UTPD: Friday incident at Arrowhead Travel Plaza was not an ICE operation
By Griffin Beach on Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
MISSION – Umatilla Tribal Police said an incident Friday at Arrowhead Travel Plaza was not an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation, despite social media rumors stating it was.
UTPD says at around 12:30 p.m. they responded to a report of a 16-year-old female shoplifting jewelry and a Wildhorse Resort Casino Security officer being struck by a male when he confronted the female.
The investigation determined that the man who struck the security guard was the female’s father, identified as Nojerry Walter of Kailua, HI, and that he struck the security officer on the hand when he attempted to photograph the license plate of the van they were traveling in.
UTPD recovered the stolen jewelry, and the female was cited for theft by receiving. Walter was arrested for harassment and was also found to be violation of a restraining order with a member of the traveling group.
During the investigation a female identified as Mackaleigh Lagao of Pendleton, who was not associated with Walter or his group, approached police and began, “interfering with the investigation, demanding information, and making attempts to reach the police vehicle that Walter was detained in.” She was then arrested for interfering with a police officer.
While Lagao was being transported to jail she was combative and slammed her head into the partition in the police vehicle. She was restrained and secured in “the wrap” to prevent her from injuring herself.
Walter has pleaded not guilty to the harassment charges, and as of Monday afternoon was still shown in the Umatilla County Jail roster with no bail listed.
Lagao was not listed in the jail roster Monday afternoon.
UTPD said many people identified the incident as an ICE incident because of the perception of the police response and the large travel group involved. They add that there’s no validity to that rumor, and that they were the only law enforcement agency on scene.
Image taken from screenshot of a video provided to Elkhorn Media Group
