Last Gold Miner Wins Reprieve From Eviction
Billy Joe Bagwell, the last gold miner living on a claim in the Angeles National Forest, has won a temporary reprieve from a federal order requiring him and his family to move from the public land by this weekend.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday granted Bagwell’s request for a stay of a lower court decision, pending the outcome of his appeal. In April, District Judge Stephen V. Wilson in Los Angeles ruled against Bagwell, saying that the decorated Vietnam War veteran was running a sham mining operation as a way to live free on a desolate chunk of mountain land 10 miles north of Pasadena.
Bagwell, who has represented himself in court, maintains that federal officials are unfairly trying to oust him from his home and mining claim. Justice Department officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
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