Grover T. "Tom" Crosslin had plans for his home, the sorely neglected former Underground Railroad site at the intersection of Michigan 60 and Calvin Center Road. Crosslin was passionate about restoring the historic place. Passionate about his belief in the legalization of marijuana and in the righteousness of personal freedom. Those passions likely contributed to his death Monday afternoon. Crosslin, 46, died when he was shot by an FBI agent on the perimeter of his property, the Rainbow Farm Campground, 59896 Pemberton Road. He had held police at bay for four days before pointing a rifle at the agent, who then shot him, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood said. [continues 781 words]
Rolland Rohm's father arrived Tuesday morning hopeful of a peaceful solution to his son's standoff with police at Rainbow Farm Campground. Also hoping for an amenable ending were Rolland Rohm's mother, Gerry Livermore, and her husband, John, who had driven for 12 hours Monday night to Vandalia from near Chattanooga, Tenn. But when a minister arrived sometime after 9 a.m. EDT at a police staging area near the intersection of Black Street and White Temple Road, John Livermore knew it was a bad sign. [continues 1369 words]
Long before two men who ran Rainbow Farm Campground died by law enforcement bullets, their parties had drawn the eye of the government. Law enforcement affidavits on file in Cass County say that children attending annual pot fests witnessed drug use, took drugs themselves, and sometimes saw nudity and sex. Friends and family said Tuesday that Grover T. "Tom" Crosslin and Rolland Rohm tried to evoke change, pushing for the legalization of marijuana. But their parties sometimes ran afoul of the law. [continues 270 words]
CHICAGO, Sept. 4 -- Authorities today shot and killed a second man at a Michigan farm, ending a five-day standoff in which two aircraft came under fire and several buildings at the "alternative campground and concert arena" were set ablaze. An FBI agent shot Rolland Rohm, 28, after Rohm allegedly pointed a rifle or shotgun at a police officer just after 6 a.m. Rohm's roommate, Grover T. Crosslin, 47, owner of the Vandalia, Mich., campground, was killed Monday evening after pointing a gun at police. [continues 551 words]
VANDALIA - Long before two men who ran a pro-marijuana farm in southwest Michigan died by law enforcement bullets, their parties had drawn the eye of the government. A law enforcement affidavit on file in Cass County says that children attending annual pot fests witnessed drug use, took drugs themselves, and sometimes saw nudity and sex. After one festival in April, a teenager who had purchased a hallucinogenic drug at Rainbow Farm died in a car crash, the documents said. Friends and family said Tuesday that Grover (Tom) Crosslin and Rolland Rohm tried to evoke change, pushing for the legalization of marijuana. But their parties sometimes ran afoul of the law. [continues 1063 words]
VANDALIA - Grover Thomas Crosslin's four-day showdown with law enforcement ended in his death on Labor Day. Crosslin, 46, who owned Rainbow Farm campground in Newberg Township, was shot and killed by an FBI agent Monday. In a joint statement issued late Sept. 3, FBI Special Agent in Charge John E. Bell Jr., Cass County Sheriff Joseph M. Underwood Jr. and Michigan State Police Capt. Richard Dragomer said efforts to negotiate with Crosslin began at 4:53 p.m. "with the introduction of a phone to him." [continues 1055 words]
A campground standoff ended Tuesday with a second man being fatally shot after pointing a gun at police, according to the sheriff. Rolland Rohm, 28, was shot about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, the day after his roommate was fatally shot by an FBI agent, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said. Grover T. Crosslin, the owner of the Rainbow Farms campground, was fatally shot by a federal agent Monday evening. The standoff between police and the pair began Friday. A third man, Brandon J. Peoples, suffered minor injuries when Crosslin was shot and was being questioned by authorities. [continues 717 words]
Men Wanted On Felony Gun, Marijuana Charges VANDALIA, Mich. - A campground standoff ended today with a second man fatally shot after pointing a gun at police, police said. Rolland Rohm, 28, was shot about 6:30 a.m. today, the day after his roommate was fatally shot by an FBI agent, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said. Underwood said Rohm was shot after several orders by police to put his weapon down. He said Rohm then pointed the gun at a Michigan State Police officer and was shot. It wasn't clear which officer shot Rohm. [continues 300 words]
VANDALIA, Mich. (AP) -- Neighbors of the two men killed in a standoff with police at a campground where marijiuana use was condoned recalled the pair Tuesday as peaceful and generous and were stunned by their violent deaths. Grover "Tom" Crosslin, 47, owner of Rainbow Farm, was fatally shot by an FBI agent Monday night after a standoff that began Friday. Rolland Rohm, 28, who lived with Crosslin, was shot by police Tuesday morning on the campground property. Police said both were shot after pointing weapons at law enforcement officers. [continues 822 words]
