Well, that certainly didn't take long.

Stacey Cheyenne Barajas-Nunez, the San Manuel tribal member sentenced on Nov. 6 to five years probation for an alleged murder-for-hire plot, was arrested Friday night for allegedly violating probation.

Barajas-Nunez's sentence had been criticized as unusually lenient, since she avoided prison in a very serious crime.

County prosecutors defended the sentence, saying Barajas-Nunez knew that if she violated so much as a single law, she could go to prison for 21 years.

She is expected to appear before Judge Michael Dest this morning, the same judge who sentenced her to probation, so he can decide whether she violated the probation.

She is accused of going to the San Manuel Casino despite a stay-away order barring her from the gambling venue, according to Doug Poston, the deputy DA who prosecuted her.

A sheriff's spokeswoman said Barajas-Nunez was arrested for trespassing. Her lawyer said it was a misunderstanding.

The judge will have to determine whether she really went to the casino, and if so, whether it constitutes a law violation under the terms of her probation.

Coincidentally, Barajas-Nunez already was scheduled to appear in court this morning for a hearing on whether she qualifies for electronic monitoring: wearing an ankle bracelet with a transmitter so authorities can track her movements.

That issue may now be moot, as she is being held without bail in the county jail. But if the judge decides she didn't "trespass" in the legal sense, her freedom and electronic monitoring could be back on.

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The surveillance cameras outside the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District came in handy last month when a kidnapped canine was dumped on the doorstep and a suspect was identified from the recording.

But what were district officials doing monitoring the parking lot chat of one of the district's directors with a former grand juror last summer?

General Manager Chuck Butcher claims district employees didn't monitor director Blair Ball's activities.

They only made a CD of his 18-minute conversation with former grand juror Carolyn Powers because the district hadn't completed its response to the grand jury report at the time and the conversation might be "improper or unethical," Butcher wrote in response to Ball's questioning.

However, the incident brought to light that the district's new headquarters is studded with hidden cameras, including in the conference room, where the board conducts its confidential closed-sessions.

Butcher was criticized by the grand jury for an autocratic management style, and keeping his directors in the dark and cutting sweetheart deals for relatives of favored employees.

Butcher also came under fire from ratepayers for awarding a generous educational benefit to a superintendent's son and providing free housing for himself and three other managers.

Two of Butcher's supporters on the board, who backed the controversial benefits, were unseated by challengers in the Nov. 4 election.

Maybe the surveillance cameras will help Butcher see the handwriting on the wall. Because changes will undoubtedly come to the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District now.

Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909-806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com