How to resolve AdBlock issue? Supervisors to discuss undersheriff appointment, new board meeting locations
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will discuss the proposed permanent appointment of the county's undersheriff and meeting in other locations around the county.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 with the video available online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/calendar.htm . Accompanying board documents and the agenda also are available at that link.
Sheriff Brian Martin will take to the board his proposal to appoint Capt. Chris Macedo as his undersheriff.
Macedo has filled the job on an interim basis since last May, “and it is my intention to make the appointment permanent,” Martin wrote in a memo to the board.
“A hiring waiver has been received from the County Administrative Office, and the appointment is supported by the Human Resources Director,” Martin wrote. “Upon your approval, this appointment will be effective immediately.”
In other untimed items on Tuesday, the board will discuss canceling three regular board meetings – one each in February, March and April – as a result of its decision last week to reduce the number of monthly meetings to three.
In addition, the board will consider holding its Feb. 24 meeting in the evening in Middletown and look at holding other future meetings in other locations around the county.
Also on Tuesday, the board will get a review and status update on the shelter hours for Lake County Animal Care and Control, and consider an agreement between Northcoast Tree Care for removal of blue oak tree at Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum and appropriation of $8,000 in the county parks budget to restore sufficient funding.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held Jan. 20, 2015.
7.2: Adopt resolution pertaining to tax revenue exchange between the county of Lake and Callayomi County Water District in regards to Forni-Gemperline Annexation providing for no changes in allocation of property taxes.
7.3: Adopt resolution approving the application and certification statement for the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health grant with the State of California, Department of Public Health for fiscal year 2014-15, and authorizing the board chair to sign said certification.
NONTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Consideration of canceling three regular meetings of the Board of Supervisors, one each in February, March and April 2015.
9.3: Consideration of holding a Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 24, 2015, in the evening in Middletown and consideration of holding any other future Board of Supervisors meetings in locations other than the courthouse in Lakeport.
9.4: Review and status update of animal shelter hours.
9.5: Consideration of a resolution Amending Resolution No. 2014-112 establishing position allocations for fiscal year 2014-15, Budget Unit No. 4014, Behavioral Health and Budget Unit No. 4015, Alcohol and Other Drug Services.
9.6: Consideration of appointment of undersheriff.
9.7: Consideration of Agreement between Northcoast Tree Care for removal of blue oak tree at Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum and appropriation of $8,000 in Parks budget to restore sufficient funding.
CLOSED SESSION
10.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Rivero v. Lake County Board of Supervisors, et al.
10.3: Conference with Legal Counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Fowler & Ford v. County of Lake.
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Parolee arrested after leading police on vehicle pursuit through Clearlake
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Santa Rosa man was arrested on Saturday night after he led Clearlake Police officers on a chase in a stolen vehicle.
Henry Hanalei Hikalea, 33, was taken into custody for an outstanding felony warrant, as well as felony charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, felony evading and assault on a police officer, according to Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.
Shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday Clearlake Police Officer Trevor Franklin made a traffic stop on a 2013 Nissan for driving recklessly in the area of Cottonwood Street and Walnut Avenue, Celli said.
When Officer Franklin approached the vehicle, the driver – who was not known to the officer at the time – sped away at a high rate of speed, according to Celli.
Franklin made his way back to his patrol vehicle and pursued the driver, who Celli said later was identified as Hikalea.
Hikalea was discovered to be a parolee at large. In addition, shortly after the pursuit began, officers were notified by dispatch that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Santa Rosa, Celli said.
Celli said additional Clearlake Police officers joined in the pursuit. Hikalea led officers through the city of Clearlake and up onto Highway 53, with speeds sometimes reaching 100 miles per hour.
Hikalea continued back into the city of Clearlake, driving – according to Celli – “with complete disregard for public safety” and reaching speeds of up to 60 miles per hour on surface streets for just over seven miles.
When the pursuit reached the area of Lakeshore Drive and Villa Way, Hikalea rammed his vehicle into Sgt. Dominic Ramirez’s patrol vehicle, Celli said. At that point officers used police intervention to bring Hikalea’s vehicle to a stop.
Once Hikalea’s vehicle was stopped officers took him into custody without further incident, Celli said.
Altogether two Clearlake Police vehicles and the stolen vehicle were damaged in the incident, but Celli said no one was injured.
Hikalea later was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons and then booked in the Lake County Jail, Celli said.
Jail records indicated that Hikalea was being held without bail due to a felony parole violation.
