How to resolve AdBlock issue? Sheriff's office eradicates nearly 1,500 marijuana plants in Jerusalem Valley area
SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The compliance checks of several marijuana grow sites in the Jerusalem Valley area has resulted in the eradication of nearly 1,500 marijuana plants.
Lt. Steve Brooks said the compliance checks took place this past Monday after the grows were discovered during a Saturday patrol.
On Saturday the Lake County Sheriff’s Office conducted patrol operations in the off highway vehicle area of Knoxville, locating five marijuana growing operations which appeared to be out of compliance, Brooks said.
Brooks said the deputies were able to contact subjects in three of the grow sites, who were warned of the county marijuana cultivation ordinance's rules and advised as to what steps were needed in order to become compliant.
On Monday the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force, along with personnel from Lake County Code Enforcement, responded to the Jerusalem Valley area to check the five marijuana growing operations which were located on Saturday and determined to be out of compliance, Brooks said.
They were also going to check the compliance of seven additional marijuana growing operations in the same area, according to Brooks
The task force determined that all 12 of the marijuana growing operations were out of compliance. Most of the parcels were vacant and did not have any structures or the growers brought in trailers and tents to live in, Brooks said. The county ordinance prohibits grows on vacant parcels.
He said Lake County Code Enforcement red tagged all of the unpermitted residences and structures.
Detectives eradicated a total of 1,459 marijuana plants from the 12 locations, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Police: Man injured during fight wasn't shot
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said Monday that a man who had been reported as shot during a Saturday confrontation was not assaulted by a firearm but instead was injured in a fight in which he was determined to be the aggressor.
James Oscar, 33, of Clearlake was flown to UC Davis Medical Center late Saturday after firefighters arriving at the scene reported he had been shot.
However, Clearlake Police Sgt. Nick Bennett said medical personnel at the hospital later confirmed Oscar had no gunshot wound.
At 10:55 p.m. Saturday Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Sixth Street in Clearlake for a report of an assaulted person, Bennett said.
Bennett said at the scene officers located Oscar, who appeared to have been injured. Oscar stated to officers he did not want to press any charges against anyone and that he would take care of the situation on his own.
Officers noticed Oscar had indications of being intoxicated. Medical personnel from Lake County Fire Protection District arrived to treat Oscar for his injuries and thought he may have been shot while being assaulted, Bennett said.
Oscar stated he had not been shot – he had only been shot at, according to Bennett. Oscar subsequently was flown by REACH air ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center, where further medical examination confirmed he hadn't been shot.
Clearlake detectives were contacted and assisted with the investigation, Bennett said.
After interviewing numerous witnesses and eventually locating where the actual confrontation occurred between Oscar and other individuals, Bennett said it was determined that Oscar was the primary aggressor in any confrontation that occurred and that there was no firearm used during the incident.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Police arrest man for alleged ongoing molestation of young girl
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Police have arrested a Lakeport man for allegedly sexually abusing his girlfriend's young daughter over a period of two years.
Alfonso Avalos-Chavez, 42, was arrested on Thursday afternoon on 15 counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, as well as 10 counts of oral copulation, according to Lt. Jason Ferguson of the Lakeport Police Department.
Ferguson said that last Sunday, shortly before 9 p.m., Lakeport Police responded to the Sutter Lakeside Emergency Room where they met with a 9-year-old Lakeport girl and her foster mother, who reported the child was being sexually abused by her biological mother’s boyfriend.
Officers responded and conducted an interview with the 9-year-old victim, Ferguson said.
Based on that interview, Ferguson said the officers believed there was sufficient probable cause that the girl was the victim of lewd or lascivious acts and oral copulation by her mother’s boyfriend dating back two years.
During the course of the investigation, officers were able to positively identify the suspect as being Avalos-Chavez, leading to his arrest later this week, Ferguson said.
Avalos-Chavez was transported to the Hill Road Jail where bail was set at $200,000. Jail records show that Avalos-Chavez remained in custody on Friday, with a no-bail immigration hold placed against him.
He's due to appear in court on Monday, according to his booking sheet.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Gary Basor at the Lakeport Police Department, 707-263-5491.
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Sheriff's office arrests one following marijuana grow site compliance check
NICE, Calif. – Compliance checks of several marijuana grow sites in the Nice area on Wednesday resulted in one arrest and the seizure of 223 marijuana plants.
Arrested during the checks was 46-year-old Jose Guillermo Garcia-Jimenez of Nice, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
On Wednesday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force – along with personnel from Lake County Code Enforcement – conducted marijuana compliance checks on seven locations in the Nice area, Brooks said.
