How to resolve AdBlock issue? Man sentenced to prison for teen’s fentanyl death
LAKEPORT, Calif. — A Lucerne man arrested last year in connection with the fentanyl death of a teenager has been sentenced to state prison.
Joe Nathan Boggs Jr., 28, was in court on Friday for sentencing before Judge J. David Markham.
Boggs was arrested in June of 2024 for what officials said at the time was Lake County’s first charged fentanyl homicide case for the death of 17-year-old Illeanna Makena Frease of Lakeport.
Frease died Nov. 10, 2023, after authorities said Boggs furnished her with fentanyl.
The District Attorney’s Office originally filed four felony counts against Boggs: second-degree murder; an adult using a minor as an agent to violate controlled substance law; sale, distribution or transportation of a controlled substance; and possession for sale of a controlled substance, as Lake County News has reported.
Boggs, who has remained in the Lake County Jail since his arrest, was set for trial to begin on Sept. 17, according to court records.
However, he reached an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office and entered a plea in the case on Aug. 8, court records show.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Rich Watson told Lake County News that Boggs pleaded no contest to furnishing a controlled substance to a minor and involuntary manslaughter.
Judge Markham sentenced Boggs to 10 years in state prison, Watson said.
Frease was a member of the Elem Colony of Pomo. At the time of her death, her mother, Michaela John, went public with allegations that Boggs — who also is Indigenous — had trafficked her daughter.
John also said that Boggs, who has a lengthy criminal history, “operated both on and off tribal lands openly, with no regard for the damage he was causing. Without accountability.”
Frease’s family attended one of Boggs’ early court appearances wearing red t-shirts with Frease’s picture on them.
A year after Boggs’ arrest, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office made its second fentanyl homicide arrest when it took Ryan John Stahl, 40, of Lucerne, into custody for the February death of Carissa Morton, 28, of Nice.
Stahl, who also remains in custody in the Lake County Jail, was held to answer in the case after his Aug. 28 preliminary hearing and is scheduled for trial in December.
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Clearlake Police seeking missing juvenile
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is asking for the community’s help in locating a missing teenager.
Mayaa Alexis Perez, 15, was last seen on Olympic Drive in Clearlake on Tuesday.
She is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and 150 pounds, with red shoulder length hair and wearing a black shirt, black pants, and silver or grey shoes.
If you have any information on her whereabouts, please call the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 1.
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Congressman Thompson to host Sept. 18 virtual town hall
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Congressman Mike Thompson will host a virtual town hall this week to discuss the economy.
The event will take place via Zoom beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18.
During the Thursday event, Thompson will host author and economic commentator, Kyla Scanlon.
Together, they will discuss the state of the nation’s economy and answer questions about how current economic and trade policies are affecting the community.
To RSVP for Zoom, visit this link.
The town hall also may be watched on Thompson’s Facebook page.
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West Coast states issue unified vaccine recommendations; California breaks from future federal guidance with new law
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon, Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington and Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii announced coordinated winter virus vaccination recommendations through the West Coast Health Alliance, or WCHA.
These recommendations include the 2025–26 COVID-19, influenza, and RSV vaccines.
In addition, Gov. Newsom signed AB 144, authorizing California to base future immunization guidance on credible, independent medical organizations rather than the CDC’s increasingly politicized Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
“Our states are united in putting science, safety, and transparency first — and in protecting families with clear, credible vaccine guidance. The West Coast Health Alliance stands united in protecting public health and always putting safety before politics,” the governors said in a joint statement.
Vaccination is safe, effective and the best protection available against respiratory viruses like COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
Seasonal vaccination is also a critical public health tool to reduce serious illness, community transmission, and strain on hospitals.
