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Police arrest two during ‘shoulder tap’ operation
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Two men were arrested late last week during an operation aimed at individuals who purchase alcohol for minors.
Clearlake residents Moses Scott and Richard Ketchum were arrested during the operation, which took place on Friday, May 3, and involved officers from the Clearlake Police Department and Agents from the Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The two agencies collaborated to conduct “shoulder tap” operations at various businesses in the city of Clearlake, according to Clearlake Police Officer Aaron Winslow.
Winslow explained that shoulder tap operations are law enforcement programs that the ABC and local law enforcement agencies use to deter and detect alcohol-related crimes involving the sale or furnishing of alcoholic beverages to minors.
During the operations, a minor is used as a decoy to solicit the purchase of alcoholic beverages from an adult, he said. Operations are conducted outside ABC-licensed businesses, Winslow said.
During the operation, numerous people were contacted by the minor decoys and Scott and Ketchum were arrested for criminal violations involving the furnishing of alcohol to minors, according to Winslow.
Winslow said Scott was released with a citation and Ketchum was transported to the Lake County Jail for additional violations which were discovered during his arrest.
This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Minor Decoy/ Shoulder Tap Grant Project, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Clearlake Police officers make arrests in enforcement sweep
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Saturday operation focusing on probationers resulted in several arrests.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department said seven individuals were arrested during the enforcement that the agency conducted, which focused on individuals on Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS).
During the operation officers went to four locations that were preselected from a list of individuals on PRCS probation, Hobbs said.
As a result of this operation, Hobbs said three individuals on PRCS were arrested:
- Shawn McPherson, 42, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
- Shy Savok, 21, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for possession of a felony warrant.
- Betty West, 32, was arrested for possession of a prescription medication without a prescription.
Additionally, four others who Hobbs said were not on PRCS but were at the residence of a person who is were arrested on various charges. They included:
- Breanne Hubbard, 30, was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
- Garlin Dillard, 45, was arrested for a misdemeanor warrant.
- Sherrie Newcomb, 42, was arrested for a misdemeanor warrant.
- Christie Kirk, 38, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Anyone with information regarding individuals on Post Release Community Supervision that are violating the terms of their probation in Clearlake can contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Initial audit finding points to discrepancy in sheriff’s undercover operations fund
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – County officials are investigating the discovery this week of a discrepancy in the balance of the fund that supplies cash for undercover sheriff’s operations.
A Friday afternoon statement released by Sheriff Frank Rivero’s office said an audit of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau undercover operations fund conducted on Wednesday discovered that $2,100 could not be accounted for.
“The funds are kept in a safe located within the detective’s bureau at the Sheriff’s Main Office,” the statement said. “The persons with access to the funds are limited and strict procedures are in place, which require two signatures for assignment of the funds when needed for operational purposes.”
The sheriff’s office statement concluded, “Upon learning of the discrepancy between the last reported audit balance and current balance, Sheriff Rivero assigned his financial personnel to review the account for financial errors and instructed his command staff to secure an outside agency to conduct an internal affairs investigation.”
The release of the information comes ahead of the completion of the audit, which was being conducted by Cathy Saderlund, the county clerk/auditor-controller.
“I can confirm that we have an audit in progress that has now been compromised, in my opinion,” said Saderlund in reference to the press release. She did not want to comment further at this point.
Sheriff’s command staff did not respond to a request by Lake County News for an explanation of why the information was released ahead of the audit’s completion.
County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said the sheriff’s office also didn’t alert him before releasing the information about the in-process audit.
He said that on Wednesday Saderlund’s staff was conducting a periodic audit of the fund, which last had been audited in December of last year.
The sheriff’s office had said that during that December audit, all funds had been accounted for, and Perry said he had not been advised otherwise at that time.
In January, sheriff’s Capt. Chris Macedo and Undersheriff Pat Turturici had gone before the Board of Supervisors to ask for an increase in the appropriation for the fund, which is used for operations such as narcotics investigations, as Lake County News has reported.
Rivero’s written report to the board stated, “As the Sheriff’s office has been pro-active in narcotic’s (sic) investigations, interdiction and eradication, it is requested this appropriation be increased to $25,000 at this time.”
Despite concerns about the lack of transparency of how the funds were used – sheriff’s staff acknowledged that information about how the money is used is sensitive – the board unanimously approved the request to raise the appropriation amount from $5,000 to $25,000.
According to the meeting minutes, the board also “encouraged the Sheriff’s Office to abide by requests from the Auditor-Controller regarding proper accountability.”
Perry confirmed that the fund whose audit is in question was the same one for which the board voted to raise the appropriations amount.
However, he said the increase hadn’t yet taken place, pending the sheriff’s office coming into compliance with the auditor-controller’s accountability requirements.
Supervisor Rob Brown, who supported raising the fund appropriation, credited Saderlund with finding the issue, but added, “It’s highly unlikely that any of the detectives have done anything inappropriate.”
Instead, he suggested it may have been the result of an accounting error. Brown added that audits are meant to find those very kinds of discrepancies.
“We all need to wait and see what the outcome of the independent audit is before we jump to any conclusions,” Brown said.
Perry said he didn’t want to discuss the county’s next steps at this point, noting that Saderlund has to finish her audit and he wants to confer with county counsel.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
012213 Board of Supervisors - Request to raise sheriff's undercover fund appropriation
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Police use Taser on Clearlake man involved in domestic dispute
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police used a Taser to subdue a man who rushed officers responding to the report of a domestic dispute on Friday.
Miguel Feliciano, 26, was taken into custody without incident afterward, according to a report from Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department.
Just before 10 a.m. Friday Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to a trailer in the Lakefront Mobile Home Park, located at 5575 Old Highway 53, for a welfare check, Hobbs reported.
He said dispatch advised that the reporting party – a local school’s vice principal who had given a student who was suspended a ride home – discovered a heated argument inside the residence.
When the subjects inside would not come to the door for her or their child, the vice principal left with the child and called the police, Hobbs said.
Hobbs and Officer Tyler Paulsen responded, and he said when they arrived they could hear subjects inside the residence arguing.
After making contact with a Kristein Feliciano, 27, near a window by the front door she refused to open the door, Hobbs said.
Officer Paulsen believed a subject who was on active state parole lived at the residence. Once a check via dispatch confirmed the subject was on active state parole, officers requested the female open the door or it would be forced open, Hobbs said.
Kristein Feliciano still refused and the door was forcibly opened. Once inside the residence, Miguel Feliciano was observed trying to climb out a window at the rear end of the residence, Hobbs said.
When ordered to stop Miguel Feliciano began running directly at officers. As he got closer to the officers he put his hands up in a fighting position and continued toward them, Hobbs said.
A X26 Taser was deployed and Miguel Feliciano was struck with both the probes. Hobbs said they then placed Miguel Feliciano under arrest for resisting or obstructing a police officer.
Complaint charges also will be filed with the Lake County District Attorney’s Office against Kristein Feliciano for resisting or obstructing a police officer, Hobbs said.
Miguel Feliciano was medically cleared for incarceration and transported to the Lake County Jail, according to Hobbs.
Hobbs said the parolee who lives at the residence was not home at the time of this incident and it was determined there had not been a crime between the Felicianos prior to the arrival of police.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports