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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Company that proposed community choice aggregation program to Lake County sold
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A company that had proposed to the county of Lake the implementation of a community choice aggregation program to cover utilities in the unincorporated county has been sold.
California Clean Power, based in Windsor, announced last week that it was acquired by Pilot Power Group.
As a result, California Clean Power said it was ceasing operations, with Pilot Power Group to “seamlessly transfer ongoing or outstanding projects” from California Clean Power.
California Clean Power had been pursuing a contract with the county to operate the community choice aggregation program, which allows jurisdictions to generate electricity for businesses and residents, with investor-owned utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric delivering the service through existing utility systems.
Such programs seek to save money for consumers and allow for communities to build portfolios of power sources that include renewables.
Pilot Power Group Chief Financial Officer Denis Vermette said the company is interested in offering the same service to the county of Lake or in putting in a new proposal.
“As it stands right now, it's sort of in their control,” he told Lake County News.
In early 2015, Peter Rumble of California Clean Power first made a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, proposing the contract.
After additional discussions and presentations, in December the board approved issuing a request for proposals from companies to develop a community choice aggregation program.
In March, the board discussed the four requests the county received from California Clean Power, Sonoma Clean Power, Tanoak Energy Advisors and the Energy Authority, as Lake County News has reported.
At that March meeting, the board considered whether or not to move forward and discussed changes to the rules covering such programs that may make them less beneficial, including the ability of utilities to charge increased exit fees, also called power charge indifference adjustments. Approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, those increased fees went into effect Jan. 1.
Despite concerns from then-incoming County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson about the ability of staff to move forward on the proposal, the board wanted to keep its options open and reached consensus to have Huchingson form a consultant selection committee.
In May, Huchingson brought the matter back, outlining her concerns, with the board agreeing to put off pursuing such a program until at least after the new fiscal year budget is complete.
“I explained to the board early on in my administration that my office does not have the capacity to move forward with this project. The project remains on hold,” Huchingson told Lake County News this week.
Rumble told Lake County News that Pilot Power Group is still very much interested in delivering community choice aggregation services to Lake County, “and they are well positioned to do so after the purchase.”
As for Rumble, he said he is moving on and “taking this opportunity to decide what is next.”
Vermette said Pilot Power Group, which has been in the direct access market in California for 15 years, had worked with California Clean Power on various projects prior to the purchase.
He said Pilot Power Group decided to be proactive and acquire California Clean Power's collected assets to make sure they continued.
In addition to acquiring California Clean Power, Vermette said the majority owner of Tanoak Energy Advisors – another of the firms that had proposed to offer community choice aggregation services to Lake County – recently joined Pilot Power Group's team. She previously had acted as a consultant to the firm.
As for whether Pilot Power Group has offered community choice aggregation services, “We have participated in other bidding processes with various other cities and counties,” said Vermette, but so far they have not won a bid on such a project.
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Candidate filing periods for Clearlake, Lakeport city councils set to begin
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With Clearlake and Lakeport scheduled to hold municipal elections this November, the filing period will begin next week for residents wanting to run for seats on those cities' respective councils.
The clerks for both cities reported that nomination papers in the council races will become available on Monday, July 18.
The deadline to file the required paperwork is 5 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12, unless one or more of the incumbents do not file for reelection, in which case the filing period will be extended to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, for non-incumbents, city officials reported.
To be eligible to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, each candidate must be nominated by at least 20 but no more than 30 registered voters.
Because of this requirement, city officials urge candidates to pick up nomination paperwork well in advance of the filing deadline to allow time to gather signatures.
There are three seats up for election on both councils this fall, officials reported.
In Clearlake, up for election are seats currently held by Nick Bennett, Gina Fortino Dickson and Joyce Overton.
Bennett was appointed by the council this spring to complete the remainder of Denise Loustalot's term after she moved outside of the city limits.
He told Lake County News that he intends to run this fall, and that he had committed to do so if he was appointed.
Fortino Dickson this week announced she was resigning her seat effective Aug. 12 due to her family's move out of county, as Lake County has reported.
Overton said she intends to seek a fourth term on the council because she wants to keep the city moving forward in a positive direction.
She said that, with Fortino Dickson leaving and Bennett still new to the post, and fellow council members Russ Perdock and Bruno Sabatier halfway through their first term, she wants to stay on for continuity's sake.
In Lakeport, the seats now held by Kenny Parlet, Martin Scheel and Marc Spillman will be on the ballot.