“We want the people who live and work in our states to know that there is a strong public health, healthcare & scientific community that will continue to stand together to provide and use the data and evidence needed for you to make healthy choices, and we are here to protect our communities,” said Dr. Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health
"As a physician, I swore an oath to do no harm — and we know vaccines are among the most powerful tools to prevent illness and save lives. As a new mother, I want the same protection for my newborn that every Oregon family deserves. At a time when Washington is undermining our most basic public health safeguards, Oregon is charting a different course. Our actions today affirm that here, public health is about protecting people, not playing politics—and that every family who wants protection this respiratory virus season should be able to get it simply, safely, and affordably,” said Dr. Sejal Hathi, MD, MBA, director of the Oregon Health Authority.
“Vaccines protect more than just ourselves — they help safeguard our families, neighbors, and communities. By staying up to date, Washingtonians can reduce the spread of illness and keep our state strong this season. The Alliance’s recommendations are rooted in science, giving our communities confidence in the guidance we provide,” said Washington State Secretary of Health Dennis Worsham.
“The effectiveness of public health institutions depends on the public’s trust. We understand our responsibility to earn that trust by helping people protect themselves, their families and their community. These recommendations represent a collaborative effort, done with humility and based on science, to meet our responsibilities to our communities and the public at large,” said Kenneth S. Fink, MD, MGA, MPH, director, Hawaiʻi Department of Health.
Truth under assault
In recent weeks, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has aggressively weaponized the CDC by purging its vaccine advisory committee, firing all 17 members and replacing them with cherry-picked appointees who include vaccine skeptics.
He’s forced out the CDC director, triggered high-level and career-staff resignations, and scheduled expedited meetings where this reshaped panel will vote on critical recommendations that guide national vaccine policy and insurance coverage.
Public health leaders warn these moves dismantle independent, science-based oversight and inject politics into decisions that protect Americans’ health — undermining the CDC’s credibility at a moment when trust and clarity are most needed.
States stepping in
Alliance states are fighting back against the Trump administration’s assault on science — sharing a commitment to ensuring that health recommendations are guided by safety, efficacy, transparency, access, and trust.
To develop these recommendations, health officers, who are all medical doctors, and subject matter experts from each of the WCHA states reviewed guidelines from credible national medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Alliance members believe that all clinically recommended vaccinations should be accessible to the people of our states.
In its Wednesday statement, the WCHA said it will continue to build its structure, evaluate new evidence and recommendations as they become available, and determine how to ensure the review process is transparent.
“WCHA is committed to sharing any updated assessments with our communities,” the statement said.
To learn more about these updated recommendations, click here.
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A big fish tale: Sturgeon found in Clear Lake could be a first
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — When people think of fish in Clear Lake, they tend to associate it with bass, catfish and the hitch.
So the appearance this week of a sturgeon — a fish not known to be at home in Clear Lake — has both startled and baffled fishing enthusiasts, lake lovers and scientists alike.
Based on its shape and color, the big fish in question appears to be a white sturgeon, an ancient fish that’s the largest freshwater fish in North America.
The sturgeon ended up on the beach on property owned by Ken Young, a Buckingham resident.
Young told Lake County News that he discovered the fish on Monday afternoon when a fisherman offshore was yelling at him to go take a look.
“I thought he was crazier or drinking too much but no, he was right. It’s huge,” Young said.
Young shared a photo of the fish being measured by another man. He said it is 7 feet long and estimated it could have been 150 pounds.
Young said he had a biologist come by to take samples to make sure the fish wasn’t dumped here and to determine if it was real. He said he also reached out to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife but that they hadn’t responded.
What makes the discovery so noteworthy is that sturgeon are not known to be in Clear Lake’s waters.
A University of California webpage for fish native to Clear Lake lists 14 species. Nowhere on that list is the sturgeon.
Additionally, introduced fish — including bass, carp and catfish — make their homes in the 69-square-mile eutrophic lake.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, reports that there are 25 species of sturgeon worldwide, and of those two are known in California — the white and the green.
The white, like that found on Young’s beach, is larger than the green. While the Buckingham sturgeon, at 7 feet, is a huge fish for Clear Lake, for the species overall, it’s on the smaller side, with CDFW biologists reporting that white sturgeon can grow to be as long as 20 feet.
