How to resolve AdBlock issue? Sheriff's office investigates Tuesday night Spring Valley stabbing
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Authorities are investigating the circumstances behind a Tuesday night stabbing that occurred in Spring Valley.
Lt. Steve Brooks said that at approximately 9:45 p.m. deputies responded to a residence located in the 17000 block of Acacia Way in Clearlake Oaks for a reported stabbing.
When deputies arrived they located the victim, who appeared to be suffering from multiple puncture wounds, Brooks said.
The victim said that just prior to the incident he was standing outside in front of his residence when he noticed two male adults walking towards him from the street, according to Brooks' report.
Brooks said the victim described one of the subjects as being a Hispanic male, approximately 30 years old, who was wearing a blue hoodie. The other subject was described as being an African- American male, approximately 30 years old, who was bald with a goatee and wearing a blue shirt.
The victim said he had never seen either subject before as they walked towards him. He also said that neither of the subjects said anything as they walked up and started assaulting him, Brooks reported.
Brooks said the victim told the deputies that he knew he had been stabbed, but did not know who had stabbed him or what type of weapon was used. He did notice that both subjects ran down the street, towards the Spring Valley Pantry.
Medical personnel arrived on scene and had the victim transported to a trauma center outside of Lake County due to the seriousness of his injuries, Brooks said.
Deputies also contacted witnesses who were at the residence during the assault, Brooks said. The witnesses said the suspects pushed the victim into his residence, which is where the assault occurred.
Brooks said the suspects held multiple witnesses inside the residence while they were attacking the victim and would not let them leave. The witnesses were able to escape while the suspects’ attention was diverted.
Deputies conducted a search of the area and were unable to locate the suspects. They did locate and seize evidence during the course of their investigation, Brooks said.
According to Brooks' report, the deputies also noticed that the victim was growing dozens of marijuana plants in the backyard.
This case is currently under investigation and if anyone has additional information as to the identity of the suspects, they are urged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690.
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Police arrest man for meth possession, warrant
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Police arrested a man on Monday who was found to be in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine.
Rafael Garcia Jr., 40, was booked into the Lake County Jail on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant and a felony charge of possession of controlled substances for sale charge, according to jail records.
Detective Sgt. Nick Bennett said that at approximately 12:22 p.m. Monday Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Hobbs conducted a traffic stop in the area of 38th Avenue and Oak Avenue.
The driver of the vehicle – Garcia, who gave his address as Los Angeles – was found to have an outstanding warrant for traffic violations, Bennett said.
Bennett said that while Garcia was being taken into custody, officers observed what appeared to be narcotics in the vehicle next to where Garcia was sitting.
A check of the suspected narcotics confirmed it was methamphetamine and when weighted, was more than 3 ounces, Bennett said.
Bennett said Garcia also was in possession of a large amount of currency which was seized per narcotic asset forfeiture.
Garcia was booked into Lake County Jail, with bail set at $25,000.
Jail records indicated that Garcia – whose booking sheet says he lives in Clearlake – later posted the required percentage of bail and was released.
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Police investigate fatal Monday shooting in Clearlake
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is investigating a fatal Monday morning shooting.
Detective Sgt. Nick Bennett said that at approximately 10:14 a.m. Clearlake Police officers responded to the 14000 Block of Woodland Drive on a report of shots fired.
Officers arriving on scene located an individual who had suffered gunshot injuries. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene by paramedics, Bennett said.
Bennett said a vehicle of interest in the shooting is a white Ford pickup, standard cab, with a USA sticker on both rear quarter panels.
The motive for the homicide is unknown, however there was a significant marijuana grow at the rear of the residence where the victim resided, Bennett said.
The name of the victim is not being released at this time pending positive identification and notification of next of kin, according to Bennett.
Any person with information in relation to this case is encouraged to contact Det. Elvis Cook at the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 315.
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Military team detonates old military ordnance brought to Lakeport Police Department
LAKEPORT, Calif. – An old military explosive that a community member brought to the Lakeport Police Department on Monday morning caused a temporary closure of police headquarters but later in the day was safely detonated at another location, the city's police chief said.
The item's disposal on Monday afternoon allowed the police department to once again reopen to the public after a closure of several hours, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
Just after 9 a.m. Monday, a local woman arrived at the Lakeport Police Department on 916 N. Forbes St. with an old piece of military ordnance, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the woman was hoping police would be able to get rid of the item. “It was something that had been in her family for quite some time,” said Rasmussen.
While the woman wasn't aware that it was dangerous, she no longer wanted it in her house, he said.
The item, which Rasmussen said was smaller than a travel coffee mug, was thought by the woman to be some kind of big bullet.
“We recognized right away that it was a very old military ordnance,” said Rasmussen.
The shell didn't have any marks on it, leading officers to determine that it was a live, unfired round and not a type of replica. He said they subsequently evacuated the police department and parking lot, keeping the ordnance in a secure area of the building.
