News

Ivan Garcia Oliver, 29, who is charged with the Nov. 20 murder of 67-year-old Lakeport resident Michael Dodele, has been indicted on federal charges of dumping hazardous materials in San Diego County, as Lake County News reported Monday.

Court documents filed last week by the US Attorney's Office's Southern District showed that federal officials intended to have Oliver brought to San Diego for a Dec. 21 arraignment on the charges.

However, on Monday Assistant US Attorney Melanie K. Pierson said the plans have changed.

A writ of habeas corpus that Pierson had filed to have Oliver transported was returned unexecuted, said Pierson. Instead, Pierson said a new writ for a different date is being filed.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who is prosecuting Oliver for Dodele's murder, said District Attorney Jon Hopkins asked the US Attorney's Office to put off the Dec. 21 arraignment so that it wouldn't interfere with the murder case's proceedings. “They've agreed to try to work with us.”

Hinchcliff said Oliver will be in Lake County Superior Court on Jan. 7, 2008, at which time he expects a preliminary hearing to be set in the murder case.

Oliver is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in San Diego County on Jan. 30, said Hinchcliff.

In federal court Oliver is facing charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting his half-brother and co-defendant, Guillermo Garcia of El Cajon, in dumping hazardous wastes in and around Slaugherhouse Canyon Creek in San Diego County in March 2005, according to court records.

Pierson said the two men worked for a company called Wagner Construction when they allegedly agreed to dump five 55-gallon drums of acrylic paint containing the highly toxic solvent toluene. The men allegedly dumped the paint at night in order to save the time and expense of properly disposing of the materials.

Court documents allege that Garcia subsequently lied to authorities about the materials, allegedly saying they had been spilled accidentally.

The month before the alleged dumping incident, Oliver was released on parole after serving time in state prison on a charge of assault with force causing great bodily injury, according to state parole records.

Asked if these federal charges could constitute a violation of Oliver's parole, Pierson said that will be a matter for the state to investigate.

The US Marshal's office agreed to transport Oliver to and from the San Diego appearances, said Hinchcliff, which will save local taxpayers the expense of sending the Lake County Sheriff's Office down to pick Oliver up.

Pierson confirmed that the US Attorney's Office will work with Lake County to coordinate Oliver's court appearances both locally and in San Diego.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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From left to right, Edge Wireless tower (cell phone lifeline of Lake County), Andy Weiss and Bill Rett (KPFZ's stalwart engineer), and to the right, the building which will house KPFZ's main transmitter, transmitter/receiver, and other audio gear. Between Andy and Bill, P&R roughnecks install KPFZ's antenna. Insert at bottom left, Weiss and Rett hold up parts of our hefty antenna system. Courtesy photo.

MT. KONOCTI – Rain, snow and ice couldn't prevent work from taking place on this past week on the tower for KPFZ's new high power station.

The community radio station's supporters hope to soon be broadcasting at full power from 88.1 FM.

Station Manager Andy Weiss reported that Mt. Konocti was muddy, cold and rather treacherous, but Bill Rett and Jack Olsen of P&R Tower in Sacramento made the trip for free to climb up the tower and install the antenna.

Weiss said it only took a couple of hours for the connection from the antenna and transmission line to be sealed, then the line pressurized with nitrogen, and checked for leaks. He said the pressurized nitrogen line keeps water from leaking into the cable – “and water in the line is the death knell to a radio station.”

The next step up on the mountain is to install the transmitter, audio processor, and all the remote gear which controls the station's programming and transmitter from the studio in Lakeport, according to Weiss. That equipment is due to arrive shortly.

“But this was the completion of the biggest, hardest physical step in getting 88.1 going,” said Weiss. “Now, it's more brain than brawn.”

KPFZ is still in need of funds to complete its transition to high power. If you would like to help, contact Weiss at 274-2152 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Ivan Garcia Oliver, 29, is charged with the Nov. 20 murder of 67-year-old Michael Dodele.

Oliver's legal problems have grown since the alleged attack.

A week after Oliver is alleged to have stabbed Dodele to death in his trailer at the Western Hills Mobile Home Park in Lakeport, the US Department of Justice indicted Oliver, according to court documents obtained by Lake County News.

Charges filed against Oliver include conspiracy and aiding and abetting co-defendant Guillermo Garcia of El Cajon in dumping hazardous wastes in San Diego County, court records show. In addition, Garcia is facing a charge for failing to report a release of a hazardous substance.

Shortly after Oliver was arrested for Dodele's murder, the Lake County Sheriff's Office discovered that Oliver was on parole out of San Diego County, as Lake County News previously reported.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation staff told Lake County News that Oliver has been on parole since February of 2005 on a charge of assault with force causing great bodily injury. He had not been legally cleared to be out of San Diego County, officials reported.

According to the indictment, Garcia and Oliver allegedly agreed on March 30, 2005, to dispose of Plasti-Kote acrylic paint by dumping the contents of five 55-gallon drums into Slaughterhouse Canyon Creek in San Diego County.