A first for Clear Lake
Lake County News contacted CDFW to ask about the sturgeon’s discovery.
“That’s a first for Clear Lake as far as we know, but it’s not impossible,” said CDFW spokesman Peter Tira in an email response.
As for how the sturgeon got into Clear Lake, Tira offered one possible explanation.
“There was a period of time when people were planting white sturgeon everywhere and they turn up in various reservoirs throughout the state on occasion,” he said.
“Clear Lake is a bit warm to support sturgeon but then again sturgeon are far more tolerant of warm temperatures than some other species and very adaptable in terms of what they eat. So all of this is certainly plausible, but not part of a white sturgeon’s natural or historic range,” Tira said.
Tira told Lake County News that none of CDFW’s local biologists or staff had seen the fish in person as far as he could tell.
In response to a question about the possibility of the fish migrating from the Bay Delta — which the waters of Clear Lake feed into — Tira responded, “Clear Lake is not part of its native range so there is almost no way it could have entered through the Delta.”
He reiterated, however, “people years ago moved white sturgeon around and introduced them to many large lakes and reservoirs throughout the state for fishing opportunities so they do turn up on occasion in unexpected places outside of their native range.”
An ancient fish
CDFW’s white sturgeon information page said it’s a very long-lived fish with a slow growth rate that can live a life as long as a human.
The oldest white sturgeon on record was 103 years old at the time of capture, “but most fish in the Delta are now believed to be less than 20 years old,” CDFW reported.
White sturgeon are a candidate species for listing as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act, while green sturgeon from the southern population were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2006, CDFW reported.
Additionally, CDFW said the northern population green sturgeon are not state or federally listed, but they both are categorized as a state species of special concern.
Sturgeon also are under threat across the globe. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists 85% of sturgeon species as being considered to be at risk of extinction.
White sturgeon in California are catch and release only, and fishing is only allowed at certain times of the year.
In its “Conserve the Sturg” video, CDFW staff reported that white sturgeon can grow to 20 feet and 1,500 pounds, although smaller ones are more common in the 4- to 6-foot range, and even up to 7 feet.
The sturgeon is one of the oldest fish species in California, with fossil records dating back to the early Cretaceous period, more than 200 millions years ago, CDFW said.
The primary population is in the California Delta, including the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Over the last quarter century, CDFW estimates there has been an 80-percent reduction in white sturgeon numbers.
Habitat loss has contributed significantly to the white sturgeon’s decline, along with overharvesting and poaching, CDFW said.
More recently, CDFW harmful algal blooms have impacted the fish.
The discovery of the dead sturgeon coincides with a fish dieoff that’s been taking place in Clear Lake since the start of this month that CDFW is attributing to a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water.
Scientists have reported that such conditions can harm white sturgeon just like they do other fish.
A big lake
Lake County News reached out to Lake County Water Resources Director Pawan Upadhyay to ask if he had information about the fish’s discovery, but did not receive a response on Tuesday.
Angela De Palma-Dow is a scientist and water resources professional who serves as executive director of the Lake County Land Trust, formerly worked as invasive species coordinator for Lake County Water Resources and is the author of Lake County News’ “Lady of the Lake” columns.
She said she also is working to track down more information on the discovery.
De Palma-Dow said she got her report from a county fisheries biologist.
“Apparently everyone is shocked .... even the long time fish biologists and fishers,” she said in an email response to questions from Lake County News.
Similar to Tira, De Palma-Dow suggested the sturgeon likely was released in Clear Lake when it was younger, much like goldfish and carp were.
“Maybe from a bait bucket, or someone caught a small one that was under the allowable size and released it ...we don't know!” she said in an email.
De Palma-Dow added that, ultimately, how the fish got to Clear Lake could be the story.
She pointed out that Clear Lake is huge. “What else could be in this lake that we don't know about?”
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