LAKEPORT, Calif. – Two local men were arrested on Friday after police discovered a large marijuana grow and a handgun on a Lakeport property.

Steven Glen Sprague Jr., 38, of Lakeport and Moises Lazodavalos, 61, of Clearlake were arrested in the case, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

At 1 p.m. Friday a Lakeport Police officer who Rasmussen said was on proactive patrol located an outdoor marijuana cultivation site in the 2400 block of Parallel Drive.

Rasmussen said additional officers were requested to assist with investigating the circumstances of the cultivation operation. 

Officers first located and contacted the resident of the property, who was identified as Sprague, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said Sprague stated that he was aware of the grow and that he had given a unknown subject permission to cultivate marijuana on the property in exchange for $10,000 – $6,000 paid before the marijuana was put in the ground and $4,000 to be paid after the grow was finished.

Officers searched the grow site and associated camp area and located Lazodavalos, who was believed to be living in the grow site and tending and guarding the plants, Rasmussen said.

Forty-six fully mature marijuana plants with a total plant weight of 1,140 pounds were located, eradicated and destroyed. Additionally, Rasmussen said officers found a loaded .40-caliber handgun in the camp.

Rasmussen said both Sprague and Lazodavalos were arrested for felony charges of conspiracy to cultivate marijuana for profit.

They were transported to the Lake County Correctional Facility where they were booked, with Rasmussen reporting that additional charges of being armed in the commission of a felony will be sought against Lazodavalos.

Bail for both men was set at $15,000, with Lazodavalos still in custody early Saturday, according to jail records.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department said its officers took a couple into custody on Tuesday on numerous charges after finding them siphoning gas at a shopping center.

Jason Lee Hunter, 44, of Kelseyville and Alyce Kathryn Schmadeke, 40, of Lakeport were arrested early Tuesday morning, according to a report from Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

At approximately 4:40 a.m. Tuesday, Lakeport Police officers, assisted by Lake County Sheriff’s deputies, responded to a citizen report of a suspicious subject in the Shoreline Shopping Center near Allen’s Furniture, Rasmussen said.

Upon arrival, officers determined that Hunter and Schmadeke were in the process of siphoning gasoline from a nearby vehicle owned by Allen’s Furniture, according to Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said both Hunter and Schmadeke were detained and a complete investigation, including a search of the vehicle, was conducted. 

He said officers located a large number of various tools commonly used to commit burglaries including shaved keys, numerous keys/key fobs for other vehicles, hacksaws, screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets, siphon hoses, punches, files and bolt cutters. 

Both subjects had prior criminal charges for theft and burglary and Schmadeke was on felony probation for burglary, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said Schmadeke and Hunter were arrested for misdemeanor charges of possession of burglary tools, tampering with a vehicle and theft, and then transported to the Lake County Correctional Facility for booking. 

Prior to being taken into the jail facility, officers asked both Schmadeke and Hunter if they had any weapons or drugs concealed on their persons that had not been located, as if they did they would be charged with an additional crime of bringing prohibited contraband into a jail facility, Rasmussen said.

He said neither of them disclosed any contraband and none was found by officers during a search, however, during the booking process, correctional officers located suspected methamphetamine in the property of both Schmadeke and Hunter.

Rasmussen said additional charges – including misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine and felony possession of drugs in a correctional facility – were added. Schmadeke also was charged with being in violation of the terms of her felony probation. 

Prior to California’s Proposition 47, enacted by voters in November of 2014, Schmadeke and Hunter could have been charged with felony theft due to their prior criminal histories, and the possession of methamphetamine charge would have been a felony, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said this case is a good example of the community working together with law enforcement.

He said a citizen immediately reported suspicious persons and behavior and that, combined with a quick response by law enforcement, stopped the two suspects and allowed officers to seize their contraband before additional crimes were committed.  

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-5) announced a federal grant of $125,000 has been awarded to the Lakeport Police Department.

The grant was made available through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS.

The COPS Hiring Program grant will be used to retain a law enforcement officer who will serve as a liaison to Lakeport’s business community and neighborhood groups to support Lakeport’s crime reduction efforts.

“By allowing the Lakeport Police Department to hire an additional officer, these federal funds will go a long way towards helping our law enforcement officers make our community safer,” said Thompson. “I am a proud supporter of the COPS Hiring Program and will continue working to make sure our cities and towns have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”

In a joint statement, Lakeport Chief of Police Brad Rasmussen and Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira said they were excited to have been selected by the Department of Justice COPS program for this grant. 

“This offers us the opportunity to provide a business and neighborhood liaison to work closely with our business and neighborhood groups to address crime issues affecting the community.  We appreciate the support of the congressman’s office, as well as numerous community groups including the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Association, Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, Workforce Lake and the Lake County Probation Office for their support of this community policing officer,” Rasmussen and Silveira said.

