An enormous showing of law enforcement descended on the Soboba Indian Reservation Saturday night where a man was found fatally shot.

Riverside County sheriff's deputies were first dispatched onto the reservation outside San Jacinto at 9:11 p.m. to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon.

Deputies found a man with several gunshot wounds pulled to the side of the road, in the 43000 block of Castile Canyon Road, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Joe Borja said. Paramedics arrived and tried to perform CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man's identity was not released, pending next of kin. Detectives are investigating if the man is a member of the tribe. A public information officer for the tribe said the Tribal Council declined to comment.

When deputies first arrived, they came upon a crowd of about 40 people near the gunshot victim. The deputies radioed "11-99", the police scanner code for emergency back-up, sheriff's deputy Herlinda Valenzuela said.

The crowd was not combative with officers, followed directions and quickly dispersed, Borja said. The large number of officers responded to control the crowd and secure the crime scene, Borja said.

"Many of the people know each other and came together to find out what happened," Borja said.

The reservation was teeming with police from Temecula, Hemet, San Jacinto as well as California Highway Patrol officers and sheriff's deputies that came and left the reservation in the hours that followed. A sheriff's helicopter patrolled the reservation and the surrounding area with a spotlight.

The reservation is generally closed to the public through a guard shack and gate that limits access to residents and approved visitors, just past the Soboba Casino.

Soboba Tribal Enforcement officers told residents Saturday night that the reservation was on lockdown. Residents were told they were not allowed to enter the reservation while the shooting investigation was being conducted.

The Soboba Casino remained open and appeared busy with customers. A steady stream of cars was seen leaving on Soboba Road throughout the early morning.

Several residents and visitors waited in the parking lot by a church near the gate. They declined to comment. Six families staying at The Oaks Retreat on the reservation for a softball tournament were offered hotels in San Jacinto by Tribal Enforcement officers.

Media was barred from the reservation property, including the casino, and told not to use cameras or speak to anyone at the scene. Reporters were told by Tribal Enforcement officers to wait 1.5 miles away from the reservation entrance.

Following the shooting, sheriff's officials briefed the Tribal Council on the shooting. Sheriff's officials said the tribe cooperated with authorities and granted full access to the reservation. It is the first slaying on the reservation since a 24-year-old man was killed riding in a car on the same block last July.

Since 2008, the Sheriff's Department and the tribe have mended its relationship following a series of high-profile confrontations.

In July 2008, Former Tribal Council Chairman Robert Salgado tried to block sheriff's deputies from entering the reservation after two shootouts with deputies that killed three tribal members.

After Sheriff Stanley Sniff responded by threatening to arrest anyone who blocked deputies, all marked patrol cars are now given unrestricted access. Unmarked officers are allowed access once they identify themselves at the gate.

Both sides have reported a close working relationship strengthened by the sheriff's tribal liaison unit.

"Everytime they help out, it strengthens what we do," Borja said early Sunday morning. "We're treating this case as if it occurred anywhere else."

— JOHN ASBURY

jasbury@PE.com