Eight Arrested in Covelo as CHP Connects Massive May Operation to February Freeway Shooting
California Highway Patrol officers served multiple search warrants in Covelo on May 27, arresting eight people and seizing ghost guns, assault weapons, drugs, and two stolen motorcycles — the latest development in an investigation tied to a freeway shooting on Highway 101 near Ukiah in February.
CHP’s Northern Division Investigative Services Unit and Warrant Service Team led the operation, with assistance from the Lake County and Mendocino County SWAT teams, the California Department of Cannabis Control, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Five adults were booked into Mendocino County Jail. Three juveniles were booked into Mendocino County Juvenile Hall.
The adult suspects and their charges:
Robert Cole Whipple Sr., 42, of Covelo — possession of an assault weapon, manufacturing a ghost gun, and providing a firearm to a prohibited person.
Robert Cole Whipple Jr., 19, of Covelo — possession of an assault weapon, manufacturing a ghost gun, felon in possession of a firearm, and felon in possession of ammunition.
Ramiro Mendez Saldana, 21, of Covelo — possession of an assault weapon, felon in possession of a loaded firearm, delaying or obstructing a peace officer, unlawful sale of a firearm, cultivation of more than six cannabis plants, and possession of cannabis for sale.
Teresa Bettega, 42, of Covelo — possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded firearm.
Samuel Hammons, 65, of Covelo — non-citable warrant.
Robert Cole Whipple Sr. is listed as treasurer on the Round Valley Indian Tribes tribal council. Redheaded Blackbelt reached out to Whipple and the tribe for comment and will update this article if a response is received.
The investigation traces back to February 7, when a shooting occurred on Highway 101 in the Ukiah area. CHP’s ISU served a search warrant in Covelo on February 12 in connection with that incident. The following day, CHP confirmed that a vehicle believed to have been used in the shooting had been seized during that operation.
The May 27 operation drew significant attention from residents and travelers. One witness reported seeing more than 40 law enforcement vehicles — including a Bearcat armored vehicle and a skid steer — moving in convoy along Highway 162 into the Covelo valley. A CHP helicopter was also deployed.
“This operation reflects the dedication and coordination among our allied law enforcement partners,” said CHP Northern Division Chief John Pinoli. “As this investigation continues, the California Highway Patrol remains committed to pursuing those responsible for violence on our roadways.”
The investigation remains active. Questions may be directed to [email protected].
Earlier:
- CHP Investigative Services Unit Serves Search Warrants in Covelo Area
- Covelo Search Warrant Tied to Ukiah Freeway Shooting
- Video: Massive Law Enforcement Convoy Rolls into Covelo Area Wednesday Morning
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
WTF is a non-citable warrant ? Sounds like some “1984” made up bullshit that they can arrest you for whatever !
Means that they cannot cite and release the person, they are taking them to jail
If you actually did some investigating you would find on Google,
In the legal system, a “non-citable warrant” is not a recognized standalone legal term. However, it is often used colloquially to refer to a “no-cite and release” warrant. This means if you are arrested on the warrant, the police are not legally permitted to issue you a ticket or written promise to appear in court; you must be taken into custody until you post bail or see a judge.
Makes sense.
It means arrestable warrant.
You do understand what a warrant is right? Seems self explanatory if you understand the concept
Goes to show you can’t hide out on the rez.
Wanna bet?! You obviously know NOTHING about the rez!
Been on a rez for 50+ years.
Fake news. A few of those ARs are not compliant with California’s arbitrary rifle rules, so it must be fake.
What the hell is this, a family heirloom they stole off Christopher Columbus’s armada?
Looks like something that none of them knew how to load.🤣😂👍
Don’t laugh. That thing will run as long as there is piss and campfires.
Hahahaha OMH that’s hilarious!
9 people died in mass shootings in the USA yesterday. Just saying
mass shooting is defined as: An incident in which an active shooter shoots multiple people with a firearm, especially with an intent to kill in a public space.
the word “MASS” makes it sound like they are shooting everyone everywhere all over every corner of America. This is the type of rhetoric that the media likes to use in order to keep lower iq civilians in a perpetual state of fear allowing the government to come in scare people into voting certain ways and performing certain un-wanted actions.
Ever heard of the Boston Massacre? The one where five people died?