Parlet, now in his first term, confirmed to Lake County News that he will run again in the fall.
“It's gotten to be a labor of love,” he said of his service on the council.
Spillman announced at the December meeting in which he was appointed mayor that he would not seek reelection when his first term ends this year, and Scheel – also in his first term on the council – is running for the District 4 supervisorial seat, as Lake County News has reported.
Those interested in running for Lakeport City Council are asked to contact Deputy City Clerk Hilary Britton at 707-263-5615, Extension 12, for further information and to set up an appointment to pick up and go over the nomination packet.
In Clearlake, candidate packets will be available in the City Clerk’s Office, 14050 Olympic Drive. Candidates are asked to contact the Deputy City Clerk’s Office at 707-994-820, Extension 111, or via email at
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Lakeport man, accomplice charged in Windsor bank robbery, shooting; authorities connect them to other crimes
NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Thursday, two men – one of them from Lake County – made their first court appearance for a bank robbery and shooting earlier this week, with authorities on the same day saying one or both likely were responsible for other violent crimes around the state, including a June 2015 homicide.
Ivan Morales, 23, of Lakeport and Sergey Gutsu, 24, of Antelope were arraigned on Thursday afternoon in Sonoma County Superior Court, according to Deputy District Attorney Chris Honigsberg.
Authorities say the men were responsible for the Tuesday armed robbery of Windsor's Chase Bank and the shooting of a Loomis armored vehicle guard.
They were captured near Calistoga following a pursuit with a police officer and a manhunt involving numerous law enforcement agencies, as Lake County News has reported.
Both are being held in the Sonoma County Jail in Santa Rosa without bail, according to booking records.
Honigsberg said it was Morales who shot a the armored vehicle guard with a rifle during the robbery.
The guard survived and while authorities have been in contact with his family, on Thursday Honigsberg said he did not have a specific update on the man's condition.
Morales is charged with attempted murder with a firearm and two counts of robbery, one each for the two armored vehicle guards present, Honigsberg said. Each of those three charges also carries a special enhancement of personal use of a firearm causing great bodily injury.
Honigsberg said Gutsu also is charged with attempted murder and two counts of robbery, as well as a special enhancement on each of the charges for possession of a handgun during a crime.
As for reports that the men were driving a vehicle that they had stolen during a carjacking, Honigsberg said they're not facing any such charges in Sonoma County.
On Thursday, Honigsberg couldn't yet say what the connection was between the men, explaining that the investigation is still under way.
Honigsberg said Morales and Gutsu are due to return to court on July 29.
A search of Lake County Superior Court records revealed no criminal cases against Morales.
Additionally, Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told Lake County News that the agency has not had any contacts with him.
However, on Thursday evening, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office released new details about the men that have come to light during their investigation into the bank robbery and shooting.
Sgt. Cecile Focha said the agency's detectives have developed information that Gutsu and Morales were likely involved in other crimes in Southern California.
“Although we cannot divulge specific details of the investigations, we are confident that one or both are responsible for an armored car robbery in Granada Hills and a robbery/homicide in San Dimas,” Focha said.
Focha said the armored car robbery took place in Granada Hills this past March 29, while the robbery and homicide occurred in San Dimas on June 2, 2015.
In the case of the armored car robbery, a masked male subject wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans robbed a Brinks armored truck making a delivery at a CVS store, based on media reports.
The robber reportedly demanded money and the guard's gun before fleeing the scene.
The robbery and homicide in San Dimas claimed the life of 62-year-old Pravin Patel.
Patel, the owner of a Quiznos restaurant, was robbed at gunpoint that afternoon by a man wearing dark clothing and carrying a semiautomatic handgun, according to media reports.
After getting a bag of cash from Patel, the robber left the store. Patel followed him, they struggled in the parking lot and Patel was shot, dying later that night.
The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors later approved a $20,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.
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American Red Cross updates supervisors on Valley fire-related work
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The American Red Cross gave an update to the Board of Supervisors this week regarding its fundraising and recovery activities related to the Valley fire.
Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown asked for the presentation. In response, Trevor Riggen, the regional chief executive officer for the American Red Cross' Northern California Coastal Region, appeared before the board.
Also present at the meeting were American Red Cross California Northwest Executive Director Jeff Baumgartner and Melanie Garrett, the organization's Valley fire disaster recovery manager.
Riggen apologized to the board for not coming sooner to give an update.
He said the organization gets a lot of questions about what it does. “After a disaster our biggest focus is shelter and feeding. That's usually the biggest push right after a disaster.”