The paint the men allegedly dumped contained toluene, a highly toxic petroleum-based solvent used in manufacturing paints that's also used as paint thinner, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Short-term exposure to toluene can cause minor nervous system disorders, while long-term exposure can result in conditions including speech and sight impairment, and liver and kidney damage, according to the EPA.

A statement from the US Attorney of the California Southern District alleges that the two men dumped the hazardous materials into the creek and onto the ground near it at night “in order to save the time and money required by lawful disposal.”

The US Attorney's Office alleges that Garcia lied to authorities responding to the incident on March 31, 2005, telling them there ha been an accidental spill of between 20 and 30 gallons.

Garcia was arraigned Nov. 29 in federal court in San Diego before Magistrate Judge Anthony J. Battaglia, at which time he pleaded not guilty to the charges, the US Attorney's Office reported. He's next scheduled to appear in court before Judge Irma E. Gonzalez on Jan. 7, 2008.

If convicted of all charges, Garcia could face maximum fines and penalties of more than $500,000, plus as much as 16 years in prison. He has been released on $20,000 bail.

Meanwhile, the US Attorney's Office has applied for a writ of habeas corpus to have Oliver brought from the Lake County Jail to San Diego for a court appearance later this month.

A federal judge signed the writ, filed Dec. 5, which orders the warden of the Lake County Jail and the US Marshal for the district to have Oliver in court for arraignment before Magistrate Judge Leo S. Papas at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21.

The writ calls for Oliver to be returned to Lake County after the arraignment is held.

That should put him back in Lake County in time for a Jan. 7, 2008 court appearance he is scheduled to make in the Dodele murder, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

Hinchcliff said he expects a date for a preliminary hearing to be set at that Jan. 7 hearing for Oliver, who was last in Lake County Superior Court on the Dodele case on Nov. 30.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The California Highway Patrol's incident logs reported that the off-road crash occurred in the Middle Creek area near Deer Valley Road just after 3 p.m. Sunday.

At least one of the riders had suffered major injuries, including a broken bone.

On Sunday evening, the CHP's Ukiah Dispatch Center has no further information on the crash or the individuals involved.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Faded at Four lead singers Jon Foutch entertains the crowd at the Boodog Battle of The Bands. Photo by Brett Behrens.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CORRECTED REGARDING THE NUMBER OF SONGS PLAYED AND THE NAME OF THE GUITARIST PICTURED. 

SAN FRANCISCO – Faded At Four, a progressive rock band from Lake County, was among three bands selected Wednesday night in a preliminary round of competition in the Booodog Battle of the Bands.

The five-member band wowed the Bay Area crowd as the group had just 30 minutes in its alloted time slot to impress the judges as well as the patrons. The competition was held at 12 Galaxies, a club in the Mission District.

Opening the evening with “Awakening,” Faded flew through three more numbers before leaving the stage with the standing-room-only throng wanting more. Included in their performance was "Awakening," “They” and “Unhero” and "Denied."

The group also had a major advantage as a tour bus was chartered by local music enthusiasts wanting to attend the event. Nearly 50 fans made the three hour by bus trek to the southern part of San Francisco.

The winner of the competition will received a $1 million recording contract.

Faded at Four’s next step in the competition is Jan. 13, 2008, when they will once again take the stage.

The next round is scheduled for the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Faded at Four

Lake County Skies: Are you ready for Mars?

December skies at 9 p.m. on Dec. 15.

LAKE COUNTY – The planet Mars moves close to the Earth every two years. This is a function of its orbit around the sun.

“Close” is still pretty far away – about 55 million miles! When Mars is close, it provides an interesting object for telescope viewing.

This month, Mars will be close, and can be seen in the area of the sky shown in the December star chart. It will look like a bright star with a reddish hue.

Through a telescope, it is possible to see one of the polar caps and some dark markings on the planet’s surface. Here’s a picture of Mars I took through one of my telescopes when it was close in 2003.

 

 

Mars courtesy of John Zimmerman.

 

In December, there are some very beautiful constellations overhead.

There is Perseus, the hero in Greek mythology we spoke of last month.  That’s the constellation where comet Holmes appeared. Below Perseus is Taurus the bull. The brightest star in Taurus, Aldebaran, is reddish in color, and is sometimes called the “eye of the bull.”

Between Perseus and Taurus is the Pleiades, a small group of bright stars you can see with the naked eye. The Pleiades is sometimes called the “seven sisters.” An image of the Pleiades is shown below.

 

Pleiades courtesy of Andy Munro.

Finally, below Taurus, rising in the southeast is Orion, one of the most beautiful of all constellations.  Orion was a great hunter in Greek mythology. We’ll talk more about Orion in next month’s column.

For more information about astronomy and local astronomy-related events, visit the Taylor Observatory website at www.taylorobservatory.org.  

On Dec. 15, starting at 8 p.m., the observatory will be open to the public, and Mars will be featured, both in a presentation and in telescope viewing.

John Zimmerman has been an amateur astronomer for 50 years. He is a member of the Taylor Observatory staff, where, among his many duties, he helps create planetarium shows.

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