Nine people is a mass shooting any way you take it… Sorry you place such a low value on the worth of a human life 🙁
ALSO PLEASE BE AWARE YOU ARE SPREADING FAKE NEWS:
No mass shootings resulting in fatalities were recorded in the United States yesterday, June 1, 2026, based on the available incident data which currently lists reports only through May 9, 2026.
The Gun Violence Archive notes that as of June 2, 2026, year-to-date mass shooting incidents have decreased to pre-pandemic levels, with overall gun violence deaths down by 866 compared to the previous period.
https://apnews.com/article/mass-shooting-iowa-muscatine-family-members-03c85292f6bda89b524e7280052f03e1
Not so fake news (CAPS not needed)
You realize technically that’s not mass shooting, it’s domestic violence.
No. Technically it is a mass shooting. And domestic violence.
I see no reason why domestic violence and gun violence would be mutually exclusive… two things can be true at once. If six family members were shot dead by a seventh family member, that is both domestic violence and a mass shooting. Just because its “your” house, doesn’t mean you can’t be a mass murderer in it… castle laws and all.
“recorded in the United States yesterday, June 1, 2026, based on the available incident data which currently lists reports only through May 9, 2026.”
Well gee, is May 9th 2026 before or after June 1st 2026?
The records haven’t been updated yet, it doesn’t mean shootings didn’t happen.
Read your own fucking post.
Nice one 🙂
They have changed the mea ing of mass shooting , mass shooting now is defined as a shooting where 2 or more people are involved , so almost every shooting where one person shoots at another is can be referenced as a mass shooting . I think it is merely hype , people will kill each other no matter the weapon , cain killed his own brother and i am fairly certain that they did not have firearms back then .
The real question we should be asking is what are people doing to cause people to reach the level that they feel that killing several people to make a statement is the only solution left ? When the system is set to where if forces compliance without compromises people get a little hot when people are told what they can and can not do say think or feel in their daily lives and have others ideas forced upon them , many people wish they could blow people up , we have all been there at some point but we have cooled off and been able to come to terms either with denying our true feelings thoughts or secretly breaking the laws so that we can live with ourselves or merely accepting that is the way it is . Many people can not do any of those things . We should be asking ourselves how we can make space for people who do not agree with being forced to accept things as normal when just a few decades ago it was acceptable to not accept those things . Tolerance and acceptances are 2 different things just as people tolerate certain ideas doesnt mean they must accept or adapt to that toleration . Many of the things people tolerated yesterday people are being forced to accept yet there is no toleration for those whom first tolerated . Not sure if that is making sense or not , if it doesnt please ignore it
3 total
Seek help.
You are clearly suggesting that mass shooters are justified in their actions. Not ok.
“The real question we should be asking is what are people doing to cause people to reach the level that they feel that killing several people to make a statement is the only solution left?”
When is killing several people a solution?
How many stabbings? How many murders without a gun? If your going to be just saying then say it all!
The phrase was mass shootings
Next time you argue against firearms or the Second Amendment. Put it in writing with your quill and ink. Then mail it to all of us.
1791 (Quill & Parchment): The Founders utilized ink quills to write letters and pamphlets, limited by the speed of a hand-operated printing press.
2026 (Personal Computer): Free speech and the press now operate digitally. Today’s technologies—such as the internet, blogs, and social media platforms—enable individuals to broadcast messages globally in milliseconds.
1791 (Flintlock): The typical firearm was a muzzle-loading flintlock musket, which fired a single projectile and required about a minute to reload.
2026 (AK-47 / AR-15): Modern arms include semi-automatic rifles, which fire one cartridge per trigger pull and utilize high-capacity detachable magazines
Source? You obviously didn’t write that yourself.
Stop fucking stealing.
what matters is the truth of it. It is all factual. But you choose to blame the messenger, because that is all you got.
11 people were killed at work by “white liquor” one week earlier, just saying. White Liquor is a substance used in paper manufacturing by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Washington State.
Where are the ghost guns? All I see is a family heirloom, one possibly illegal rifle, and a bunch of hunting rifles.
Cops making a big deal out of nothing really.
So… you didn’t look at the photos ?
Have 3 (maybe 4) rifle/pistols that require an ATF (License/Tax) permit.