VANDALIA -- Some people who knew Grover T. Crosslin said they were not surprised that he would defy police and federal agents and refuse to leave his property. Crosslin, 47, who owned a campground known for its advocacy of marijuana, was fatally shot by an FBI agent Monday night after a four-day standoff, authorities said. He was shot and killed about 5 p.m. after he exited a building on his southwest Michigan property with a rifle and pointed it at the agent, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said in a news release late Monday. He was facing felony drug and weapons charges. [continues 172 words]
VANDALIA -- Grover T. "Tom" Crosslin's standoff came to a deadly end Monday. The 47-year-old owner of Rainbow Farm Campground was fatally shot by an FBI agent about 4:40 p.m. EDT Monday, according to Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood. It was a grim ending for supporters of Crosslin, an advocate of marijuana legalization and personal rights, who was shot and killed on the perimeter of his 34-acre farm and establishment at 59896 Pemberton Road in Newberg Township. [continues 1142 words]
Editor, I have been following from afar the saga of the Rainbow Farm for years. It seems to me there were never any problems until the authorities tried to create one. Vandalia has been home to many peaceful gatherings of folks who hold political ideas which are different to those of the law enforcement community. This made Rainbow Farm a target for reverse sting operations and lengthy privacy-invading investigations by local and federal police. These investigations no doubt came at the expense of police protection for the local citizenry. Law enforcement authorities claim they have spent two years investigating the use of marijuana at the campground. All the while, they could have been solving and preventing violent and destructive personal and property crimes. This is just another shining example of the misguided priorities of the war on drugs and its devastating effect. [continues 71 words]
VANDALIA, Mich. -- A campground standoff ended in its fifth day Tuesday with a second man fatally shot by police after allegedly pointing a weapon at an officer. Rolland Rohm, 28, was shot the day after his roommate was killed by an FBI agent, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said. Rohm had been ordered several times to put his weapon down, but pointed the gun at a state trooper and was shot, Underwood said. A bomb squad was checking the campground. "It's our understanding that the campground has been booby-trapped," Underwood said. [continues 435 words]
VANDALIA - Grover Thomas Crosslin's four-day showdown with law enforcement ended in his death on Labor Day. Crosslin, 46, who owned Rainbow Farm campground in Newberg Township, was shot and killed by an FBI agent Monday. In a joint statement issued late Sept. 3, FBI Special Agent in Charge John E. Bell Jr., Cass County Sheriff Joseph M. Underwood Jr. and Michigan State Police Capt. Richard Dragomer said efforts to negotiate with Crosslin began at 4:53 p.m. "with the introduction of a phone to him." [continues 1056 words]
VANDALIA, Mich. -- A standoff with the owner of a campground known for its advocacy of marijuana dragged into a fourth day, with police enlisting the help of a third-party negotiator and the FBI stepping in to relieve officers. The campground's supporters gathered near the site Sunday as police worked to end a standoff that has involved shots being fired at a news helicopter and police plane. "The word is out about what's going on," said Shirley DeWeese, whose brother, Grover T. Crosslin, owns the southwest Michigan campground called Rainbow Farm. "If they do kill him, it's not going to be the end." [continues 324 words]
A campground owner facing drug and weapons charges was fatally shot by an FBI agent Monday night after a four-day standoff, according to Vandalia, Mich., authorities. 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. 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. [continues 102 words]
VANDALIA, Mich., Sept. 3 -- A campground owner facing drug and weapons charges was fatally shot by an F.B.I. agent tonight after a four-day standoff, the authorities said. The man, Grover T. Crosslin, 47, was shot and killed after he pointed a rifle at the agent, Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. of Cass County said. The situation began on Friday when deputies went to the farm after neighbors said Mr. Crosslin was burning buildings on his property, which is the target of civil forfeiture proceedings. [end]
VANDALIA, Mich. - 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 Monday night. Cass County is just north of South Bend. Crosslin became agitated after officers brought a phone to him in an attempt to begin negotiations, Underwood said. Crosslin's request to speak with a third party was denied, and he began making threatening remarks, the sheriff said. [continues 119 words]
VANDALIA, Mich. -- An FBI agent fatally shot a campground owner who allegedly fired at a news helicopter and a police plane during a four-day standoff that began after he started burning buildings and reportedly telling neighbors "all hell was going to break loose." Grover T. Crosslin, whose campground was known for its advocacy of marijuana use, was shot Monday night after he exited a building on his property and pointed a rifle at the agent, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said in a news release late Monday. [continues 589 words]
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. [continues 417 words]
