How to resolve AdBlock issue? Clearlake Police Department issues update on bank robbery
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday afternoon the Clearlake Police Department released additional details on a bank robbery that occurred in the city earlier in the day.
Sgt. Rodd Joseph said the agency's officers responded to Bank of the West, located at 15050 Olympic Drive, on a report of an armed robbery at approximately 9:41 a.m.
Joseph said bank employees described a vehicle that was possibly connected to the robbery as a gold-colored SUV, similar to but not necessarily a Toyota 4Runner, which was last seen fleeing the scene north on Washington Street.
He said witnesses described the subjects who committed the robbery as a male and female pair wearing black hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses. The male subject was seen armed with a handgun.
Officers immediately began searching the area for any similar vehicles. From tire prints found near the scene, officers believe the gold SUV headed eastbound on Turner Street from Washington Street, Joseph said.
Joseph said the subjects managed to steal an undetermined amount of money from the bank.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been notified and will be assisting in this investigation, Joseph said.
Anyone with information on this robbery is urged to contact Officer Joseph Myers at 707-994-8251, Extension 505.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Police investigate Clearlake Bank of the West robbery
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Police officers are working to identify and locate the two people responsible for a Wednesday morning bank robbery.
The robbery took place around mid-morning at Bank of the West, located at 15050 Olympic Drive.
Sgt. Rodd Joseph said the two subjects who held the bank up were described as a white male adult and a white or Hispanic female adult.
Both subjects were wearing dark clothing and sunglasses, he said.
Joseph said police believe the two people responsible for the robbery are armed and dangerous, as a handgun was displayed during the robbery.
The two subjects fled the scene northbound in a gold SUV, similar to a Toyota 4Runner, Joseph said.
If they're seen, do not approach them. Instead, Joseph said to call 911 or your local law enforcement agency.
Police were at the bank for about two hours, processing the scene, taking fingerprints and interviewing witnesses.
The Clearlake Police Department is the lead agency on the case, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation also called in, Joseph said.
Joseph anticipated releasing further details about the robbery later on Wednesday.
Bank of the West previously was hit by a robbery in December 2006, as Lake County News has reported.
The man arrested for the 2006 robbery, Jonathan Mota, is now facing trial for the January 2013 murder of Forrest Seagrave, an employee at Mt. Konocti Gas and Mart in Kelseyville convenience store, who reportedly tried to stop Mota during an armed robbery of the store.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Lake County Sheriff's Office assists on regional missing child case
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Lake County Sheriff's Office is among a host of agencies assisting Shasta County authorities in investigating the disappearance of a 6-month-old girl.
The case involving Ember Graham was reported earlier this week, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.
Just before 5:30 a.m. Thursday 24-year-old Matthew Graham called 911 to report his daughter missing from his residence in Happy Valley.
Graham told authorities that he last saw the baby at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, and when he woke up at 5 a.m. Thursday she was missing from her crib.
Shasta County Sheriff’s investigators interviewed family members – including Matthew Graham and Jamie Lee Graham, the baby's 19-year-old mother – and searched the area surrounding the residence where she was last seen.
The agency also deployed a multitude of various agencies, including the Child Abduction Response Unit, Shasta County Search and Rescue, California Office of Emergency Services, Redding Police, Anderson Police, California Highway Patrol, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, Shasta County District Attorney’s Office and Shasta County Child Family Services.
An Amber Alert was not issued in this case due to the lack of information needed to meet the criteria, such as a witness to the incident, a suspect or a suspect vehicle, authorities said.
On Friday, authorities said Matthew Graham was identified as a person of interest in the case. The Shasta County Sheriff's Office report said he had given inconsistent statements to investigators about the child's disappearance.
That led investigators to shift their focus from the area near Graham's home to the Clear Creek Road area – from Cloverdale Road east to Hwy 273 – also in Happy Valley.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said it has increased the number of outside agencies to assist in the search for the missing infant, with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Napa County Sheriff’s Office, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office and Glenn County Sheriff’s Office joining the effort.
Investigators releasing a photograph of Matthew Graham’s pickup truck and are asking the public if anyone has seen the vehicle parked or driving in the Clear Creek Road area in Shasta County on Wednesday evening.
The vehicle is described as a 1990 dark blue, full-size extra cab, Chevrolet fleet side pickup with flat black paint on the side panels, black rims, no license plates and a cow bell hanging underneath the front bumper.
Shasta County Secret Witness has sent out a new reward posting up to $10,000 offered to anyone who could provide information on Ember Graham’s whereabouts or information about what lead to her disappearance.
Graham was brought into the Shasta County Jail by sheriff’s Investigators Thursday evening for a no-bail felony probation violation after he failed to disclose medication he took, pursuant to his probation terms. His probation stems from a driving under the influence and forgery conviction, officials said.
Graham has not been charged with any crimes related to the disappearance of his daughter, officials said.
Ember Graham is considered to be missing and at risk due to a seizure disorder. According to family members, the child needs medications for her condition.
Anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of Ember Graham is asked to contact the Shasta County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 530-245-6135 or Sheriff’s Records at 530-245-6025.
Information also can be sent to the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Police, DA's office investigate Thursday Clearlake homicide
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police and members of the Lake County District Attorney's Office are investigating a homicide that occurred in Clearlake on Thursday afternoon.
Clearlake Police Sgt. Nick Bennett said that at approximately 3:40 p.m. Thursday police officers were dispatched to the 15000 block of 35th Avenue on a report of shots fired.
Bennett said officers arriving on scene located an individual who had suffered unknown injuries.
The victim was treated at the scene by medical personnel and transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, where he died. The cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy, Bennett said.
Bennett said the name of the victim is not being released at this time pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.
Witnesses at the scene provided a description of a vehicle seen leaving the scene of the incident, according to Bennett.
The investigation conducted by Clearlake Police officers and detectives developed a person of interest in the case, Bennett said.
Bennett said late Thursday that the investigation is still ongoing pending further developments.
He said the homicide is being investigated by the Clearlake Police Department with assistance from the Lake County District Attorney's Office Investigations Unit.
Any person with information in relation to this case is encouraged to contact Det. Ryan Peterson at the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 320.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
REGIONAL: Appellate court orders retrial or reduced charges in 2011 Lake Mendocino murder case
NORTH COAST, Calif. – An appellate court decision handed down this week could result in a retrial or reduced murder convictions for two men sent to prison for a 2011 homicide.
In a published decision filed Tuesday in San Francisco, a three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal reversed one of several convictions entered in 2012 by the Mendocino County Superior Court against Marvin Douglas Johnson Jr., 36, and Simon Thornton, 26, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.
At times referred to as the Bushay Campground murder case, Johnson and Thornton are the defendants convicted of murdering Joe Litteral in 2011 at Lake Mendocino, along with attempting the murder of another man and the attempted kidnapping of Johnson's estranged wife, officials said.
Johnson and Thornton were sentenced to and are currently serving sentences of 25 years to life and 34 years to life, respectively, the district attorney's office said.
In its lengthy and at times highly technical decision, the Court of Appeal held that one of the many instructions used by the trial judge to instruct the jury on the law had the potential of being misunderstood by the jury in regards to the first degree murder conviction.
That notwithstanding, the appellate court affirmed each conviction of these defendants for attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.
According to the decision, “Unless the prosecution brings each defendant to trial within the period prescribed by law ..., the trial court shall proceed as though the judgment on appeal had been reduced on count 1 to second degree murder for each defendant.”
The court’s decision is currently under review by Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster and his senior staff.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
