In February, Sheriff Frank Rivero went to the Board of Supervisors with his concerns, suggesting that he didn't believe the Lake County Superior Court's Lakeport division, located on the fourth floor of the county courthouse on N. Forbes Street in Lakeport, was safe enough, as Lake County News has reported.

He'd suggested to the board in February that either everyone entering the building needed to be screened or the screening equipment needed to be moved to the fourth floor.

However, earlier this month, the Judicial Council of California's Administrative Office of the Courts sent Rivero a report in which it said that the fourth floor screening proposal wouldn't work because of space and building codes.

“We recognize Sheriff Rivero’s concerns and desires and we are working to resolve those in a practical way,” said Philip Carrizosa, spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

He added, “We do see some logistical problems in creating a security checkpoint on the fourth floor of the court because of the limited space available.”

Rivero said he disagrees with the state's findings. “I'm really concerned about this,” he said.

In May 2008 screening begin at the Lakeport courthouse after the Administrative Office of the Courts began exploring additional security procedures.

However, Rivero, who took office in January, has maintained that the building remains “porous,” since county employees can come and go without being screened, and many side doors are not secured.

He took that argument in February to the Board of Supervisors, which urged him to meet with state officials.

At the same time, board members did not indicate support for screening everyone, which mirrored the stance taken by county department heads in a meeting earlier this year.

Since then, Rivero met with Malcolm Franklin, senior manager for the Administrative Office of the Courts' Office of Emergency Response and Security, and Lake County Superior Court Chief Executive Officer Mary Smith to discuss his concerns.

On April 4 Franklin sent Rivero a two-page letter with an accompanying 14-page report relating to the Administrative Office of the Courts' initial review of Rivero's recommendations.

Franklin said that it didn't appear possible to relocate the equipment “in the standard configuration” to the fourth floor.

Further, Franklin said an engineer cited building codes that would prevent a redesign of the screening system on the fourth floor location.

“If you feel that we are in error, or that another suitable rearrangement of the screening equipment may facilitate the move, we will be more than happy to revisit your request,” Franklin wrote.

Franklin said Rivero's recommendation of using a single elevator to access the fourth floor concerned some staff who were involved in the review.

“The elevators are small, and eliminating one from service may well cause delays in moving people up through the facility,” Franklin said. “In addition, should the primary fourth floor elevator car become disabled, there would not be a backup system.”

He said if they can't resolve the plan, the state is willing to work with Rivero and his team “to look at alternative measures to increase security within the courthouse in other ways.”

Rivero, who said he has sent numerous letters to Franklin about his concerns, disagreed with Franklin's findings.

The sheriff said he's the one who is responsible for providing security for the courts and the judges. Rivero said he asked Franklin to give him a letter absolving him of that responsibility if the state wouldn't assist him with improving security.

“He looked at me like I was crazy,” Rivero said.

Carrizosa pointed out that a new courthouse is being built in Lakeport. “We plan to start construction in the fall of 2012 and complete the project in mid-2014.”

Carrizosa said the new courthouse will have all the necessary security checkpoint.

But Rivero said waiting until 2014 is too long.

He suggested that the issue comes down to the state not wanting to spend extra money on the current courthouse.

“What price are you willing to put on the life of a Lake County Superior Court judge?” Rivero asked. “If you don't want to spend the money, that's the question you need to be willing to ask yourself.”

District Attorney Don Anderson said he also has security concerns about the current courthouse, which went into service in the late 1960s.

He said the building's layout makes it very difficult to provide security. “It's a tough job.”

As for moving the screening equipment to the fourth floor, Anderson said he understood what Rivero was proposing, but agreed that it wouldn't work because of the building codes, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act access issues.

“I was very confident that the state would not allow it to happen,” Anderson said.

Smith said no further meetings with the Administrative Office of the Courts and Rivero are scheduled at this time.

Rivero, however, said he's trying to arrange a meeting with the department heads of county Public Services and Community Development and with County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox to discuss alternative ideas.

“I know we can work this out,” he said. “There is nothing fatal to this plan.”

Rivero said he's assigned Lt. Chris Macedo, who oversees the bailiffs, the task of also considering how to improve the building's safety.

“It's a high priority,” Rivero said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.

Gary Sturdevant, 24, of Clearlake allegedly led police officers on a high speed chase through Clearlake, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2011, before he crashed his pickup and fled on foot. He was later arrested. Photo by Elizabeth Hoskins.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Saturday pursuit through Clearlake led to the arrest of a Clearlake man who was is being investigated with regard to several hit-and-run collisions in the city.

Gary Robert Sturdevant, 24, was arrested following the early evening chase, according to Sgt. Martin Snyder of the Clearlake Police Department.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday the Clearlake Police Department received information regarding several hit-and-run collisions within the city, with numerous citizens identifying the suspect vehicle as a small silver Toyota pickup, Snyder said.

During the investigation a citizen reported witnessing a vehicle matching the description of the small silver Toyota pickup traveling on 18^th Avenue, Snyder reported.

He said several officers responded to the area, and during the search identified a possible matching small silver pickup traveling east on 35^th Avenue.

Snyder said the officers witnessed the pickup fail to stop or slow down for a stop sign, and Officer Mike Ray attempted to stop the pickup.

