How to resolve AdBlock issue? Police arrest woman alleged to have pointed BB gun at vehicles
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A woman found pointing a BB gun at Martin Street as cars were driving by was arrested on Monday afternoon.
Amber Renae McKinney, 27, of Lakeport, was arrested in the case, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
At 3:20 p.m. Monday the Lakeport Police Department received a citizen report of a female subject pointing a rifle at cars in the 600 block of Martin Street, Rasmussen said.
Upon arrival, an officer saw a female subject point a rifle directly at Martin Street where cars were driving by, according to Rasmussen's report.
Rasmussen said officers conducted a felony takedown of the suspect, ordering her to comply with orders at gunpoint.
She complied with officers' orders, dropped the rifle and was taken into custody, Rasmussen said.
He said further investigation determined that McKinney was intoxicated, the rifle was a BB gun and that she was shooting at beer cans set up on the north edge of Martin Street.
McKinney, who also goes by the last name of Hulsey, was arrested and booked on misdemeanor charges of negligent discharge of a weapon and public intoxication, with bail set at $5,000, according to jail records.
According to jail records she posted the required 10 percent of the bail amount and was released.
Rasmussen said shooting any type of weapon – BB gun or otherwise – toward or across a highway or roadway is illegal and creates a dangerous situation for the involved subject, the community and law enforcement.
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Lakeport woman arrested for assaulting police officer, Kmart employee
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Police have arrested a Lakeport woman after she repeatedly punched a Kmart employee and then attacked a police officer.
Marlyca Rose Ramos, 22, was arrested Monday evening, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
Just after 6 p.m. Lakeport Police Officer Angie Bell was dispatched to Kmart on S. Main Street to investigate the report of an uncooperative shoplifter who loss prevention agents were trying to detain, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said that when Bell arrived she learned that a loss prevention agent witnessed Ramos remove an item of Kmart merchandise and leave the store without paying for it.
When the loss prevention agent confronted Ramos, she punched him in the face two to three times, Rasmussen said.
Bell attempted to arrest Ramos, who then attacked Bell, punching her in the head and face twice, knocking her to the ground and then standing over her and hitting her in the face again while she was on the ground, according to Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said Bell quickly recovered, drew her Taser and held Ramos at Taser point until backup units from the Lake County Sheriff's Office arrived to assist with taking Ramos into custody.
The Kmart loss prevention agent and Bell received minor injuries as a result of the incident, Rasmussen said.
Ramos was arrested and booked for felony assault on a peace officer, and misdemeanor charges of felony resisting an executive officer with violence, battery and shoplifting, according to jail records.
She remained in custody on Tuesday, with bail set at $15,000, jail records indicated.
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UPDATE: Sheriff's office releases additional details on pursuit, officer-involved shooting
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has issued an update on the circumstances surrounding a burglary, high-speed vehicle pursuit and the shooting of the suspect by a sheriff's deputy that occurred early Friday morning.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, one of the agencies involved in the investigation, released the new details early Friday afternoon.
The incident began at Hillside Honda, located at 460 S. Main St., where Brooks said a Lakeport Police officer was dispatched at approximately 4:17 a.m. for an alarm call.
Brooks said the alarm company told Central Dispatch that the alarm was activated due to movement inside the business.
Shortly after the Lakeport Police officer arrived at the business, Brooks said the officer went in pursuit of the suspect vehicle, which Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen had confirmed to Lake County News was a pickup.
Sheriff’s deputies, who were dispatched to assist, immediately joined the Lakeport Police officer in the pursuit, Brooks said.
The suspect vehicle traveled westbound on Lakeport Boulevard where it turned northbound onto Highway 29, reaching speeds of approximately 100 miles per hour, according to Brooks.
He said the suspect vehicle took the 11th Street exit and turned left onto Scotts Valley Road, reaching speeds of approximately 70 miles per hour.
The pickup continued onto Riggs Road, where it hit a fence. After hitting the the fence, the suspect put his vehicle in reverse and rammed into the Lakeport Police officer's vehicle, Brooks said.
A sheriff’s deputy, who had exited his vehicle and witnessed the suspect ram the Lakeport Police vehicle, discharged his firearm at the suspect, said Brooks.
The suspect, who received multiple gunshot wounds, was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for medical treatment and then transported by air ambulance to a trauma center, where he underwent surgery, according to Brooks.
Early on Friday afternoon, the condition of the suspect was not known, Brooks said.
The investigation into the incident is being handled by several agencies, including the Lake County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office, which are in charge of the crime scene on Scotts Valley Road, with Rasmussen explaining that his agency is investigating the burglary.
The California Highway Patrol also is on scene.
Lake County Public Works reported that it has Riggs Road closed at the intersection of Scotts Valley and Scotts Creek roads while investigators conduct their work.
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Police investigate attempted Kmart burglary
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is seeking information on two men who allegedly broke into the Lakeport Kmart early Tuesday morning.
Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to the store to investigate the burglary, which occurred at approximately 2 a.m., according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said when officer arrived they determined that two white male subjects forced open one of the main front doors and entered the store.
The subjects were apparently unaware that there was a night stocking crew working inside of the store, Rasmussen said.
A member of the stocking crew spotted the subjects inside of the store and when they realized they had been spotted, they fled the store. Rasmussen said they got into a vehicle with no headlights on and left traveling southbound on S. Main Street.
Due to the short time the two men were in the store before being spotted, Rasmussen said police do not believe that they were able to take any merchandise.
Rasmussen said the two subjects are described as white males in their late teens (possibly 16 to 18 years old), both wearing dark clothing including hooded sweatshirts and dark pants, with one also wearing a dark ball cap. Both were between 5 feet, 6 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing between 140 and 165 pounds.
The vehicle is described as a light metallic – possibly silver or light gold – four-door sedan, and may be a Chevrolet Cavalier, Rasmussen said.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Lakeport Police Department at 707-263-5491.
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Upper Lake couple in court on drug and weapons charges; investigation into fatal shooting continues
LAKEPORT, Calif. – An Upper Lake couple whose property was the scene of a fatal Christmas day shooting were in court on Monday for charges relating to large amounts of marijuana and weapons found in their possession during the death investigation.
James Michael Jean, 50, and his wife Nora Katherine Jean, 49, were arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Monday afternoon, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe.
Grothe said the Jeans were arraigned on charges related to the discovery of marijuana, weapons and ammunition found at an address on Broadway Avenue in Nice and at their business, Lake County Car Audio and Security in Upper Lake.
As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been filed against the Jeans involving the fatal Christmas morning shooting of 30-year-old Maurice Oliver Watts at their home at 1475 Hunter Point Road outside of Upper Lake, or the discovery of marijuana or weapons at the same location, Grothe said.
“That case is still under investigation,” Grothe said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that James Jean had called 911 to report that he had shot an intruder who attempted to break into his home.
Watts was found shot to death in an area of the Jeans' property that appeared to have formerly been a marijuana grow. The sheriff's office said he was found with a fake gun.
Officials did not release details of Watts’ injuries pending the results of a Monday autopsy.
During the investigation into the shooting, Sheriff's Narcotics Unit detectives found and seized 980 pounds of marijuana, three handguns, 13 rifles, and restricted armor piercing and tracer ammunition at the three properties, officials reported.
The counts against both James and Nora Jean include cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale at Lake County Car Audio and Security, 325 W. Highway 20, Upper Lake; cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale at 6841 Broadway in Nice; and a special allegation of possession of multiple firearms in the commission of a felony.
Separate counts filed only against James Jean include two charges of a felon in possession of ammunition, one charge of a felon in possession of weapons, and a special allegation of convictions for previous violent felonies, including five second-degree robbery cases that he was convicted of in 1992 in Orange County.
Altogether, James Jean has six prior second-degree robbery convictions, five of them occurring in the Santa Ana area of Orange County, according to Grothe.
Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told Lake County News that James Jean was in state prison from 1992 to 2000 due to the robbery cases, which came from Orange as well as Los Angeles counties.
The only previous case against James Jean locally is a 2006 exhibition of speed case, according to District Attorney Don Anderson. Grothe said Nora Jean has no previous criminal history.
County assessor-recorder records show that James Jean purchased the 19-acre Hunter Point Road property in November 2003.
The Jeans remain in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $500,000 for each, Grothe said.
They're being held on a “source of bail hold,” Grothe said, “Meaning they cannot post bail until they show it was obtained from legitimate, nonfelony sources.”
Grothe said the Jeans are next scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court in Department 3 at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Watts had no state prison record, Callison said, but did have a number of local criminal cases and convictions, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Anderson said Watts had a felony drug case under review stemming from a Nov. 30 arrest for selling or furnishing marijuana or hashish, and transportation of a controlled substance.
Watts also had numerous arrests going back to 1999 on charges including burglary, elder abuse, battery and terrorist threats, Anderson said.
Of those cases, Watts had several convictions that resulted in probation and minor amounts of jail time, including theft from a gas station and battery in 2002, violation of probation in 2004, petty theft for stealing from Kmart in 2007, and in 2008 carrying a concealed weapon and first-degree burglary. In the latter case, he received the most jail time of his local cases – 288 days, plus three years formal probation.
Watts and his younger brother, Cody, also were witnesses in the murder trial of John Gray, who was accused of the February 2009 beating death of Eric Joaquin. Cody Watts lived at Gray's Kelseyville home, along with Joaquin.
A jury would acquit Gray of the murder charges the following year.
Maurice Watts took the stand in the case, but jurors – who spoke to a District Attorney's Office investigator afterward – “didn't believe a word he said,” said Anderson.
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