Celli said the California Highway Patrol was requested to respond to the scene for assistance and diagramming. Lakeshore Drive at Villa Way was closed for approximately one hour during the investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Officer Trevor Franklin at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.
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Lakeport school officials, police discuss bomb hoax, student safety at community meeting
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport Police and Lakeport Unified School District officials hosted a community meeting Thursday night in an effort to offer more information and answer questions about a bomb hoax at the district last week.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Hagberg led the hour-and-a-half-long meeting attended by more than 70 people at Lakeport Elementary School.
Community leaders and officials who attended included Lakeport Mayor Martin Scheel, city council members Stacey Mattina and Mireya Turner, Lakeport Unified Board President Phil Kirby, Clear Lake High School Principal Steve Gentry, Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe, and Lakeport Police Lt. Jason Ferguson, acting Sgt. Gary Basor and Officer Tyler Trouette.
Shortly before 2 p.m. Jan. 14, two threat calls were made to Clear Lake High School. According to police, the calls – made from a Skype default number assigned to Bakersfield – threatened that someone was coming to the school with an Uzi machine gun and that at 5 p.m. that day chemicals and bombs would be dropped at the school.
Police determined the calls to be hoaxes and at that point no action was taken to lockdown the campus or notify parents.
That night, the bomb threat took another turn.
Hagberg told Lake County News that the janitors saw a suspicious person in dark clothing on the campus that night and subsequently found packages – which police said were three boxes wrapped with plastic and black tape – near the Marge Alakszay Center.
Shortly before 8:45 p.m. police were dispatched back to the district campus on the report of those found packages, police said.
Over the next several hours Lakeport Police – assisted by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Lakeport Fire Department, Lakeport Public Works Department and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad – secured the campus, with the bomb squad performing controlled explosions on the packages, which were determined not to be bombs.
Basor said at the Thursday meeting that after Lakeport Unified's schools were cleared, Lake County Sheriff's deputies then went to all schools in the county to search them and make sure they were cleared.
On the morning of Jan. 15, police secured a search warrant that was served at a north Lakeport home, where two 17-year-old brothers were arrested on felony counts of terrorist threats, threatening to place a bomb at the location and placing a false bomb at the location, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a lethal weapon on school grounds, as Lake County News has reported.
Police are continuing to investigate the threat calls, reporting that similar calls were made from the same Skype number to high schools in Oceanside, Calif., in Michigan and Marysville, Wash. – the latter having been the site of a fatal school shooting last October.
Rasmussen told Lake County News on Thursday that the two juvenile suspects remained in custody, with the case forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office.
He also confirmed that the investigation – which is continuing – involves local law enforcement agencies in several states and federal authorities.
Hagberg informed parents at the Thursday meeting that the recently passed $17 million school bond will make possible one of the district’s long-time security goals – installing security cameras on the campus.
Explaining the response
“I want you to know how grateful we are that last week's incident was a hoax and fortunately nobody was harmed,” Hagberg told parents and community members.
“There's a lot of emotion around this topic tonight because we all love our kids and the possibility of school violence is terribly frightening,” she said.
She emphasized that the district takes very seriously its responsibility to keep its students safe.
Rasmussen said the meeting wasn't necessary to discuss the specifics of the investigation – which he said was ongoing, with details still privileged – but rather was an opportunity to discuss the police department’s and the district's efforts to review the response and school safety plans, and make necessary adjustments.
“We want to do that in the interest of protecting our students today, tomorrow and into the future,” he said.
Hagberg gave a review of the district's safety plan, which she said every district in the state is required to have in place. What's unique about Lakeport Unified is that all of its schools are on one campus – which Hagberg considers a plus.
She said every one of the district's schools is responsible for creating its own safety plan, with the schools conducting evacuation, intruder and fire drills on a regular basis, sometimes independent and sometimes in coordination with the rest of the district.
The district's safety committee meets once a month, Hagberg said. They are now talking about adding a teacher to the group, which occasionally hosts a member of law enforcement. Student members from the junior and high schools have been added, as Hagberg said a student perspective is important.
Over the last few years the school district has made safety upgrades, which Hagberg said included installing new door knobs so teachers can quickly lock doors, as well as classroom window coverings in case of a lockdown.
School intercoms and phone systems are checked regularly, staffers wear identification picture badges and visitors – including parents simply stopping by to drop off a lunch – are asked to sign in with administration and get a visitor badge, Hagberg said.
In describing the bomb hoax that occurred on Jan. 14, Hagberg noted, “The police department stepped in very quickly, and I'm grateful for that.”
At around 1:45 p.m. Jan. 14, Clear Lake High School received the first of the two threat calls, with the second call coming in shortly afterward, Hagberg said.