That quickly moves into health and mental health support, all of which is done in partnership with community agencies, organizations and schools, he said.
The Red Cross did recovery planning with families as part of its initial assistance, matching them with resources, he said.
That work then moves into long-term recovery, which the Red Cross is still in the midst of now, Riggen said.
To date, the Red Cross has raised $4.5 million for its 2015 California wildfires response, which covered not just the Valley fire but the Butte fire in Calaveras and Amador counties. Of that amount, $2.8 million went toward food, shelter and relief items, Riggen said.
Brown asked about the numbers specific to the Valley fire. Riggen said the numbers he had primarily were part of a combined effort, and it was difficult to separate them out because of the shared management and logistical infrastructure for both incidents.
While the Red Cross has raised $4.5 million to help with the fire response, Riggen said it intends to spend $5.5 million, and has already spent or committed $4.7 million.
Riggen said he estimated that 65 percent of the Red Cross' expenditures from those wildland-fire related funds were for the Valley fire, with the remainder for the Butte fire.
He said the Red Cross provided 87,000 meals and 34,000 bulk items for Valley fire survivors.
Of the $4.7 million spent so far, $2 million was for individual recovery and assistance for survivors of both fires, according to Riggen.
He said the Red Cross opened cases on 1,200 families, or about 2,500 residents of Lake County impacted by the Valley fire, spent $255,000 for health and emotional support and made 6,400 contacts for the Valley fire. The Red Cross partnered with the Center for Independent Living to connect people to resources.
Riggen said the Red Cross policy is when there is money raised in excess of what is spent for response, it goes toward long-term recovery.
As part of that effort, he said the Red Cross began partnering with Team Lake County earlier this year on case management. That partnership offers survivors the ability to go through a process that offers them additional help rebuilding, locating additional housing or other emergency needs.
The process “has moved a bit slower than we had hoped,” he said, explaining that the Red Cross continues to open cases. The plan is to spend more than $435,000 as part of that recovery in Lake County.
Other aspects of the Red Cross recovery work includes offering some mental health assistance to the community through Cobb Mountain Elementary School and hiring Garrett for long-term recovery management, he said.
The case management process has started giving additional assistance and uses a coordinated assistance network. Riggen said they have opened 400 cases, with 400 families registered through Team Lake County.
They're working to establish a client service center in Cobb, have conducted disaster preparedness training and held a preparedness fair at the Hidden Valley Lake Campground, Riggen said.
Riggen said the one year anniversary of such an event tends to be very stressful, and with the anniversary just two months away, they want to make sure they have resources to help the community.
The first priority, Riggen added, is always to get more money in the hands of people who lost their homes.
The Red Cross also is taking additional actions to get ready for the upcoming fire season. “We realized we weren't quite where we wanted to be headed into last fire season,” said Riggen.
The money raised for the wildland fire response is not being used for that preparation, he added.
In addition to hiring Garrett on an 18-month assignment, Riggen said the Red Cross has identified several new Lake County volunteers. “The locals are the most powerful assets we have,” he said.
Riggen said the Red Cross also has placed an additional emergency response vehicle in Lake County and recruited additional drivers, while ramping up efforts to train locally in shelter operations. The local volunteers “know their neighbors best.”
The organization's preparedness has included confirming shelter locations in Middletown – specifically, Twin Pine Casino – as well as in Lakeport and Lower Lake. Riggen said the Red Cross continues to work with the county and emergency service agencies across the area to ensure they're ramped up and ready in the event of another disaster.
He noted that while Garrett's position is for 18 months initially, recovery is likely to take longer.
Based on his experience, “There is always a ragged edge to recovery.”
For some families, they may not be ready for assistance until a year after the fire. “We'll continue to be there” and have resources plugged in and waiting, Riggen said.
Brown asked if the organization had met all of its obligations to the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, which had sheltered hundreds of Valley fire evacuees.
Riggen said he was following up on reports that the fairgrounds had lost revenue – totaling about $57,000 – during the Red Cross sheltering operations. The Red Cross, he added, doesn't traditionally reimburse for lost revenue.
Supervisor Jeff Smith pointed out that the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake – which was the location of a county-run Valley fire shelter – also lost revenue, primarily in the form of its main annual fundraiser that was scheduled for that time.
Brown said he believed there was insurance specifically to cover those kinds of losses.
He thanked Riggen for the update and added that he appreciated working with Garrett on recovery-related issues.
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