The COPS Hiring Program offers grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.

Additional information about the 2016 COPS Hiring Program can be found on the COPS Web site at www.cops.usdoj.gov .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said two people were arrested Friday and nearly 150 marijuana plants were seized after officers initially responded to a report of a weapon being brandished.

Maria Heidy Cano, 47, and Erick Alexander Guzman, 22, both of Clearlake, were arrested in the case, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

At 9:25 a.m. Friday Clearlake Police Officers responded to the 15500 block of Sharpe Lane on a report of a brandishing with a shotgun that had occurred a short time earlier. Joseph said the victim was unharmed and claimed the brandishing was related to a marijuana grow on the property.

Joseph said officers arrived at the address and spoke with Cano, who claimed to be the owner of the property.

Cano initially denied that a brandishing had occurred but then told investigating officers that it was not a real gun which had been brandished. Joseph said she was unable to produce the item she claimed was not real.

While officers were speaking with Cano, two Hispanic male adults were seen fleeing on foot from a large metal building into the heavily wooded area surrounding the property. Officers were unable to locate either of these individuals, Joseph said.

Joseph said that while the officers were on the property, they observed two large marijuana grows which were in the process of being harvested.

Cano claimed one of the grows belonged to her but the other one belonged to another person who did not live there. Cano made other statements to the investigating officers which led officers to believe this was a commercial grow site, Joseph said.

Guzman also was found on the property. Joseph said Guzman made statements to officers that he was involved in the cultivation of the marijuana.

Joseph said both Cano and Guzman were arrested on scene. Cano claimed she had a medical marijuana recommendation, however, none were seen or found.

Officer Leonardo Flores authored a search warrant for Cano’s property which was granted by Lake County Superior Court Judge Stephen Hedstrom, Joseph said.

During service of the search warrant, Joseph said officers seized approximately 144 marijuana plants in various stages of growth along with approximately 3 pounds of processed marijuana. Officers also seized ammunition and scales.

Most of the marijuana plants were so large that the Clearlake Public Works Department had to be called out so officers could use a large dump trailer to haul all the plants from the scene, Joseph said.

Cano later was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales, with bail set at $15,000. Guzman was booked on charges of cultivation of marijuana, with his bail also at $15,000, according to booking records.

Both Cano and Guzman later posted bail and were released, based on jail records.

Joseph said the case will be referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for charges.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The repaving of a city street has led to speeding violations, according to the Lakeport Police Department.

The agency reported that Bevins Street between Lakeport Boulevard and Martin Street was repaved on Tuesday night.

Police asked all drivers to stay mindful of traffic safety and watch their speed on the new pavement.

With new pavement on city streets, drivers sometimes tend to increase speed, which contributes to collisions, police said, adding that new pavement is not an excuse to drive faster. 

The morning after the paving job was complete police received reports of vehicles traveling upwards of 60 miles per hour, which is double the speed limit on Bevins, and they subsequently issued speeding citations.

“Please watch your speed. Our goal is to educate drivers and maintain traffic safety in the city and we will issue citations when warranted,” the Lakeport Police Department said in a statement.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – As part of its efforts to engage the community in emergency preparedness, the Lakeport Police Department is encouraging residents to sign up for alert notifications.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the city of Lakeport maintains an emergency telephone notification system that is operated by the police department through NIXLE. 

All AT&T landline telephone numbers in the city are already connected to the NIXLE system, Rasmussen said.

“We understand that many residents no longer maintain landline telephones but rather just use their cellular phones,” said Rasmussen.

He said some residents and businesses use voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, phone services, and that his department does not have access to VOIP or cellular telephone numbers in a format that can be obtained and loaded into the system in the same manner as the AT&T landline numbers. 

However, Rasmussen said residents can register their VOIP or cellular telephone numbers in the Lakeport Police Department's NIXLE system.

This can be done by creating an account at http://local.nixle.com/accounts/login/ or, for those who already have accounts, by logging in and going to the account tab. There, users can make sure their information and numbers are entered and then check where they want voice messages to go. 

When completed with the account information, users should check the settings tab and make sure they are connected to the agency "Lakeport Police Department.”

Rasmussen said many people already have registered their VOIP or cellular numbers but many others still have not. 

“We are requesting that all residents and businesses make sure their numbers are registered with us.  This is important for people to receive critical emergency information by telephone in the event the city or police department needs to send such information out by telephone,” he said.

Rasmussen said the department will be testing this notification system sometime in the near future and hope to have additional numbers registered before that time.

“Public notice will be provided before any testing of the system,” he said.

Rasmussen said anyone with further questions about this process can call 707-263-9650 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and the police department will have someone assist them as soon as possible. 

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