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LAKEPORT – A Tuesday morning report from sheriff's officials sheds more light on the case of a Nice man found dead in his taxi last week, and notes that one of the people who last saw Womachka alive is now in jail on a parole violation.
Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued a report that stated that the death of Paul “Joe” Womachka, 39, of Nice, is being treated as a “criminal homicide.”
Womachka's ex-wife and business partner, Erica Womachka, reported him missing last Wednesday after he didn't return from a run for their Hey Taxi business, as Lake County News previously reported.
Brown's report explained that Womachka had received a call from Robinson Rancheria at about midnight early on Wednesday morning to drive Morgan Matthew Jack, 30, to his home at Big Valley Rancheria in Lakeport.
Two days later, at 3 p.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies received a call about a vehicle under water in the Big Valley Rancheria marina, Brown reported. Divers from the North Shore Dive Team responded to the scene, where they recovered the van and discovered Womachka's body inside.
Brown said sheriff's investigators have interviewed Jack about his contact with Womachka early on Wednesday as part of the homicide investigation.
Sheriff's Det. Corey Paulich arrested Jack, who works as a handyman, for a felony parole violation Friday evening, just hours after Womachka's body was found, according to jail records. He remains in jail on a no-bail hold.
Jack was known to sheriff's officials, said Brown, and had been in and out of the Lake County Jail in recent years.
A call to the California Department of Corrections office in Ukiah to ask about Jack's parole was not returned Tuesday.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell reported on Monday that Womachka's autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. There's no word yet on when the results of the inquest will be ready.
Anyone with information regarding the Womachka case is asked to call Det. Nicole Costanza, 262-4236.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKE COUNTY – Officials are still investigating the cause of a three-acre fire that broke out Monday morning along the Hopland Grade.
Alicia Amaro of Cal Fire's Incident Command Center said they received the report of the fire at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
The fire was located on Highway 175, about two and a half miles west of Highway 29. It appeared to have started at the edge of the westbound lane.
Amaro said Cal Fire sent five engines, two dozers, two fires crews, two air tankers and one air attack. In to total, about one dozen engines were on scene, with mutual aid coming from Lakeport and Kelseyville Fire Protection districts, and the U.S. Forest Service. About three dozen Department of Corrections firefighters also helped fight the fire.
The California Highway Patrol briefly closed Highway 175 to all traffic as firefighters worked to contain the blaze. A Cal Fire helicopter made a dozen or more water drops while a fixed-wing aircraft made several passes to drop retardant on the fire. Another airplane acted as a spotter.
Firefighters on scene noted that the summer fire season is shaping up to be a bad one.
Amaro said the fire was contained at about 3:40 p.m., with a cause note yet determined.
Another wildland fire broke out along Tule Lake Road near Highway 29 in North Lakeport on Monday afternoon.
Keith Hill of Cal Fire's Incident Command Center said the second fire was reported at 2:43 p.m., but did not have a time for its containment. All told, Hill said only a few acres were burned, with the cause unknown.
Cal Fire sent the same response as it did to the first fire – five engines, two dozers, two fires crews, two air tankers and one air attack. Hill said that's the planned response on “high dispatch” days like Monday, when officials look at temperature, the burn index and other factors to determine what's needed to quickly contain the fires.
Hill said Lakeport and Kelseyville Fire also were on scene.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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CLEARLAKE OAKS – A Clearlake Oaks man who failed to register as a sex offender after having previously been convicted of a violent sex crime was sentenced to prison on Monday.
Judge Arthur Mann sentenced Clarence John McCarty, 36, to five years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender, according to a report from the Lake County District Attorney's Office.
McCarty is required to register pursuant to penal code section 290 as a result of a felony sexual battery conviction in 1999.
Deputy District Attorney John R. DeChaine reported that McCarty pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290(a)(1)(D).
A felony penal code section 290 violation normally exposes the perpetrator to a maximum prison commitment of three years, DeChaine reported.
However, McCarty admitted at the time of his guilty plea that he had previously served two prior prison terms and had not remained free of prison custody for more than five years between each prior prison commitment, according to DeChaine's report.
The effect of McCarty admitting both prior prison terms, said DeChaine, was that his prison sentence of three years was enhanced to five years.
At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, Judge Mann remanded the defendant into custody.
Det. Mike Curran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with the assistance of Deputies Chwialkowski and Hall, said DeChaine.
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Sobriety checkpoints will be staffed by CHP officers who are trained in the detection of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers.
CHP Drug Recognition Experts, certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will be on site to provide on the spot assessments of drivers suspected of drug use. The officers also will be equipped with state-of-the-art, hand-held breath devices which provide an accurate measure of blood alcohol concentrations of suspected drunk drivers.
“Our goal is to ensure the safe passage of each and every motorist by targeting roads where there is a high frequency of drunk driving,” said Clear Lake Area Commander Lt. Dane Hayward. “A sobriety checkpoint is an effective tool for achieving this goal and is designed to augment existing patrol operations.”
By publicizing the effort, Hayward said CHP hopes they can deter motorists from drinking and driving.
Lt. Hayward emphasized, “traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or unlicensed, can be expected to be arrested.”
He added, “Our objective is to send a clear message to those considering mixing alcohol and/or drugs with driving during summer vacation – the CHP will be keeping a watchful eye out for you.”
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CLEARLAKE – A parade through town, worm races and fireworks – that was Saturday in Clearlake, which kicked off the county's Fourth of July festivities this year.
Things got started with the parade from Redbud Park to Austin Park at 11 a.m., with the 40th annual International Worm Races immediately afterward, hosted for the eighth year by Worm Master Bill Edmunds.
Then in the evening there were fireworks in both Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, where the annual fireworks display in honor of Maxine Sherman helped light up the night sky.
For photo galleries of Clearlake's parade and worm races, go to http://lakeconews.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,37/.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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"Sales fell in part because of tighter credit standards and growing concerns about the impact of subprime loans on the market," said Phil Smoley, owner/broker of CPS Country Air Properties. "Throughout the county inventory levels have increased to their highest levels in recent years, giving buyers more time to view a greater variety of homes and sellers who set realistic prices an edge in the market."
Closed escrow sales of homes in Lake County totaled 69 in May according to the MLS compared to 73 reported a year ago. However, May's sales activity improved by just one sale over April 2007. Statewide home sale activity decreased 27.8 percent from the 516,960 sales pace recorded in April 2006.
The median price of a home in Lake County during May 2007 was $299,000, a 3.6 percent increase over $288,500 median for May 2006, the MLS reported. The May 2007 median price increased 3.1 percent compared with April's $299,000 median price.
"Although the median price of a home in Lake County continues to rise, this reflects the fall-off in sales in the lower-priced markets of the county where new home inventories and foreclosures are competing with the existing home market," said Smoley. "Fewer sales from these regions coupled with
modest gains in some of the stronger neighborhood markets are pushing the median price for the County up slightly."
Highlights of Lake County's housing figures for May 2007:
Lake County's Unsold Inventory Index in May 2007 was 19.3 months, compared with 17 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 6.25 percent during May 2007, compared with 6.51 percent in May 2006, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.57 percent in May 2007 compared with 5.62 percent in May 2006.
The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 160 days in May 2007, compared with 157 days for the same period a year ago.
For a full look at sales around the county, see below.
May Home Sales
Realtor Ray Perry is a member of the CPS/Country Air Kelseyville office. Visit his Web site at www.rayperry.com.
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