Hagberg and Gentry were out of the office, so the threat was handled by the assistant principal and secretary. “The first thing they did was they called the police” Hagberg said.
Rasmussen said the investigation is ongoing. “There is a considerable amount of work still pending,” he said, explaining that just because an arrest has been made doesn't mean the investigation is over.
He said a Lakeport Police officer who was dispatched to the school on the report of the threat made contact with the administration and, based on the credibility and context of the threats, determined that an evacuation of the school was not necessary.
“We're always going to consider the safety of the school and the students, that's No. 1,” Rasmussen said.
Police quickly determined that the number used to place the threat class was a cyber trunk number, or a ghost number, that isn't tied to anyone or any particular place, just a location. In this case, Rasmussen said the location the number was tied to was Bakersfield, with the number in question commonly used by cybercriminals for scams and hoax threats.
Assessing the risk
Basor, Lakeport Police's emergency response expert, explained the threat assessment process that was used.
When such an incident occurs, Basor said police use several matrixes to assess the threat, with the process offering different courses of action.
At the time the janitors found the packages, Basor – who was first on scene in response to the package discovery – said the school was unoccupied, other than janitorial staff and a few students. He said that the staff and few remaining students were told to leave immediately and police created safety zones.
Rasmussen said police set up inner and outer perimeters, including an 1,800-foot safety perimeter around the school, with streets monitored or blocked. He said they knew that if it was a real bomb, that perimeter was large enough that it couldn't reach the community.
With the situation taking place late at night, “We didn't want to create panic,” said Rasmussen, who explained that there were concerns about putting out information and having people coming to the scene. “We could not risk that.”
Police instead concentrated on dealing with the packages, including requesting the Napa County Bomb Squad to come and examine them. After an hour-and-a-half-long assessment, the bomb squad couldn't be sure the items were not bombs, and so they carried out controlled explosions to render them safe, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen explained during the meeting that the controlled explosion allows police to still recover evidence – if the item isn't an actual bomb.
He said police got a lead and enough evidence that they were confident they knew where the packages came from, so they set about writing a search warrant. By that point it was early on the morning of Jan. 15, and Rasmussen said police didn't want to put out information while they were tracking a suspect and risk losing evidence.
Police also were on the phone all night with Hagberg, keeping her up-to-date on the developments, he said.
Throughout the night they were considering whether school should be closed Jan. 15, but ultimately they were confident that there was no danger to the school or students, Rasmussen said.
Hagberg said the decision on whether or not there would be school that day ultimately was the district's, and once police assured her it was safe she believed having school take place was the best thing.
Part of the training she's had in assessing risk to schools in such circumstances, Hagberg explained, is that it's best not to let a hoax interrupt school. “That is part of the intent of a hoax” – to cause fear and cancel school, she said.
Basor said the school was thoroughly searched and cleared with the help of the Napa County Bomb Squad. He said he had concluded the school was safe, and told Ferguson that closing school wasn't necessary.
As for moving forward and lessons learned, Hagberg said she is glad to have had the experience in order to know what to do different next time.
She expressed her gratitude to the Lakeport Police Department as well as to the two school custodians who found the packages and quickly reported them.
Hagberg said she also was glad the hoax didn't interrupt the learning environment, noting it was important for students to be able to move on.
She's since met with school site principals, the district safety committee, staff and police, and fielded calls and emails from parents. As a result they're identifying process changes.
The main feedback Hagberg said she got back was not so much about safety risk as a lack of communication, with parents expressing their desire to have been notified sooner.
Subsequently, the district has reviewed its school messenger system and realized it didn't have a lot of accurate phone numbers and emails for parents, so they're looking at establishing an additional text message system. Using a combination of all of those messaging systems, Hagberg said they hope to reach everyone.
Hagberg said the district also is subscribing to a tip line that will allow children and adults to report threats or suspicious incident anonymously.
The district also will be sending out a survey to parents to ask them how they believe school safety can be improved.
Rasmussen said police and district officials wanted to hear the people's concerns, and he encouraged community members to continue to work with the police and the school in the interest of safety.
“If you see something, say something,” he said.
He said sometimes people are hesitant to report things, believing they're wasting police's time. However, Rasmussen said that isn't true, and such information could be helpful.
Fielding questions
During the meeting's last hour, officials fielded questions submitted on index cards from community members, with some people asking questions directly from the audience at the end of the event.
A number of those questions asked pointedly about aspects of the investigation and the suspects, with Rasmussen answering what he could be declining to give specifics due to concerns for protecting the police work still under way.