Short barreled rifles are wildly illegal in California. Military or law enforcement only !
(Classified as a Dangerous Weapon).
>”Under the National Firearms Act (NFA), possessing an unregistered Short-Barreled Rifle (SBR) is a federal felony. Violators face up to 10 years in federal prison and fines up to ($250,000) per violation. (Wiki)
That is a Federal offense. They should bring the feds in on this case.
“Toss the book at them Danoo.”
Then (of course) we have a 100 round .223 magazine. (Photo below).
Probably er… NOT FOR deer hunting… or a ‘grandfathers relic’.
And the suppressor. So common now days. EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AGAINST CALIFORNIA LAW TO POSSES. But legal in 42 states.
Probably for hog hunting as it takes at least 25 rounds of .223 to drop one.
I made fun of the cops for having so many vehicles and officers for what was probably a small raid. I was wrong. I’m glad they went there in force to do something like this. If these people are found guilty of being involved in a highway shooting then please see they receive harsh sentences. The Treasurer of the tribe?! Been saying it for many years- the criminal element in RV is connected to Mexican cartel and it goes all the way to the top…Marijuana is a sweet herb but the greed we allowed to fester around it created some serious crime
all the leo leave at the end of the day
its all the same the next day and other people will take over running the chaos machine
so much disfunctional stuff for so many generations now
its normal
sadly youre right on many accounts and
realis they would need to do raids like that every day for a few years to really root out all the nefarious stuff going on
there is nothing left in rv anymore and no services either
we will be right back here for the next episode anytime now
Yo, Mr Whipple, this is exactly why you can’t just go around squeezing the Charmin!
Well there ya go. Tribal officers enabling the terrible ,tragic cycle while playing like they care.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Fox in the henhouse.
Rapist in the pre school.
Tribal clean up your act.
Set standards. Teens, barely 20 sonethings driving flashy cars n up all night, no job, dipping in to DV already.
No housing if running a drug house.
A lot of the crap in Covelo stems from idiots acting like idiots supporting other idiots to be the best idiot they can be.
WAKE THE EFF UP.
Really poor behavior and what kind of result would one expect? Exactly what it is for 40 years n more. Messy, methy, misery..
Until the tribe has a backbone and standards none of it will change.
DV?
Young folks and Domestic Violence aka DV. The young man who just shot his girlfriend’s family member recently. Beating on each other before they are out of school. Committing DV before they barely cut their teeth. And TA DA it is normalized as relationship “BS” DV its not ok.
💯 Agreed! 💯
The Whipple family has been in Round Valley/Covelo for generations as enrolled members of the Round Valley Indian Tribes (primarily Yuki and confederated tribes). They’ve long fought for their rights to keep guns and hunt on their lands — see older court cases like the ones involving James Whipple defending tribal hunting rights against state overreach.
Covelo is the Wild West. Law enforcement is often hours away if something goes down, so most people pack for self-defense. When you’re dealing with generational trauma, poverty, drugs (meth, fentanyl), and repeated violence — including tragic murders of young Whipple family members like Nicholas and Kenneth in recent years — folks have to be able to protect themselves and their families.
That said, law enforcement must crack down hard on the criminal element bringing ghost guns, drugs, and freeway shooting violence into the community. The recent operation arresting Robert Cole Whipple Sr. and Jr. and others is a start. While many guns seized in these rural ops turn out to be hunting rifles that honest folks rely on, the assault weapons, ghost guns, and felons in possession tied to actual crimes have no place here. Target the thugs and repeat offenders, not responsible tribal members exercising their rights in a dangerous place.
Self-defense isn’t the problem — the lack of real consequences for predators is.
I would love to see some very specific people run for Tribal Council. There are plenty of good, family-and-community-oriented men and women who could support each other and run as a slate. Running as a slate could behighly effective for driving positive change because candidates can present a unified vision to voters and demonstrate that they will be able to work collaboratively if elected. I would hope this slate would be eager to bring the various communities that live here together and make this a healthy place to raise children again. I am sick of the criminal culture, and the no-snitch attitude when horrendous things take place. Electing criminals to Tribal Council? Evil.
Oh nooooooo not the flintlock pistol!!!!
its a percussion cap ignition
ICE clutches it’s pearls at the mere thought of removing the murderous, human trafficking drug cartel operating in the Covelo area.