Police would later follow up with the family that had the ordnance to get more information about it, Rasmussen said.
Based on that additional information and research police did during the day, Rasmussen said they concluded that the item was possibly a century-old French-made 37 millimeter shell that came from World War I.
With an item that old, Rasmussen said the concern is that it is potentially unstable, and could explode if it's handled too roughly or dropped.
“That's why we got concerned,” said Rasmussen.
Initially, Rasmussen said the Lakeport Police Department contacted the Napa County Sheriff's Office bomb squad, which often responds to issues in Lake County regarding possible explosive devices.
“We wanted to get it rendered safe and destroyed,” Rasmussen explained.
However, after the item was described to the Napa County officials, they urged Lakeport Police to instead contact a military explosives unit, according to Rasmussen.
Ultimately, the 9th Civil Engineering Squadron from Beale Air Force Base responded, Rasmussen said.
The 400-plus member squadron's Web page lists explosive ordnance disposal and emergency management among its specialties.
After a team from the squadron was cleared to respond, it arrived at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said a safety briefing was held that included the squadron, Lakeport Police, Lakeport Fire, Lakeport Public Works and Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe.
At that point they determined the best location to detonate the object was at the city's sewer treatment ponds, which are located on the outskirts of the city, Rasmussen said.
“We found a safe spot over there,” Rasmussen said, adding they made sure the detonation wouldn't create a fire hazard.
Rasmussen said officers gave the team a police escort out to the site, where the squadron got down to the business of detonating the item. That included placing a very long fuse on the ordnance so team members could safely get away before the explosion.
“They did a phenomenal job on exploding it,” said Rasmussen, noting that the team completely disintegrated the shell, and the entire operation was very smooth.
Rasmussen was not on scene for the detonation, but he said his officers described it has having a big boom, with a strong concussion.
Residents in some areas nearby reported hearing the boom when the ordnance was detonated.
Rasmussen said the Beale squadron members told police that the item was an anti-aircraft round.
During World War I, aircraft were becoming an important new tool in warfare. While petite by modern standards, the shell still likely would have felled the kinds of smaller planes – primarily made of canvas over wood frames – commonly flown at that time by the war's famed pilots like Manfred von Richthofen, known as the “Red Baron.”
The 9th Civil Engineering Squadron members told police and that they recently had dealt with an almost identical piece of ordnance, which had been found at a residence in another part of California, Rasmussen said.
Cases of old military ordnance being found in homes or brought to police stations, Rasmussen noted, are not uncommon.
He pointed to the discovery last week of World War II-era grenades and mortars in a Palo Alto home that caused some evacuations of homes while the Santa Clara County bomb squad responded to detonate the items.
In February 2013, the Lakeport Police Department also dealt with an inert mortar found in a package at the UPS customer service center on Craig Avenue, which the Napa County bomb squad handled, as Lake County News has reported.
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Jerusalem fire grows; sheriff's office issues advisory evacuation order
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the Jerusalem fire continuing to grow, authorities have issued an advisory evacuation order for additional homes in the area after some mandatory evacuations were implemented on Sunday due to the blaze.
Just before 7 p.m. Monday, Cal Fire reported that the Jerusalem fire, which began burning in the Jerusalem Valley area northeast of Middletown on Sunday afternoon, had grown to 6,000 acres, with no containment.
Cal Fire said erratic winds are contributing to the increased fire activity and promoting high intensity runs with short range spotting.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said the fire is currently traveling in a northeast direction and, as a result, the sheriff's office has issued an advisory for the possible evacuation of the area.
The advisory includes:
– Grange Road from Luchetti Ranch Road east to Bucksnort Creek;
– Butts Canyon Road from Bucksnort Creek east to the Napa County line;
– Morgan Valley Road from the Reiff Road intersection east to the Napa County line; and
– Reiff Road from the Morgan Valley Road intersection east to the Yolo County line.
Additionally, Brooks said road closures are in effect in the following areas:
– Morgan Valley Road is closed east of the intersection of Reiff Road to the Napa County line;
– Reiff Road is closed south of the intersection of Morgan Valley Road to the Napa County line.
An evacuation advisory is not a mandatory evacuation, but it is strongly recommended, Brooks said.
Under the advisory, authorities advise residents to gather their medications, pets and important papers, and be prepared to leave the area with little notice.
If residents are evacuated they may seek shelter at the Middletown High School, 20932 Big Canyon Road, telephone 415-307-4503.
Cal Fire said mandatory evacuations issued on Sunday for the Jerusalem fire remain in place for the Jerusalem Valley area east of Spruce Grove, including Tinilyn Road, Nicholas Way, Jaclyn Road, June Bug Drive, Jerusalem Grade, Jerusalem Valley Road, Jerusalem Road, W Jerusalem Road, Canyon Road, Coon Flat Road and Daly Place.
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