Police K9 apprehends man during burglary

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A man who police caught in the process of burglarizing a Clearlake home was taken into custody on Wednesday with the help of a Clearlake Police K9.

Steven Michael Fuller, 28, a Clearlake transient, was arrested late Wednesday after K9 “Dex” apprehended him, according to a report from Sgt. Rodd Joseph of the Clearlake Police Department.

Despite getting kicked in the face several times by Fuller, Dex was uninjured, Joseph said.

Just before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday Clearlake Police officers responded to the 3700 block of Yolo Alley on a report of a possible residential burglary in progress, according to Joseph.

The owner of the property, who was out of the area at the time, called the Clearlake Police Department to report a possible burglary to the owner’s residence by a known family member. Joseph said the property owner had received information from a neighboring resident about the possible burglary.

When officers arrived at the owner’s address, officers looked through exterior windows and observed a male subject inside the kitchen area of the home placing property into a black trash bag, Joseph said.

When the subject spotted officers outside the home, the subject made a “peace” sign with his hand and yelled at officers he was just getting some food. Joseph said the subject then walked over and turned out the lights and disappeared to an unknown location inside the home. 

Joseph said the subject refused to come out and speak with officers, who established a secured perimeter around the residence.

Officers on scene obtained permission from the property owner to force entry into the home, with Joseph reporting that K9 Officer Travis Lenz and his K9 partner Dex were the first officers into the residence. 

Lenz made numerous announcements for the subject to surrender or his K9 would be deployed, Joseph said. After approximately five announcements with no response from the subject, Dex was released into the home with a search command to find the subject.

After a short period of time, Dex located the subject, identified as Fuller, hiding inside an interior closet, Joseph said.

Joseph said Dex apprehended Fuller by the right lower leg and Fuller then began kicking Dex in the face with his left foot.

After a brief struggle involving several officers, Fuller was ultimately taken into custody. Joseph said none of the officers nor Dex were injured in the apprehension.

Fuller was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for medical treatment and then booked into the Lake County Jail, Joseph said.

Fuller was charged with residential burglary, resisting arrest and assaulting a police K9, according to Joseph.

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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 08 January 2015

Police search for assailants in Tuesday night Clearlake shooting

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is seeking the assailants in a shooting Tuesday night.

Sgt. Nick Bennett said officers were dispatched at approximately 8:47 p.m. to the area of 36th and Phillips avenues on a report of shots fired and a person yelling for help.

On arrival officers located 43-year-old Geraldo Rivera lying in the rear yard of 15886 36th Ave. and determined he had been shot in the lower portion of his body, Bennett said.

Witnesses in the area stated they had heard several shots fired and had seen a vehicle leaving the area at a high rate of speed, Bennett said.

Bennett said Rivera told police that the power in his residence had gone out and when he went to the backyard to check the electrical service panel he was confronted by masked individuals who began shooting at him. They then ran in different directions out of his sight.

While officers were securing the area and searching for the suspects and other possible victims in and around the residence, Bennett said they discovered a large amount of processed marijuana inside the residence, as well as packaging materials, scales and plastic tote tubs, and numerous weapons and thousands of rounds of pistol and rifle ammunition.

Officers on the scene determined the residence was used solely for the purpose of cultivating and sales of marijuana, Bennett said.

Although there was a medical marijuana recommendation card at the residence, it did not permit the nearly 100 pounds of cultivated marijuana that was ultimately seized, along with the illegal weapons and ammunition in the possession of a convicted felon – Rivera – after a search warrant was issued by a Lake County Superior Court Judge, according to Bennett.

Rivera was treated at the scene by Station 70, transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake and then transported to an out-of-area hospital for further treatment, according to Bennett.

Bennett said detectives were called in to take over the crime scene and the investigation continues.

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

Published: 07 January 2015

VIDEO: New sheriff takes office

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County's new sheriff took his oath of office on Tuesday and is now getting to work.

In the video above, Brian Martin offers his thanks to the community and gives a brief update on how he will approach his new job, including his goals for making the sheriff's office a more professional organization.

Martin, 43, was elected in the primary last June, ousting one-term incumbent Frank Rivero.

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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 07 January 2015

Governor administers oaths to new California Supreme Court justices

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Following his inauguration on Monday, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. swore in Justices Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and Leondra R. Kruger to the California Supreme Court.

“What I’m looking for is insight and growing wisdom over time so we can create a measure of harmony in what is a very conflicted society,” said Gov. Brown at the Monday ceremony. “And I think we are going to do very well in helping build the respect for the law, for the courts, for their independence, so that all of us – whatever our particular ideological or philosophical proclivities – at the end of the day are very thankful that we have honest, intelligent and fair-minded people making sense out of the complexities.”

Gov. Brown nominated Justice Cuéllar in July and Justice Kruger in November to the California Supreme Court.

Justice Cuéllar was confirmed in August and Justice Kruger last month by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, composed of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and senior presiding justice of the state Court of Appeal Joan Dempsey Klein.

Cuéllar, 41, of Stanford, was a Stanford Law School professor from 2001 to 2014 and was appointed Stanley Morrison Professor of Law in 2012. He taught administrative law, criminal law and international law, among other subjects.

Cuéllar was director of Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies from 2013 to 2014 and Professor of Political Science, by courtesy, at Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences from 2010 to 2014. He served as co-director of Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation from 2011 to 2013.

Cuéllar was born in Matamoros, Mexico and for a number of years walked across the border each day to attend school in neighboring Brownsville, Texas.

At age 14, he moved with his family to the Imperial Valley of California, where he graduated from Calexico High School. 

Cuéllar went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College, a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in political science from Stanford University.

Cuéllar served as special assistant to the president for Justice and Regulatory Policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council in 2009 and 2010 and was co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition's Immigration Policy Working Group in 2008 and 2009.

He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2000 to 2001 and as senior advisor to the Under Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 1997 to 1999.

Kruger, 38, of Washington, D.C., served as a deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel from 2013 to 2014.

She served as an assistant to the solicitor general and as acting principal deputy solicitor general in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General from 2007 to 2013. While serving in that office, she argued 12 cases on behalf of the federal government before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kruger was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School in 2007 and an associate at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr LLP from 2004 to 2006.

She served as a law clerk to the Honorable John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2003 to 2004 and to the Honorable David S. Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2002 to 2003. Kruger was an associate at Jenner and Block LLP from 2001 to 2002.

Kruger earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Kruger was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. She is a member of the State Bar of California. 

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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 05 January 2015