Wrong kind of Indian 😂
Only took 7 days to inform the public. Pony Express?
Cowboys and Indians! 19th century style!😂👍
If you go back fifteen years , our previous sheriff , tom allman told people out of willits library meeting , there was no cartel, in Covelo then about a month later there was a meeting in the covelo library with standing room only and sheriff allman couldn’t lie anymore. Many people came with horrible stories about how the mendocino national forest had become a hellhole. Cartel, killing all the wildlife and threatening US citizens. In 2011, they had operation full court pressThey took out 600000 marijuana plants out of mendocino national forest. Made over, I believe around a 150 arrests.After that, the cartel moved onto the.Rez in covelo .the tribal council on the Round Valley reservation has been on the take for a long time. And everybody knows it. round. Valley reservation is the second biggest reservation in the state of California.Over 34000 acres I have friends that live on the Rez, and they live in fear. They cannot say anything because it’s not safe too sheriff kendall you need to bring in ice. I know California is a sanctuary state, but under extreme situations. The sanctuary law allows ice to work with local law enforcement. I think you could say covelo is a extreme situation. Bring in ice.
Yes. Bring in ICE. THIS is what ICE should be doing. Not so much the crap where they are harassing brown people who are working hard jobs. But right here- the cartels that have made themselves strong and trafficked in their illegal immigrant labor force. ICE- Get to work!!! Do something honorable we can all agree on!
The amount of cartel freaks in Covelo with guns, vehicles, property, $, attitude and manipulation is beyond what many can imagine.
No joke they coyote in women constantly.
Purchase property for cheap with cash or lease tribal land for a bag of dope and some p$$$$y.
Drug folks up to get them basically enslaved. Control with $. Young girls and men too selling their souls for a car, cheap pair of Balmaine knock offs and a date to the taco truck.
Ehhhh, yeeeeeeee.
Ditch on bail and all the family without work permits or any documents sit trapped.
Wrap it all up with a shiny bow. All the idiots defend it, dont speak dont ya know what da I mean???
Time to do better! Enough gross BS, enough.
Absolutely Farce! Mendocino Sheriff lacks the resources that the feds have for surveillance and wire tapping to gain information and plot and execute the end of the Covelo Narco State! The people of Round Valley deserve to be safe from cartel violence. Enough is enough, bring in the resources needed to effectively put a permanent end to cartel operation in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties!
I completely agree — send in ICE and federal task forces now. Sheriff Allman tried to downplay it back then, but the truth came out fast, just like you said. Operation Full Court Press showed what real enforcement can do, but the cartels just shifted to the Round Valley Rez and surrounding areas. Residents living in fear on the Rez isn’t acceptable in America.
In the last 10 years, cartel-linked violence around Covelo and Round Valley has been brutal: multiple murders, shootings, kidnappings, and human trafficking tied to illegal grows. We’ve seen young people beaten to death, bodies dumped, and families terrorized — with Sheriff Kendall himself warning about cartel activity, murders, and a potential “narco state” on tribal lands.
The state and feds need to launch a major coordinated sweep of these illegal cartel operations and meth manufacturing sites right away. This isn’t just “unlicensed grows” — it’s tied to south-of-the-border Mexican Mafia organizations and transnational cartels that have taken root in Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity counties (the Emerald Triangle).
Key cartels and groups operating here:
Sinaloa Cartel — dominant in supplying meth, fentanyl precursors, and running large-scale illegal cannabis grows with armed crews and exploited labor.
Other Mexican cartels (including influences from groups like La Familia Michoacana and Knights Templar in the past).
Mexican Mafia (La Eme) — prison gang that partners with these cartels for protection, distribution, and local enforcement on the ground.
These operations destroy wildlife, poison rivers with pesticides and fertilizers, dump massive trash, traffic humans, and bring gun violence into our communities. Enough is enough. California’s sanctuary rules shouldn’t shield foreign criminal organizations threatening U.S. citizens and tribal members.
Sheriff Kendall — bring in ICE, DEA, FBI, and whatever federal support is needed for a full cleanup.
The people of Covelo and Round Valley deserve safety, not fear. This has gone on too long.
Time for real
action.