. Knight Jr.'s "meeting" Homer St. Francis Sr. in Swanton, Vermont, to "hand over" the Incorporation of alleged Cowasuck Abenaki, calling itself the Northeast Woodlands - Coos Band, was also on this date of Dec. 02, 1992) DeVee, who testified that she had sole custody of her two children for about the last five years, said that her ex-husband had monthly supervised visitation rights at the outset of the divorce.
However, she alleges her husband beat the children and sexually molested her daughter, prompting her to turn to Child Protective Services for help. CPS temporarily placed her children into foster homes until a Superior Court judge granted sole custody to DeVee with the question of the father's visitation rights pending. El Dorado County Sheriff's deputy Steven Ragan testified Monday that he became involved in the case after the children's father 's attorney told authorities his children were abducted after DeVee failed to show up at a September court hearing. (when Roger "Running Elk" Deshanais and Howard F. Knight Jr. were in Eldorado County, California aiding, encouraging and abetting Sherrie DeVee to flee the County Jurisdiction in an alleged stolen van). Ragan said he recieved information that DeVee and her children left the state and were at an Indian reservation in South Dakota (Rosebud to be exact). The deputy said federal authories became involved and a federal fugitive warrant was issued.
DeVee, who is of alleged Abenaki Nation ancestry, testified that she took her children to Massachusetts to recieve a tribal ruling (from Howard F. Knight Jr., Robert Maynard and Roger Dashanais), which would supersede local rulings, on whether or not the tribe should retain custody of the children.(Howard F. Knight Jr. nor that of Homer St. Francis Sr.' group's of alleged Abenakis need I remind everyone were and are as of this date, NOT recognized legally as "Tribe's" by other legitimate Native Communities, by the State's of Vermont, New Hampshire or Massachusetts NOR recognized the Federal Government via the Bureau of Indian Affairs)Under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, the tribal council is given jurisdiction in cases in which the tribe is recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. However, the Abenaki Republic Algonquin Federation is not recognized by the bureau, according to a spokesman from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. DeVee took the case to federal court in September, attempting to get an injunction agains the county, but the case was dismissed. DeVee subsequently surrendered in Municipal Court November 05, 1992 but kept the location of her children confidential. She testified Monday that last week a family law judge granted her custody with no visitation provision for the children's father. DeVee said her children do not want to see their father. After plowing through several objections by deputy district attorney Gary Lacy, DeVee's attorney J. David Nick, questioned DeVee about her daughter's alleged sexual molestation by her father. The defense attorney was attempting to prove that his client had good cause - a defense to the charge - to conceal the location of her children. However, non of DeVee's allegations regarding molestation and abuse were corroborated. Nick attempted to call DeVee's 10-year-old daughter to the stand to testify, presumably to back up her mother's allegations that she was abused by her father. The prosecution, however, objected, with the judge siding with the deputy DA (District Attorney), and the girl did not take the stand. DeVee also said she feared not only abuse by her ex-husband, but by CPS as well. She said one CPS employee left her daguhter's arm bruised. No physical evidence was presented to substantiate that claim. She also said the employee showed up at odd hours unannounced. DeVee said she feared her children being placed in a foster home again and being accessible to their father. Ed Zylman, county social services program manager, said that if any physical force was used on a child, corrective action would be taken against the employee. However, he said he cannot comment on specific cases. He said it was not customary for CPS workers to show up during late-night hours, as alleged by DeVee. However, it is customary to make unannounced visits. "It's our job to protect children...We want to see them in their natural environment," Zylman said. After testimony to the court, Nick argued there was no evidence presented that the children's father had any visitation rights of their children. "Missing one court appearance falls too short (of the charges," Nick said. However, the prosecutor argued that DeVee failed to comply with the local court's jurisdiction. "She's depriving the Superior Court (of determining visitation rights) and ultimately depriving (the father)," the prosecutor said. Judge Hamilton said at the conclusion of the hearing that if the allegations against the father are true, that he would hope the father doesn't have any custody rights. "But so far the charges are (only) allegations," the judge commented. He ultimately said there is enough evidence for DeVee to answer the charges in Superior Court. Defense attorney Nich requested the felony charges be reduced to misdemeanor charges. The judge said that while that may be the appropriate move in light of the testimony he heard, he would let Nick make the request in Superior Court.
