Donald Horne is facing charges for a gang assault that took place last year in Lakeport. Lake County Jail photo.

LAKEPORT – A local man with a history of gang-related violence is due in court later this month for a gang assault that occurred last year.

Donald Kirk Horne, 30, of Lakeport, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and criminal street gang enhancements for a June 3, 2006 incident in Lakeport, according to Lakeport Police Lt. Brad Rasmussen.

Horne is a documented member of the Street Villains, a Surenos-affiliated gang that Rasmussen said was one of the first street gangs Lakeport Police confronted.

The assault, said Rasmussen, was against a 28-year-old male with previous gang connections who also had a gang-related tattoo.

Horne and three others are alleged to have approached the victim, accused him of being a rival gang member and then jumped and beat the man, said Rasmussen.

It's a situation similar to other recent gang assaults in Lakeport, said Rasmussen.

Those include a July 4 incident in which a 14-year-old boy was hit in the head with a rock and a March assault against 19-year-old Alex Larranaga of Clearlake Oaks, who was stabbed.

In the June 3 case, the victim escaped with minor injuries, said Rasmussen.

Police determined the three other suspects who are alleged to have been with Horne at the time of the assault also were gang members, but they were not charged in the case, Rasmussen said.

The case required extensive followup and interviews before it came together, said Rasmussen. Horne was arrested and booked Feb. 22 on the charges.

Rasmussen said Horne has an extensive criminal history, and has already served a four-year sentence for a 1999 gang assault.

On July 4, 1999, Horne and members of the Street Villains jumped a group of young men they thought were rival Nortenos at the Lakeport McDonald's.

It turned out the victims weren't Nortenos, but were just visiting the county for the holiday, said Rasmussen.

“They hurt these guys, one of them, fairly significantly,” said Rasmussen.

Horne was convicted of battery with serious bodily injury and participation in criminal street gang in October 2004 and sentenced to four years in state prison, said Rasmussen.

While the conception might be that gang members are usually in their teens and early 20s, older gang members such as Horne are part of the gang scene, said Rasmussen.

“We find them that are this age. It's not uncommon,” he said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said Horne is due in court July 27 for a preliminary hearing.

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

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