Among the questions, Rasmussen was asked if Lakeport Police and the Lake County Sheriff's Office receive active shooter training. Rasmussen said yes, adding, “I will tell you that training needs to be updated,” which they're working on now. He said officers also have had training on dealing with suspicious packages.
In response to a similar question later in the meeting, Rasmussen said his agency has submitted an application to send two officers to an active shooter instructor school at a federal training center in Georgia. If the application is approved, once those officers are trained, they will be able to train other local officers.
Another person asked why parents aren't part of the district safety committee, which Hagberg said was a good suggestion.
There were several index cards submitted that asked the same question or a variation of it regarding why parents weren't notified.
Hagberg said one of the things she would do differently is call people earlier in the process. She also explained during the meeting that a glitch in the district's all-call messenger system resulted in the notification not going out to staff when it was sent to parents.
Another oft-repeated question regarded why the schools weren't locked down or evacuated when the phone calls came in on the afternoon of Jan. 14.
Rasmussen said that was because police concluded that the threats were part of a hoax – they weren’t specific to a location or individuals – and that it was best to leave the children where they were.
He said hoaxes from such machine-generated online numbers are used to create fear.
“The bottom line is, we did not feel it was credible, we did not feel there was any danger,” Rasmussen said.
Answering a similar question about not issuing warnings at the high school that afternoon, Gentry said hindsight is 20/20, and if the same scenario occurred again, many things would be done differently to communicate with staff and parents.
Rasmussen also emphasized that the original phone call did not lead police to believe anything would happen, so “We were surprised to get a report on those packages.”
“The odd thing about this incident is that is became more complicated as the evening went on,” said Gentry, after it went from calls to packages found.
He added, “The scariest thing is the unknown, not the known,” explaining that it's not the case that threats called in to schools are then carried out. Generally, incidents just happen without warning.
Basor and Rasmussen, in answering other questions, would agree with Gentry, that few explosions usually have associated warning calls.
“Generally, they don't tell you what they're going to do,” said Rasmussen, although he said people who are responsible for such incidents have behavioral indicators that those close to them may notice.
Asked if the threat calls are believed to be part of a larger network, Rasmussen said yes, with that network threatening multiple schools.
He said there is someone out there who is getting pleasure out of seeing a response due to placing fear in people. “It's terrible that we have to worry about that.”
There was a question about what can be done at the student body level, and Hagberg responded that establishing a positive school culture is a way to diminish destructive behaviors. That includes clubs and other activities. The district also has expanded counseling services.
Another person asked why the students who were arrested are being charged with making a bomb, since the suspicious boxes weren't actually explosive devices.
Ferguson explained that California penal code makes creating a facsimile bomb a crime. Hagberg added that California education code allows for the expulsion of students who bring something that appears to be a weapon – but really isn't – to school.
Rasmussen said that for 17 years there has been a school resource officer at Lakeport Unified, although budget cuts have prevented that position from being filled for the last year and a half.
He said the district, police department and Lakeport City Council have all committed to having that school resource officer position filled again. Lakeport Police has submitted a grant application to the US Department of Justice to help fund it, with the necessary additional funding to come from the district and city.
The school resource officer position is important both from a safety standpoint and from the relationship it helps police build with the district's children, Rasmussen said.
Community member Pete McRae, who has a master's degree in international conflict resolution, said there are three basic types of terrorist organizations, and he suggested the one at work in Lakeport's case is a lone wolf.
One of the ways such people are caught is if law enforcement gets a tip. He encouraged people to report anything suspicious and to be alert.
“We don't think it can happen here,” said McRae, adding that it can.
One parent rose to thank the officials. “It must have been absolutely scary,” she said, adding that she hopes everyone can learn from it and come together to find more solutions.
Officials stayed for a short time afterward to answer individual questions from parents.
Below is a video of the meeting in its entirety.
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Police K9 helps catch man following foot chase, search
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Following a lengthy foot pursuit and search of a neighborhood, Clearlake Police on Wednesday apprehended a local man with a number of warrants for his arrest who previously had evaded officers in separate incidents.
Joshua Christopher Wertz, 30, was apprehended with the assistance of Clearlake Police K9 “Dex” Wednesday morning, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph.
Joseph said that at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday he and Officer Joseph Myers were on an unrelated call for service in the 16000 block of 34th Avenue when Myers spotted Wertz – who he believed to have a felony warrant for his arrest – walking in the area.