Document 06: Mountain Democrat and Placerville, CA Times Newspaper 143RD YEAR NO. 7 dated Wednesday, by Michele Mariner, Staff writer. January 13, 1993 (Compare the date's see link: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/10/january-07-1993-letter-from-howard-f.html) DA drops charges against mom in parental kidnap case." Officials with the El Dorado County District Attorney's office Monday, "in the interest of justice" dismissed the charges against a woman they earlier alleged kept her children hidden from her ex-husband to deny him visitation rights. Sherrie Anne DeVee previously was charged with two felony counts of depriving and hiding her children, ages 10 and 12, from her ex-husband. However, she has maintained that she did it to protect them from an abusive father, as well as from an abusive system. The dismissal came about at a hearing in which defense attorney J. David Nick made a motion to the court to dismiss the charges. But before Superior Court Judge Eddie T. Keller could make a ruling, deputy district attorney Steve Russo said the DA's office chose to dismiss the charges "in the interest of justice." Following the court appearance DeVee said she is relieved the whole situation is over. During a December preliminary hearing, DeVee testified she had sole custody of her children for about the last five years with her ex-husband having supervised visitation rights at the outset of the divorce. DeVee told the court she believed her ex-husband was beating the children, including sexually abusing their daughter. That prompted her to turn to El Dorado County's Child Protective Services for help. CPS temporarily placed her children into a foster home until a Superior Court judge granted sole custody to DeVee with the question of the father's visitation rights pending. El Dorado County Sherrif's........see DISMISSED, page A-14.
Document 07: DISMISSED continued from A-1 (Document 06)....page A-14 of the Mountain Democrat and Placerville, CA Times Newspaper 143RD YEAR NO. 7 dated Wednesday, January 13, 1993 by Michele Mariner, Staff writer.....deputy Steven Ragan testified that the became involved in the case after the children's father's attorney told authorities his children were abducted after DeVee failed to show up for a September court hearing (whne Howard F. Knight Jr. and Homer St. Francis Sr.'s Tribal Ambassador Roger "Running Elk" Dashanais were in El Dorado County, CA providing Sherrie DeVee an alleged stolen van in which to flee the local juisdictional authority, ending up "hiding" out on the Rosebud, South Dakota Indian Rez until Sherrie DeVee found out she had a Federal Warrant out for her arrest). The case took a twist when DeVee, who is Abenaki (Indian) ancestry, testified she took her children to Massachusetts to recieve a tribal ruling (this "tribal ruling" came from un-State recognized and non-Federally recognized "Chief" Homer St. Francis Sr. - non State or Federally recognized Howard "Chief Rushing Water" F. Knight Jr. - "Tribal Judge" Robert "Spirit Wind" Maynard -"Homer's Tribal Ambassador" Roger "Running Elk" Dashanais) , which would supersede local rulings, on whether the tribe should retain custody of the children. Under the federal Indian Welfare Act of 1978, the tribal council is given jurisdiction in cases in which the tribe is recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. However, the Abenaki Reupublic Algonquin Federation is not recognized by the bureau according to a spokesman from the bureau. DeVee said she then missed one court appearance in which a judge was supposed to determine whether he ex-husband would have any visitation rights.
She was then charged with parental kidnap and subsequently surrended herself to the Cameron Park Municipal Court. Presecutor Russo said after looking at the case more closely and more evidence was revealed, the DA's office decided not to pursue the case because it was borderline and not worth the resources of the DA's office. DeVee's ex-husband did not have custody at the time she left the state with her children, he said. "It became more theoretical than actual," Russo said of the fact that hte question of visitation rights by the father was pending in Superior Court. Since the criminal charges, DeVee was granted sole custody of her children by a juvenile court.
