STANDOFF CONTINUES AT CAMPGROUND OWNED BY DRUG SUSPECT

VANDALIA, Mich. (AP) -- A standoff between police and a southwest
Michigan campground owner facing drug and weapons charges continued
Saturday night, authorities said.

A news helicopter from WNDU in nearby South Bend, Ind., was struck by
a bullet Friday as it flew over the Rainbow Farm complex, but it
landed safely and there were no injuries, the station reported.

Cass County sheriff's deputies went to Rainbow Farm -- which describes
itself on its Web site as an "alternative campground & concert arena"
- -- about noon Friday after neighbors said the owner, Grover T.
Crosslin, 47, was burning buildings on the property.

Deputies evacuated six nearby houses and watched from a distance as
three buildings burned, Sheriff Joseph Underwood said. About 20 shots
were fired from within the campground, he told the South Bend Tribune.

The pilot and a cameraman were unaware a bullet had pierced the
helicopter's horizontal stabilizer but left the area after police
radioed a warning, WNDU news director Ellen Crooke said.

"They flew back to South Bend to refuel, and when they did so, the
pilot looked at the ship and realized it had been hit," she told The
Herald Palladium of St. Joseph for a Saturday story.

Police said Saturday that they were not sure about Crosslin's
involvement in the fires or the gunplay because a number of other
people are on the property, WNDU reported.

"This is his home here at Rainbow Farms, and he has no intention of
leaving it," Dori Leo, identified by WNDU as Crosslin's attorney, told
the station after speaking with Crosslin. "He doesn't intend to hurt
anyone. He basically, at this point, just wants to be left alone."

Authorities arrested Crosslin and five others on drug charges in May
after a two-year investigation into allegations of marijuana use at
the 34-acre campground, Underwood said.

Crosslin was charged with felony possession of a firearm, growing
marijuana and maintaining a drug house.

On Friday, he was facing a $150,000 bond revocation hearing because
police believed he was violating the terms of his release. Crosslin's
property is also the target of civil forfeiture proceedings.

"I assume he's upset about the court hearing," Underwood said
Friday.

The May arrests were made just before Hemp Aid 2001, a Memorial Day
weekend event promoting legalization of marijuana.

A statement on Rainbow Farm's Web site says it "supports the medical,
spiritual and responsible recreational uses of marijuana for a more
sane and compassionate America."

The FBI will try to determine whether Crosslin or someone else inside
Rainbow Farm shot at the helicopter, Special Agent Dawn Clenney said
Saturday. "If he shot at an aircraft, that's a federal violation," she
said.

Crosslin's sister, Shirley DeWeese, of Elkhart, Ind., said her brother
wants to be left alone.

"I can't talk to him ... he was very angry with the government and the
way they have done things," DeWeese told the Tribune. "I just hope he
remains cool and calm. He doesn't want all the violence."

As many as 30 Crosslin supporters have camped out near the standoff
scene since late Friday night, some holding signs reading "Free Tom,"
and passing out Rainbow Farm t-shirts, WNDU reported.

A message posted Thursday on Rainbow Farm's Web site said the
campground's Labor Day Weekend Camp-Out was called off. "Bad
government has intervened, once again, and closed Rainbow Farm
Campground," the message read.