Wertz also was involved in two recent and separate police vehicle pursuits where he had managed to escape both times and, in one incident, even backed into a pursuing Clearlake police patrol car causing damage. In addition, Wertz had two confirmed felony warrants for his arrest related to evading police, Joseph said.
Prior to contact by Myers, Wertz – who was carrying a backpack – went into a nearby residence. Joseph said Myers went to the residence in an attempt to contact Wertz and, when he did so, Wertz fled on foot out the back of the home.
Joseph said the foot chase that ensued for several blocks involved a number of Clearlake Police officers.
Wertz was chased over fences and through backyards to the area of 40th and Irving avenues, where officers lost sight of him, Joseph said.
Joseph said officers were able to establish a perimeter around the area where Wertz was last seen with the help of the Lake County Probation Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Because Wertz had felony warrants for his arrest, has a history of evading capture, was climbing in and through several residential yards and was believed to be concealed, Joseph said officers decided to deploy a K9 in hopes of locating and capturing Wertz.
Officer Travis Lenz and his K9 partner Dex soon arrived and began systematically searching the area within the established perimeter. Joseph said the search took some time due to the fairly large geographical area.
At about 10:40 a.m., K9 Dex located Wertz under an overturned aluminum boat in the 15900 block of 39th Avenue, Joseph said.
Lenz gave Wertz several commands to surrender or the K9 would be deployed. After Wertz’ continued refusal to comply with officers and not knowing if Wertz was armed with a weapon, Lenz deployed Dex, according to Joseph.
Joseph said Dex apprehended Wertz by Wertz’s left forearm. Even with the K9 bite, Wertz still refused to initially comply with officers and officers still struggled with him before finally taking him into custody.
Inside Wertz's backpack – which was located in close proximity – officers located a small amount of suspected methamphetamine, some marijuana and drug paraphernalia which Wertz was additionally charged with, Joseph said.
Wertz was transported to Saint Helena Hospital Clear Lake for medical clearance and, after being treated, Joseph said Wertz was booked into the Lake County Jail.
Contrary to some reports of shots being fired, there was a single backfire from a small motorcycle when this chase first started near 36th Avenue, Joseph said. No shots were fired during this incident.
Wertz remained in custody early Friday, with bail set at $45,000. Booking records show he's due to appear in court on Friday.
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Vehicle stolen in Santa Rosa found in Clearlake; police arrest Cobb woman
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Police arrested a Cobb woman on Tuesday in connection to a vehicle stolen from Santa Rosa.
Rebecca Inez Vasquez, 26, a convicted felon and gang member, was booked into the Lake County Jail on a felony charge of possession of a stolen vehicle and a revocation of her Post Community Release Supervision, according to authorities.
Sgt. Rodd Joseph said that at 10 a.m. Tuesday officers were dispatched to a report of a suspicious red vehicle in the area of 28th Avenue, east of Boyles Avenue.
The anonymous caller reported seeing the red vehicle speeding on 28th Avenue before being parked in a vacant wooded lot on the south side of that same road, according to Joseph.
Prior to police arriving in the area, Joseph said the anonymous caller reported seeing the female driver get out of the vehicle, begin searching the trunk area and also wiping down the interior and exterior of the vehicle.
Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen was the first officer to arrive, locating the red 2012 Chevy Sonic parked in the wooded lot as reported, Joseph reported.
Joseph said Clausen also observed a female subject wiping down the exterior of the vehicle with Armor All, apparently to conceal evidence.
Lt. Tim Celli and Joseph also responded, and they contacted the woman – later identified as Vasquez – as she was still wiping down the exterior of the car.
Vasquez initially claimed it was her boyfriend’s vehicle but she could not recall his name. Joseph said she was found to be in possession of the vehicle keys.
Dispatch advised officers that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of the city of Santa Rosa, Joseph said.
Vasquez could not provide a coherent statement as to how she came into possession of it and she subsequently was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, Joseph said.
Joseph said the vehicle was towed from the scene and later returned to the legal owner. Vasquez was later booked into the Lake County Jail on a no-bail hold due to a parole violation.
According to the Santa Rosa Police Department report, the vehicle initially was stolen in Santa Rosa early Monday morning, Joseph said.
Joseph said the person who took the vehicle – who was not known to the victim – was described and closely matched Vasquez’s physical description.
The case has been referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and to the Santa Rosa Police Department for any additional followup needed, Joseph said.
If Vasquez can be identified as the person responsible for the original vehicle theft and additional charges are brought against her, Joseph said any additional charges likely would be prosecuted by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.
Anyone with information on this vehicle theft is asked to contact Joseph, the investigating officer, at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251, Extension 338.
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