LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is seeking two suspects that are alleged to have been involved with a stabbing early Friday.
Sgt. Kevin Odom said the stabbing occurred shortly before 2:30 a.m. Friday in the 700 block of Manzanita Street in Lakeport.
He said Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to the scene on the report of a stabbing victim.
Once on scene, officers contacted the 20-year-old male victim who had what appeared to be a stab wound to his stomach, Odom said.
The victim, who resides in the area, told police he discovered two unknown males in an adjacent vacant residence and confronted them. Odom said one of the males allegedly stabbed the victim with a small knife before both suspects fled north on Manzanita Street.
He said the victim provided an initial description of the suspect who stabbed him as a white male with short dark hair wearing dark clothing.
The victim was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital where he was treated for his injury and later released, according to Odom.
The incident is under investigation, Odom said.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact Lakeport Police Department Officer Joe Eastham at 707-263-5491
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol will conduct a boating under the influence (BUI) checkpoint on Clear Lake this weekend.
The checkpoint will take place on Saturday, June 25, according to Capt. James Bauman.
California State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Game will assist with the operation, which Bauman said is intended to reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents and injuries, and to enforce other California boating laws on the waters of Clear Lake.
He said boaters will be stopped briefly and questioned. Any boat operators showing signs of alcohol use, intoxication or impairment may be subject to further testing.
Anyone found to have a blood-alcohol (BA) content higher than .08 percent may be subject to arrest and incarceration, Bauman said.
Saturday’s checkpoint is being conducted in conjunction with “Operation Dry Water 2011.” Bauman said Operation Dry Water was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in partnership with the United States Coast Guard and has been a highly successful effort to draw public attention to the hazards of Boating Under the Influence (BUI) of alcohol and drugs.
Held in June just prior to the Fourth of July holiday, Operation Dry Water is a national weekend of BUI detection and enforcement aimed at reducing the number of alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities and fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol and drug use on the water, according to Bauman.
Operation Dry Water is coordinated by NASBLA, in partnership with the states, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies, he said.
In 2010, all 50 States and six U.S. Territories participated in Operation Dry Water. Over that three-day weekend there were 40,127 vessels and 66,472 boaters contacted by law enforcement, 322 BUI arrests made, and 4,171 citations and 7,522 warnings issued for safety violations, Bauman reported.
Once again Lake County finds itself in the Bay Area news media spotlight, and again it involves violent crime and the city of Clearlake.
A couple of weeks ago a Clearlake city councilwoman publicly decried the use of a small budget surplus on salary raises for city employees and instead suggested the money be used to shore up the understaffed city police department, which might help a little but ignores the basic fact that the Clearlake Police Department is designed to fail.
The police department has several major problems hindering its success, but the biggest by far is the fact that there has never been a viable plan put forward by the city council to deal with the core issue (money), and instead they have tried to patch together a skeleton force when the city is in desperate need of a small army of officers.
They need so many more officers (realistically, about a dozen), that there is no possible way they could ever hope to be able to afford it using the city's money.
Making matters worse, there is no small town police force that can be effective when it has far more support and command staff than patrolmen, or when it pays its chief nearly $190,000 per year in salary and benefits – both are an obscene waste of money.
To ensure that none of this is able to change the city has burdened itself with a ridiculously generous retirement program for the police that is a ticking time bomb waiting to sink the city in red ink.
Add this to the epicenter of crime in Lake County and you have institutionalized failure with no relief in sight.
By outsourcing the policing to the Lake County Sheriff's Office the city would save nearly all the money it currently spends on five dispatchers, a secretary, the chief and command staff, plus it would save further on its suicidal retirement plan – forever.
The savings (at least $600,000-$700,000 per year excluding the retirement plan), would be substantial and the city should negotiate a deal with the county that will guarantee to put more patrolmen on the street while saving itself from its crippling obligation to fund its retirement plan.
