How to resolve AdBlock issue? Clearlake Police arrest one suspect, seek second person of interest in May 30 drive-by shooting
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department has arrested one man and is seeking a second who they say is a person of interest in connection to a drive-by shooting at a home last week.
Sgt. Nick Bennett said police arrested 35-year-old Jose Serapio Murillo of Clearlake and are looking for 29-year-old Clearlake resident Shade Hill.
He said the incident in question occurred just before 6 p.m. last Thursday, May 30.
At that time Clearlake Police were dispatched to the 1400 Block of Cresta Avenue on a report of a possible drive-by shooting, Bennett said.
The reporting persons were having a barbecue in the front yard of a residence when a vehicle first drove by at a high rate of speed traveling on Hillcrest Avenue, according to Bennett.
A person in the front yard yelled at the driver to slow down and the driver of the vehicle slid to a stop, skidding over several rocks and flattening two tires, Bennett said.
Bennett said the vehicle's occupant and the persons in the yard exchanged words and the vehicle drove away.
Approximately two hours later, the barbecue was continuing and the same vehicle again drove by. This time, Bennett said, there were two subjects in the vehicle and the passenger pointed a rifle out the passenger window and fired a shot from the vehicle toward the people standing in the yard.
No one was injured by the fired round, Bennett said.
Bennett said the driver of the vehicle was identified as Murillo.
He said Clearlake Police officers immediately began searching for the suspect vehicle.
At approximately 9 p.m. officers responded to a call regarding a suspicious vehicle on Manzanita and Davis Avenues and located the suspect vehicle, according to Bennett's report.
The vehicle was seized and searched under a search warrant issued by a Lake County Superior Court judge. Bennett said evidence located within the vehicle tied it into the drive-by shooting.
On Monday, June 3, Clearlake Police Officer Chris Reagan conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for a mechanical violation. The passenger in the vehicle was identified as Murillo, the subject wanted in connection to the drive-by shooting, Bennett said.
Clearlake detectives were contacted and responded to continue the investigation. Based on the investigation so far, Clearlake Police have identified Hill as an additional person of interest in the case, according to Bennett.
Murillo was booked into the Lake County Jail for charges relating to the drive-by shooting, including felony conspiracy, being an accessory and allowing discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. He remained in custody late Wednesday, with bail set at $70,000, according to jail records.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact Det. Ryan Peterson at 707-994-8251, Extension 320.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
City of Lakeport pursues change of venue in suit against county, sheriff over law enforcement records
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport has successfully sought a change of venue in its lawsuit against the county in response to the sheriff cutting off the Lakeport Police Department's access to shared law enforcement records.
In a lawsuit filed late last month against the county and Sheriff Frank Rivero, the city of Lakeport alleges breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing after Rivero cut off the Lakeport Police Department's access to the records information management system, or RIMS, without warning in late April, as Lake County News has reported.
Rivero's “unilateral and unjustified actions” – in the words of City Manager Margaret Silveira – violated the city's long-running dispatch contract with the county.
The city is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, and specific performance of the contract.
On Tuesday, Lakeport City Attorney Steve Brookes told Lake County News that the case was being moved to Mendocino County.
“It's a statutory right to have it moved to a neutral county,” Brookes said.
Brookes said no hearing date has yet been set for the case in Mendocino County Superior Court.
County Counsel Anita Grant said Tuesday that the county won't oppose the change of venue.
“We had hoped to keep the case here to keep costs down but Lakeport didn’t agree to that and the Code of Civil Procedure gives them the ability to seek a change of venue,” she said in an email message.
She said the county's answer to Lakeport's suit is not yet due, and as such no response has been filed.
Rivero cut off Lakeport Police's access to RIMS – as well as that of the Lake County Probation Department – on April 23, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said Rivero initially told him that it was an issue with auditing the system, which includes Lakeport Police case records derived from calls into the county's Central Dispatch center.
However, after Rasmussen went public with his concerns that the inability to access his own agency's records in the system would result in public and officer safety issues, Rivero accused Rasmussen and his staff of inappropriate access to the system.
The Lakeport City Council asked the Board of Supervisors to intervene and a special meeting was held April 26.
Despite the fact that during the meeting Rivero conceded that there was no way to verify that Lakeport Police's accesses to RIMS were legitimate, he nevertheless refused to comply with the board's request that he reinstate Lakeport Police's ability to use the system.
On April 30, the Lakeport City Council voted to hire an outside law firm, the law office of Colantuono & Levin, to handle the lawsuit against the county and Rivero for breaching the dispatch contract.
The suit was filed May 20, according to court records.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Committee: Effort to recall sheriff gathers more signatures, support
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Supporters of the effort to recall the county's sheriff said they are on track to gather more than the necessary number of signatures to place the recall on the fall ballot.
The Committee to Recall Rivero and Restore Integrity said it has collected approximately 5,000 signatures to date from citizens across Lake County in the effort to remove Sheriff Frank Rivero from office.
Signature gathering has been under way for just over a month.
The effort was launched following the district attorney's determination in February that Rivero lied about his actions during a nonfatal 2008 shooting, at which time Rivero was a sheriff's deputy.
Then, in March, the Board of Supervisors gave Rivero a unanimous no-confidence vote.
An exact signature count was not available this week. Committee members said the numbers are constantly changing because more signatures are being gathered every day. They also are awaiting many more completed petitions to be handed in and counted.
At the current signature gathering rate, the committee said it anticipates reaching or exceeding 9,000 signatures by the committee's self-imposed June 17 deadline, which is exactly one half of the time allowed for signature gathering, according to the California Secretary of State and the Lake County Registrar of Voters.
Approximately 7,026 signatures are required to put Rivero's recall on the November ballot, county election officials reported.
Over the past two weeks some signature gatherers were met with harassment and verbal attacks from the sheriff's supporters, which the committee said led to many potential petition signers withholding their signatures for fear of harassment or retaliation.
More recently, the committee said that it is finding that people who originally were afraid of retaliation from Rivero supporters are now willing to sign in order to make the recall happen. The harassment is not deterring recall supporters from continuing the effort, the committee reported.
A signature gathering drive and barbecue tri-tip lunch is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 9, in Kelseyville.
For more information contact the committee at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Police seek person of interest in Thursday stabbing
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police are searching for a man who they say is a person of interest in the Thursday stabbing of a Clearlake resident.
Clearlake Police Sgt. Nick Bennett said 56-year-old Randy Beebe of Clearlake is believed to be connected to the stabbing, which occurred Thursday afternoon.
At approximately 4:29 p.m. Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to Clearlake Park in response to a report of a male who appeared to have been stabbed, Bennett said.
On arrival officers located Clearlake resident Donald Woita, 27, in the 3000 block of 10th Street, according to Bennett.
Woita had a stab wound to his chest. Bennett said Woita was given emergency treatment at the scene by Lake County Fire paramedics then transported to Austin Park where a REACH air ambulance picked him up and flew him to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Detectives located a witness who provided information that Woita had been involved in an altercation on the 13000 block of Arrowhead Drive in Clearlake, Bennett said.
The residence where the altercation was reported to have taken place was located and evidence at the scene indicated that the information was correct, according to Bennett.
Further information was developed that led Clearlake Police detectives to believe Beebe, who resides at the Arrowhead address, is a person of interest in this case. As of Thursday night, Beebe had not been located, Bennett said.
Bennett said that at approximately 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Clearlake Police officers were advised that Woita had been released from Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact Det. Ryan Peterson at 707-994-8251, Extension 320.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Lakeport Police looks to expand Neighborhood Watch program
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department coordinates an active Neighborhood Watch program throughout the city of Lakeport and is looking to expand its network of neighbors looking out for each other.
The program operates by groups of neighbors organizing to watch for suspicious or criminal activity and report this activity to the police.
Lakeport Police Department’s Neighborhood Watch coordinator in turn keeps these groups informed on up-to-date crime trends in their neighborhood and provides education on home security and safety concerns.
For more information, or if you would like to join an existing neighborhood watch group or help organize a new group in your neighborhood, contact Officer Joe Eastham at Lakeport Police Department, 707-263-5491 or
For additional crime information and emergency alerts, visit Lakeport Police’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lakeport-Police-Department/176101292414821?fref=ts , or its Twitter feed, @LakeportPolice.
Community members also can sign up for emergency alerts from Lakeport Police by email, smart phone and other wireless devices by visiting www.nixle.com .
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
