John Clarke returns as Wine Auction's signature artist

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Wine Alliance is proud to announce that the work of noted Lake County artist John R. Clarke will once again be featured on this year's event poster.

Over the past 13 years, Clarke has captured both the essence of the events venues and of Lake County itself.

This year the magical light of Brassfield Winery in the High Valley region of Lake County seems especially appropriate for Clarke's unique style of work.

In the coming months, copies this new poster will go on sale at winery tasting rooms, other venues around the county and at a series of special events where Clarke will sign copies.

This year's poster may be purchased for $20 with proceeds going to the beneficiary organizations and programs associated with The Lake County Wine Alliance.

Clarke, a former anesthesiologist, has been painting on silk since 1994. Each year he has created an original piece of art for use as a poster by the Wine Alliance.

The original painting will be on view at the Saw Shop Bistro in Kelseyville.

Then on Sept. 15 it will be among the special items up for bid during the live auction of the gala charity event.

This is the 13th year that the Lake County Wine Alliance has sponsored this major fundraising event in support of the arts, health and community in Lake County.

In that time, more than $896,000 has been raised for local programs.

Tickets for the Wine Auction, at $150 per person, are available by calling the Wine Alliance at 866-279-WINE or online at www.winealliance.orgwww.winealliance.org .

Clearlake man wins murder conviction appeal

LAKE COUNTY – A Clearlake man found guilty in Sonoma County of second degree murder had his conviction overturned in the state's First Appellate District Court.

Lance Ernest Laumann, 52, won the decision on Feb. 16, according to court documents, after the judges ruled his conviction was based on an improper legal theory.

Laumann was convicted in 1999 of several charges, chief among them second degree murder for the death of his girlfriend, Sandra “May” Lyndall, who died while Laumann was attempting to escape from police.

He also was convicted of vehicular manslaughter, evasion of a police officer, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and several drug offenses.

In April 1999, Sonoma County officials found a loaded sawed-off rifle and the components of a methamphetamine laboratory in a car linked to Laumann.

The next month, during an early morning traffic stop, Laumann sped away from police. He led them on a high-speed chase reaching speeds of 70 to 80 miles per hour before crashing his car.

Lyndall, who was riding in the car with him, was ejected from the vehicle during the collision and later died.

Court documents say that the second-degree felony murder conviction against Laumann was predicated on his attempt to evade police, which prosecutors claimed caused him to drive in a “willful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property while fleeing from the police,” according to Vehicle Code Section 2800.2.

Laumann was sentenced to 30 years to life – 15 years to life for second degree murder and 15 years for the other offenses. He has been serving time in San Quentin State Prison.

Since his conviction, Laumann had repeatedly made appeals at the appellate and state Supreme Court levels. Among his arguments was that Vehicle Code Section 2800.2 was not an inherently dangerous felony under the felony murder rule, and thus could not be a predicate felony for second degree felony murder, according to court documents.

Both the appellate and Supreme Court upheld his conviction. Then, in January 2005, in reviewing another case, the Supreme Court concluded that section 2800.2 can't serve as the basis for a valid theory of second degree felony murder.

In November 2006, Laumann filed another appeal based on the January 2005 ruling. That appeal resulted in the Feb. 16 ruling.

In addition to finding that Laumann's murder conviction was based on an invalid theory, the court ruled that the jury in Laumann's trial was not instructed on the elements of implied malice necessary for a second degree murder conviction.

The court ruled that Laumann's case be remanded to the trial court in Sonoma County for further proceedings, which could include retrial under a valid murder theory or resentencing.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Young businessman called away to war

Bryon Martinez, in the foreground, and his staff at work at Firehouse Pizza. Photo by John Jensen.

LUCERNE – Starting a business is, by itself, one of the biggest challenges anyone can face.

But imagine you've just started a new business, you have a small child and a baby on the way, and you find yourself called to go to war overseas.

That's what happened recently to Bryon Martinez, who opened Firehouse Pizza in Lucerne earlier this month.

Martinez, 23, was raised in the Corning area, and has worked in food service, particularly pizza restaurants, since he was a teenager.

He started going to community college to study business, and joined the Army National Guard to help finance his education.

His original assignment in the guard was to have been in San Diego, patrolling the border. Martinez said that assignment was called off.

Eventually, though, Martinez said he dropped out of school because his goal was to open a pizza parlor.

As he was driving through Lake County last year he passed through Lucerne and saw the former Paradise Pizza parlor, at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Highway 20, sitting empty. The name caught his eye because he had wanted to have a pizza parlor with just that title.

So he, along with his wife, Sabrina, and their friends, started putting the restaurant that came to be known as Firehouse Pizza together. It opened at the start of February and has received a warm response from the community.

Shortly after he signed the two-year lease for the building, Martinez called the guard to request a leave of absence.

That's when he was told that his name was on a deployment roster for Iraq.

Martinez is a member of a combat engineer unit based in Redding, which specializes in clearing roads of improvised explosive devices – IEDs – the homemade bombs which have proved especially deadly for U.S. soldiers and Iraqis during the Iraq War.

He was told to attend a pre-deployment conference at Camp Roberts near San Luis Obispo, which was taking place in the middle of the restaurant's opening week. Martinez said he managed to get a waiver from attending because of his business commitment.

Martinez leaves for training March 2, and will ship out to Iraq in May. He's hoping that he'll still be home for the birth of his second child, due that month. He and Sabrina also have a 5-year-old son, Kameron.

Last Saturday, a group of local veterans and military supporters gathered at the restaurant for a social night to support Martinez and his business.

Martinez said he expects to be gone about 18 months. While he's gone, his friends, brothers Thomas and Cisco Bobadilla, will run the restaurant for him.

Firehouse Pizza's hours are 2 to 9 p.m. during winter, with summer hours set for 2 to 10 p.m. The menu includes pizza, salads, wings, burgers and sandwiches, with wine and beer scheduled to be added early next month.

The restaurant, located at 6232 E. Highway 20, can be reached at 274-7117.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A group of local veterans gathered for a social night at the restaurant Feb. 17. Bryon and Sabrina Martinez are seated in the front row. Photo courtesy of Ginny Craven.

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