Revival set over weekend for Havre, Box Elder

A famous gangster-turned-pastor is bringing his message to Havre and Box Elder this weekend, a previously scheduled appearance that takes on new meaning with the shooting deaths of two men in Box Elder March 28.

“Gangster Preacher” Isaiah Blancas will hold revivals Friday and Saturday starting at 6 p.m. each night at Set Free Ministries in Havre, 740 Second St., and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church, 15602 Road 319 South, Box Elder.

G.B. Bruce Meyers, a chaplain and former state representative, said Blancos presents an anti-gang and anti-drug culture lifestyle and message to teens and young adults who are targeted by drug cartels.

“With all that has happened and is currently going on in Box Elder, we need this timely and positive event,” Meyers said. “… His message aims to help our youth avoid harmful drugs and the drug culture lifestyle.”

In the early morning hours of March 28, Darin Benard Caplette, 41, and Thomas Roderick Yallup, 42, were shot to death at the gas pumps of a business in Box Elder in what law enforcement said appears to be a targeted assault.

March 29, Hill County Sheriff’s Office said in a release that Angel Isaiah Castillo Haffley of Corning, California, 18, was arrested for deliberate homicide and Angelo Hawk Sanchez, also of Corning, Calfiornia, 18, was arrested for deliberate homicide by accountability.

A 16-year-old boy also has been arrested for deliberate homicide in connection with the case, Hill County Sheriff and Coroner Jamie Ross said in the release.

According to the state online court record system, charges against Haffley and Sanchez had not been filed as of this morning, but Hill County Commission did approve last week a request from the Hill County Attorney’s Office to receive assistance from the state Attorney General’s Office in prosecuting cases against the three.

Blancas, who will be joined at the revivals by Christian Hip Hop group Broken Chains, has a personal message on drugs, gangs and violence. His website says he was kicked into the streets at the age of 9 and grew up with a notorious gang of assassins.

“He was violent, angry, feared and respected,” the site says. “His ultimate incarceration led to a life-changing decision to leave the gang and ride with his new-found Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

He now is married, has four children and has a ministry through which he evangelizes and “helps this trapped in a cycle of destruction, addiction and violence find a better life through faith in Jesus Christ,” spreading his message across the United States and in Mexico, the site says.

Blancas tells his story in his book, “From the Streets to the Throne.”

Meyers said the message is needed for the entire region.

“This event will hopefully unite all of our Hi-Line communities to be more aware that this is not just a reservation problem,” he said. “Our mantra for these series of harm-reduction events is, ‘Where there is God’s grace there is no race. Drugs do not discriminate and are an equal-opportunity destroyer.’

“We, as Montanans, are all in this together,” Meyers added.