Why should those of us who live outside the city care? Because bad PR for Clearlake affects all of us whose financial success is tied to the image of our county, whether it's from marketing our fruit, nuts and wine, or in the tourism, real estate or investment sectors.
The drugs and violence centered in Clearlake oftentimes spills out into adjoining communities and the city is too large to fail as nearly one-in-four of our citizens live there – they will drag us all down if they stay on their present course.
Their retirement plan also put pressure on Lakeport and the county to follow suit, with disastrous results in Lakeport that are still being dealt with.
We all need the city to be safe and prosperous and must commit ourselves to achieving that goal now, not in some distant future.
It will be hard to change any of this as those with a vested interest in the status quo will fight tooth and nail to hang on and we have seen the city council put pride ahead of common sense in the past, but to not change is to ensure continued failure.
Here is the challenge to the city council: show us the numbers, publicly PROVE to us the way you are spending money on policing is the most efficient means possible and nothing could be saved or improved by outsourcing, if you can't do that then start the process to fix the problem.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport's 24th police chief was sworn in during the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Brad Rasmussen, 41, who has worked his way up through the department over a nearly 21-year period, took his oath from City Clerk Janel Chapman at the start of the meeting.
About 150 people came to see Rasmussen take his oath, packing the chamber and spilling out into the lobby.
In the audience were officers from Lakeport Police and California Highway Patrol, police staff and volunteers, Lake County District Attorney's Office staff including Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, Lt. Brian Martin and Capt. Rob Howe of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Willits Police Chief Gerry Gonzalez, Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells, members of the Lakeport Kiwanis Club and Early Lake Lions, of which Rasmussen is a member and Rasmussen's family.
Looking on were his immediate predecessors – Kevin Burke, who left last October to take the chief's job at Healdsburg Police, and Tom Engstrom, who retired in 2005 and was elected to the city council last November.
Rasmussen, who Burke had promoted to lieutenant, took on additional leadership duties during the 21 months that Burke did double duty both as police chief and interim city manager.
When Burke left Lakeport last fall, Rasmussen was appointed interim chief and acted in that capacity until City Manager Margaret Silveira, who has the hiring authority for the police chief's job, offered him the job permanently on May 18, as Lake County News has reported.
He'll lead a department that, counting the chief's job, will have 10 full-time officer positions in the 2011-12 budget.
After he took the oath, Rasmussen received a standing ovation from the gallery.
He told the group, “I am proud to be selected as the person to lead our police department,” adding he was excited to work with the department's dedicated and hardworking staff and volunteers.
Rasmussen thanked Silveira and the city council for their confidence and trust in selecting him as their next chief.
He also thanked his former chiefs – Engstrom, Burke and Jim Campbell – for their support, training, and the education and leadership opportunities they gave him to prepare him for becoming chief.
Additionally, Rasmussen offered his gratitude to his law enforcement colleagues both inside the department and around the county. “I appreciate the working relationships that we've had.”
He acknowledged the city's management team, noting, “It truly is a team effort here in Lakeport.”
Rasmussen continued, “I'd like to thank the members of our community for their positive support of our police department, and let them know that I plan to keep the goals and direction of the department focused at community-oriented policing, as well as keeping Lakeport as safe and as crime free as possible.”
He recognized his family's support of him working in a job that often interferes with their activities.
Rasmussen invited everyone to a reception afterward hosted by his wife, Karyn, at St. Mary Immaculate Parish Hall. “Hopefully, as soon as I get out of the council meeting I'll be up there.”
Silveira read a message from Gary Leonard, a regional training consultant with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, a retired San Jose Police captain and former police chief. Leonard wasn't able to attend but sent along his congratulations to Rasmussen.
“I am impressed with your chief and department,” Leonard wrote. “I am glad you and your city council have made the decision to keep Brad as the permanent chief. He demonstrates professionalism and real understanding of his and your department's role in providing public safety for Lakeport that will continue to improve the quality of life there.”
