How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEWS NUMBERS REGARDING THE TOTAL PLANTS ERADICATED.
LAKE COUNTY – On Tuesday local and federal law enforcement officials eradicated a massive illegal marijuana garden in the Mendocino National Forest, encountering armed suspects in the process.
The Lake County Sheriff's SWAT Team and detectives from the US Forest Service seized approximately 130,000 plants and five firearms – including a Tec 9 assault weapon with a makeshift silencer – according to sheriff's Capt. Rob Howe.
Howe said the raid took place at 7 a.m. Tuesday in the Lower Nye/Copper Butte area of the National Forest in Lake County.
Law enforcement personnel surrounded a tent located in the garden and began giving verbal commands, directing any occupants to exit the tent, Howe said.
Three suspects, identified as Hispanic male adults, immediately opened the tent and fled downhill, while one suspect, also described as a Hispanic male adult, remained in the tent and was taken into custody, according to Howe's report.
Deputies and agents found a 9 millimeter semi automatic handgun in a tent, Howe said.
At about 9:30 a.m., as they were walking the suspect out, Howe said detectives encountered two more suspects, described as Hispanic male adults, actively working in the garden, with one of the men holding a gun in his hand.
Howe said that as detectives approached the suspects the one holding the gun dropped it. Both then fled and the team wasn't able to capture them.
While it's early in the marijuana eradication season, Howe said this is the third marijuana cultivation operation so far this year in which sheriff's deputies have encountered armed suspects.
Howe noted, “We are very grateful these suspects have not pointed their weapons or fired at our personnel.”
Concerns over dangers about illegal marijuana growing operations on public and private lands led Sheriff Rod Mitchell to post a public safety message late last week on his Web site. The video presentation can be found in its entirety here: http://lakesheriff.com/weed_warning.asp .
The video explains that violence in connection with marijuana growing is increasing.
Last September, the county saw the first murder associated with a growing operation. In that case, the body of a Santa Rosa man was found in an illegal grow on Socrates Mine Road, where he had been shot to death, as Lake County News has reported.
The sheriff's office reported that 2009 is “already surpassing last year in seizures and violence.”
While eradicating a grow on Socrates Mine Road in June, deputies encountered two armed suspects who fled and evaded capture, according to the report.
In addition to locating firearms and armed growers, deputies have discovered booby traps, such as a rat trip outfitted with a shotgun shell, which they recreated and shot through a human-shaped target.
They've also found rat and mouse poison, litter and other environmental concerns in the grows.
Nearly all of the illegal grows are discovered and eradicated through the use of helicopters, which the county rents from private companies and pays for through a $275,000 Drug Enforcement Administration Grant.
Tuesday's raid brings this year's total for eradications to more than 285,000 plants and 15 arrests, based on various sheriff's reports.
That puts Lake County – which in recent years has led all of California's 58 counties in eradications of illegal marijuana – close to Mendocino County, which so far this year has netted close to 280,000 plants, made close to 60 arrests and seized around 50 firearms at more than 90 sites.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The results of the countywide balloting were announced Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of the Vector Control Board of Trustees, held at the district's headquarters in Lakeport.
The annual assessment is expected to bring in about $500,000 a year to the district, which currently has an annual budget of about $1.3 million.
Single family homes equivalents in Zone A – making up most of the county – will pay an average annual amount of $13.96, while single family homes in Zone B, located in more remote areas and including Bureau of Land Management and Mendocino National Forest lands, will be assessed $6.98 annually.
The maximum annual assessment is to be adjusted no more than 3 percent annually based on the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco Bay Area.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley, who tabulated the ballots, issued a report stating that 14,494 ballots were received out of 42,784 mailed to county residents. That represents a ballot return rate of 33.8 percent.
In all, 14,193 valid ballots were processed, according to Fridley. The assessment value of all of those processed ballots is $186,074.75.
Of those, there were 8,956 valid “yes” votes, for a return rate of 63.10 percent unweighted, or 57.74 percent weighted by assessment.
There were 5,237 valid “No” votes, for an unweighted return rate of 36.8 percent or 42.3 percent weighted by assessment, according to Fridley. The assessed value of those no votes was $78,628.23.
The Vector Control board held a public hearing at the courthouse on June 30 as part of the Proposition 218 process, which covers assessment and rate hikes. The district took comment at that time from several area residents who questioned the need for the assessment and how the balloting was being conducted.
At the end of that meeting, the balloting – which had begun early in May – officially closed.
The public hearing was continued to Tuesday, but no community members were present to make statements or ask questions.
Trustee Chuck Leonard told District Manager Dr. Jamesina Scott that the district did a good job in presenting the assessment to the community.
Leonard said he hadn't expected the assessment to pass, which is why he had voted against spending the money on it.
Scott previously reported that the district had paid about $126,000 in consulting, printing and mailing fees in order to take the assessment to the community.
Following the report on the balloting results, the board unanimously approved a resolution confirming the engineer's report on the assessment and ordering levy of the assessment for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported that James Boissiere, 37, of San Leandro; Joseph Lee Harrold, 33, of Ukiah; Deloran Reed Lawson, 19, of Hayward; and Elliott Merrill Marshall, 30, of Oakland, all have been taken into custody.
The four are alleged to have been involved in an armed robbery and kidnapping on Dec. 4, 2008.
A 45-year-old Talmage woman reported at the time that the suspects forced their way into her home at gunpoint, where two of the suspects demanded her marijuana, the sheriff's office reported.