He reported that three sites were determined to be out of compliance and, as a result, 223 marijuana plants were eradicated and seized from those grow sites.
Narcotics detectives and Lake County Code Enforcement responded to a residence located in the 7000 block of Marin Street in Nice to conduct a compliance check. Brooks said they located 125 marijuana plants which were growing behind a residence Code Enforcement had red-tagged.
Narcotics detectives located Garcia-Jimenez, who was in the process of watering the marijuana plants. Brooks said Garcia-Jimenez told the detectives that the plants were not his and he did not have a medical marijuana recommendation.
Garcia-Jimenez was arrested for the cultivation of marijuana and the possession of marijuana for sales. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.
Bail was set at $15,000, and jail records indicated Garcia-Jimenez has since been released.
Narcotics detectives and code enforcement responded to the 6000 block of Floyd Street in Nice, regarding illegal marijuana cultivation. Brooks said they located 21 marijuana plants which were being grown on a vacant lot.
The property was undeveloped and was solely being utilized for marijuana cultivation with no livable residences or structures. The plants were eradicated and destroyed, Brooks said.
Narcotics detectives and code enforcement also responded to a residence located in the 7000 block of Kelly Road in Nice, regarding illegal marijuana cultivation. Brooks said detectives located 77 marijuana plants growing in plain site.
The residence was unoccupied and found to be in violation of several county codes. The plants were eradicated and destroyed, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Supervisors transfer funds from sheriff's budget to address Rivero's appeal of attorney fee decision
LAKEPORT, Calif. – With the county's sheriff appealing a judge's ruling that he – and not the county – must pay attorney's fees incurred in a legal battle with the district attorney, on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors voted to transfer money from a sheriff's office fund to hire outside legal counsel.
Over the objections of Sheriff Frank Rivero, the board unanimously voted to transfer $10,000 from the sheriff-coroner's professional services account in order to hire an outside law firm in response to an appeal Rivero filed regarding a May ruling in his suit against the supervisors.
County Counsel Anita Grant told Lake County News that the outside firm's help was needed as her office's workload has significantly expanded and one of her senior attorneys is retiring this fall.
On Tuesday County Administrative Officer Matt Perry told the board that the professional services account had about $32,000 available, and could therefore be used as a source for legal fees.
In May, Mendocino County Judge Richard Henderson ruled that Rivero was responsible for paying legal fees that he ran up in fighting his placement on a “Brady” list of officers by District Attorney Don Anderson, who found that Rivero, while a deputy sheriff, had lied to investigators about a nonfatal February 2008 shooting.
Grant told Lake County News on Tuesday that the latest bill the county received on July 10 from the Jones and Mayer law firm of Fullerton, which is representing Rivero, totaled $70,303.03 through June 30.
At Tuesday's meeting Rivero said the funds in the professional services account were being used to do background checks for potential hires, and that some of it was already encumbered.
“I also oppose it on principal,” he said, adding that the board should either take the money out of its own funds or out of county counsel's rather that putting a burden on the sheriff's office.
“The other option would be not to burden the taxpayers and just withdraw your appeal,” said Supervisor Anthony Farrington.
“The other option would be to pay for services rendered,” Rivero replied, referring to his attorney fees.
But that's exactly what Henderson said he hadn't intended for the county to do.
Henderson's May decision was a clarification he made at the request of the Board of Supervisors. Last year Henderson – who found an ethical conflict existed with the County Counsel's Office – ordered the board to hire Rivero an attorney in response to Anderson's “Brady” investigation.
“Brady” comes from the 1963 US Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to disclose to criminal defendants any potentially exculpatory material, including credibility issues of officers involved in their cases.
Anderson determined that Rivero had lied to sheriff's officials about not seeing pepper spray in a man's hand before shooting at him in February 2008. Witnesses at the scene recounted Rivero telling the man to drop the pepper spray before he discharged his weapon. The man was not hit.
Because pepper spray is not a lethal weapon, shooting at someone who possessed it was considered a violation of department protocol.
In February, Anderson made his final determination and placed Rivero on a “Brady” list of officers with credibility issues. Within days, Rivero began filing legal challenges to the decision, attempting to block Anderson's required disclosure to criminal defendants and the public. Those efforts failed.
Henderson said in his May ruling that it had not been his intention that the county continue to pay for Rivero's legal counsel past the point on Feb. 19 when the Brady determination was made.
On July 9 Rivero filed an appeal of Henderson's decision with the First District Court of Appeal, according to case filings.
Following the short but heated discussion between Rivero and the board – which followed a lengthy discussion on substations in Clearlake Oaks and Lower Lake – the board voted 5-0 to take the funds from the professional services budget.
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