After the swearing-in Rasmussen had to stay on for the final budget hearing and presentation of an emergency operations plan. Once the emergency plan was accepted Rasmussen was able to leave to join the party.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A local man riding his motorcycle died as the result of a crash with another vehicle, and police are continuing the investigation and seeking additional witnesses in the incident.
The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, at the intersection of Highway 53 and Dam Road, according to interim Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen.
Clausen said Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to the scene where they found an off-duty emergency medical technician was already on scene and providing first aid to a solo rider of a Honda Motorcycle, 53-year-old Brian Chatfield of Clearlake.
An investigation determined that Chatfield was riding his motorcycle northbound on Highway 53 approaching the intersection of Dam Road, Clausen said.
Jeremy Schenck, 29, of Clearlake was traveling southbound on Highway 53 and making a left turn onto Dam Road as he entered into the intersection with a green light. Clausen said Schenck was making his turning movement and was into the intersection when Chatfield collided with the passenger side of Schenck’s vehicle.
Chatfield was transported to local hospital where he was pronounced deceased by medical personal, Clausen said.
According to a member of Chatfield's family, he was an experienced motorcyclist who also taught riding courses.
The investigation is ongoing and all witnesses were interviewed at the scene, Clausen said.
Police asked anyone else has any information regarding the traffic collision to please contact Officer Alan Collier of the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.
From left, Orlando Lopez and Paul Braden were taken into custody by Clearlake Police on murder charges on Monday, June 20, 2011. Lake County Jail photos.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH CONFIRMATION OF BRADEN'S CONNECTION TO THE CASE.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Monday the Clearlake Police Department arrested one of its identified persons of interest in a fatal Saturday night shooting that killed a child and left five other people wounded, and took another man into custody on similar charges in the case.
Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23, of Clearlake Oaks was arrested by Clearlake Police Officer Mike Ray at 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to Lake County Jail booking records.
Lopez was arrested for one count of murder, and five counts each of assault with a firearm on a person and attempted murder. His bail was set at $500,000.
Another man who Clearlake Police hadn't so far identified publicly in connection with the case was taken into custody early on Monday for similar charges.
Officer Mike Ray arrested Paul William Braden, 21, of Clearlake Oaks just after midnight on Monday. He was booked on single counts of murder, assault with a firearm on a person, attempted murder plus a felony parole violation, which triggers a no-bail hold.
Braden had previously been taken into custody by the Lake County Sheriff's Office in May for a felony probation violation, according to jail records.
On Tuesday morning Clearlake Police confirmed that Braden's arrest was a result of the investigation into the shooting.
In a report issued earlier in the afternoon, interim Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen had identified Lopez as the second “person of interest” in the case after identifying the first, 29-year-old Kevin Ray Stone of Clearlake, the day before.
The shooting incident – with the most victims of any shooting case in the city's history, police confirmed – occurred shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday at a location on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
Four-year-old Skyler Rapp was fatally wounded, and his mother, 22-year-old Desiree Kirby, remained in critical condition at UC Davis Medical Center on Monday, according to hospital officials.
Police on Monday also identified the other shooting victims, including 25-year-old Ross Sparks; his brother Andrew, 23; 19-year-old Ian Griffith; and a 15-year-old male who police did not name.
UC Davis Medical Center spokesperson Dorsey Griffith said Monday that Ross Sparks had been discharged, his brother was in fair condition and Griffith was in good condition. Details of the juvenile taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital were not immediately available.
A candlelight vigil for Skyler Rapp and his family is planned for 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, in Clearlake's Redbud Park.
Booking records indicate that both Lopez and Braden are set to appear in court for the first time that same day.
Still sought in connection to the case is Stone, who is described as a white male adult, 6 feet, 1 inches tall, weighing approximately 165 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
If anyone knows of the whereabouts of either man they are asked to contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.
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