The victim reportedly led them to a room where she gave them approximately one in a half pounds of processed marijuana. She then attempted to take the gun from the younger suspect, at which time a physical altercation took place and the suspect struck her on the head with the pistol frame. The suspect further struck the victim in the face which caused her facial cuts and lacerations.
The suspects then fled from the location on foot prior to the victim calling 911, according to the sheriff's report.
Mendocino County Sheriffs deputies, along with detectives and Ukiah Police officers, checked the area for the suspect with negative results.
A neighbor in the area did obtain a possible license plate number from the suspect vehicle, described as a Greenish Blue Mercedes Benz with a California License Plate of 5MWJ477.
The victim was transported via ambulance to Ukiah Valley Medical Center for treatment.
Based on their investigation, and with the help of the Oakland Police Department, Mendocino County Sheriff's office detectives identified the suspect.
On June 6, they arrested Harrold and booked him into the Mendocino County Jail where he is being held in lieu of $335,000 bail.
Boissiere was arrested on June 10 by Oakland Police Department. He's being held in a Bay Area jail pending transportation to the Mendocino County Jail.
Oakland Police also located and arrested Marshall on June 23. He was later was transferred to the Mendocino County Jail where he is currently being held in lieu of $335,000 bail.
The last of the group, Lawson, was arrested on July 8 by San Francisco Police for an unrelated case and booked into the San Francisco County Jail. He's also due to be transported to Mendocino County Jail upon the conclusion of the case in San Francisco.
The three small brush fires were reported shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Highway 29 north of 11th Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Lakeport Fire Protection District responded and contained the fires, according to reports from the scene. Cal Fire reported that it did not send a response to the scene.
Over the last week several fires have occurred in that area, including three fires that burned 22 acres on July 8 and another fire on July 11, as Lake County News has reported.
Lynda Walker, 53, and Thomas Sperry, 50, both of Stockton, were hospitalized after the crash, which occurred on Highway 20 at Harvey Street in Clearlake Oaks at approximately 6:14 p.m. Saturday, as Lake County News has reported.
Alexandra Meagan Drew, 21, of Santa Rosa was driving her 2005 Honda Civic westbound on Highway 20 at 40 miles per hour, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Drew, who the CHP alleges was intoxicated at the time, let her vehicle drift onto the roadway's right shoulder, overcorrected and traveled across both traffic lanes while rotating counter clockwise.
Sperry and Walker were coming the opposite direction on Highway 20, riding a 2004 Harley Davidson motorcycle at 40 miles per hour, the CHP report stated.
Sperry, who was driving the motorcycle, hit the passenger side door of Drew's vehicle as it spun in front of him, according to the CHP report.
Both Sperry and Walker were ejected from the motorcycle. The CHP said Sperry suffered a compound fracture to his lower leg and Walker suffered major internal injuries.
CHP Officer Kory Reynolds arrested Drew at the scene about 45 minutes after the crash on a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. Her booking sheet also showed a misdemeanor charge DUI charge, with bail set at $10,000. She posted bail later that day and was released.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Late last month, with no state budget in sight, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger directed all state agencies to add a third furlough day each month for all state employees beginning July 1.
In December, Schwarzenegger had ordered two furlough days per month for employees as he tried to conserve the state's dwindling cash. Those furloughs started in February.
In response to the latest furlough order, Caltrans reported that their offices will be closed three Fridays per month. That went into effect on July 10.
Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie reported that highway construction projects will continue on furlough days and will not be impacted, but Caltrans highway maintenance staff will be furloughed on
these days.
Similar to weekends and holidays, staff will be on call to respond to emergency situations, he added.
“The furlough days are decreasing the number of hours our highway maintenance staff can work each month, which will reduce the amount of work they can accomplish,” he told Lake County News. “They will continue to prioritize their work load to ensure that the most important work is completed.”
State legislators' offices also are feeling the pinch.
David Miller, spokesman for Sen. Pat Wiggins, said that, effective July 1, all Senate staff had their vision and dental benefits reduced. In addition, all Senate staff earning $50,000 or more also had their pay reduced 5 percent via one furlough day per month.
How those furlough days might affect Senate staffs' workload isn't known yet; Miller said they won't being taking the furloughs until after the budget agreement is signed.
Miller said Wiggins already cut her own pay 5 percent, cut her per diem by 18 percent and gave up her car allowance.
He said Wiggins' offices are getting a steady volume of constituent visits and calls advocating one budget approach or another – for example, more cuts or more taxes. They're also getting requests for assistance. Many people also have called to thank Wiggins for giving up some of her financial benefits.
Miller said he expects few people will be happy with the budget agreement that eventually is passed and signed, so they'll likely have more calls then, too.
Andrew Bird, spokesman for Assemblyman Wes Chesbro's office, said the Assembly has approached the budget issues different than the Senate.
“The Assembly is not doing furlough days at this time,” Bird said.
The reason, he explained, is that, several months ago, the Assembly slashed its budget 10 percent.
Also maintaining regular working hours is the California Highway Patrol.
Jaime Coffee, a spokesperson for the CHP's Sacramento office, said that, due to the agency's “mission of public safety and the critical nature of every CHP employee,” it will maintain normal working hours, and that means remaining open during the furloughs on the first, second and third Friday of every month.
Uniform personnel are exempt from the state's furlough program, said Coffee, and there will be no reduction in patrol services or response time to public calls for service.
The CHP, Coffee added, is funded by the Motor Vehicle Account, not the state's general fund.
Still, nonuniform employees will adhere to the furlough directive, but schedules will be arranged so that it doesn't affect opening hours, Coffee said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