Rather than stop, the pickup continued, traveling approximately one block before striking a large tree, Snyder said.

The driver, later identified as Sturdevant, fled on foot from the pickup. Snyder said officers chased Sturdevant to the rear of a residence where he was taken into custody.

Sturdevant was transported to the Lake County Jail and booked on misdemeanor charges of evading a peace officer and obstructing or resisting a peace officer, Snyder said.

Bail for Sturdevant was set at $3,000. Jail records indicated he remained in custody on Monday.

Snyder said the Clearlake Police Department is continuing the investigation into the numerous hit-and-run traffic collisions.

He said it's expected that the case will be submitted to the District Attorney's Office in the near future.

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Gary Sturdevant is alleged to have led police on a high speed chase through Clearlake, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2011. Lake County Jail photo.

Frank Cox of Clearlake, Calif., was taken into custody on Sunday, April 17, 2011, after he led police on a chase. Lake County Jail photo.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A day after a vehicle chase with a pickup Clearlake Police officers were involved in another chase, this time with a Clearlake man who fled from police on a motorcycle.

Frank Floyd Cox, 49, was taken into custody following the chase, which occurred just before 1 a.m. Sunday, according to a report from Sgt. Martin Snyder.

Officer Travis Lenz attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Cox at the intersection of Phillips and 35^th avenues based on numerous vehicle code violations, Snyder said.

However, Snyder said Cox led officers on a pursuit through numerous streets in the Avenues and Lakeshore Drive portion of the city.

During the pursuit Cox is alleged to have discarded an item that Snyder said officers later recovered and determined was approximately 6 grams of concentrated cannabis.

Snyder said the pursuit finally ended when Cox crashed his motorcycle near a wooded area on Hemlock Avenue. Cox was taken into custody without further incident.

Snyder said Cox was booked into the Lake County Jail on felony charges of evasion and possession of concentrated cannabis, and misdemeanor driving on a suspended license. Bail was set at $10,000.

Jail records indicated that Cox remained in custody on Monday.

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The suit, filed March 29, alleges that Sheriff Frank Rivero unilaterally stripped members of the Lake County Correctional Officers' Association of peace officer status granted them in 2008, changing them back to “custodial” officers and removing their ability to carry firearms unless transporting prisoners, as Lake County News has reported.

Rivero said he was clarifying and correcting their status due to concerns of liability arising from correctional officers carrying firearms.

The two sides appeared in the Lake County Superior Court's Department A in Lakeport at 1:30 p.m.

Rivero was accompanied by County Counsel Anita Grant and Deputy County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano. The correctional officers – several of whom were in the audience to witness the hearing – were represented by attorneys Chris Miller and Jeff Edwards of the firm Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller & Johnsen.

The correctional officers had filed a writ to compel Rivero to recognize Lake County correctional officers as having peace officer status under Penal Code Section 830.1(c) and restore their status.

In its filings, the county objected, stating the correctional officers are not peace officers under Penal Code Section 830.1(c) and noting that the county agreed to meet and confer with the correctional officers association.

The county went further, arguing that the effort to have peace officer status granted to the group compromises public safety “in the absence of proper peace officer training afforded to deputy sheriffs,” and that the county was not required to meet and confer “to enforce the proper conduct of Lake County correctional officers as required by law.”

Rivero's declaration to the court stated that correctional officers have not completed the requisite law enforcement academy, field training, probationary period or firearm training. The correctional officers association has disputed in their case that they don't have the proper firearm training, explaining that they take the same coursework in that regard as deputies.

Retired Alameda Superior Court Judge William McKinstry is hearing the case. He stated in court that all of the local judges have recused themselves from the case.

Although he had another case to hear first, McKinstry called the two sides up. “I'm calling you out of order so as not to surprise you when I call you in order,” he said.

He said he wanted to give them a tentative indication of how he intended to proceed so they could respond when he called their case.

Regarding Rivero's and the county's filing in response to the suit, McKinstry noted, “That response is limited,” and as such he was unable to resolve the entire petition, as he needed to see a response that addressed all the allegations.

McKinstry was seeking a full response and other filings to be submitted on or before April 15, and would then continue the matter to April 22 for trial setting and case management.

“They may not be he deadlines you want to comply with,” McKinstry said.

Because the regular sitting judges have excused themselves, McKinstry said he's been assigned, and he has to make appearances at various courts in the region as needed.

He said he will be in Lake County on April 22 and hearing it then “would be convenient to the state budget,” as he's paid for his travel.

McKinstry left the scheduling up to the two sides. “You may think about it, you may need to confer about it.”

He said he couldn't yet estimate how long the case would take at trial, how many witnesses and how much discovery would be involved.

McKinstry also told Rivero and the county that he required from them copies of original documents mentioned in the correctional officers' original filing. “I need full disclosure of what the facts are.”

After spending a half-hour hearing a small claims suit involving a dispute over a rental deposit, McKinstry recalled the county and correctional officers' representatives.

He went forward with ordering them to submit pleadings and responses by April 15, with the April 22 hearing set for a “case management conference of sorts.”

After that point, they will select potential trial dates, McKinstry said.

“If trial is going to last more than an afternoon session, which it may very well be, then we're going to have to coordinate ourselves with the other judges of this court,” in order to accommodate the trial, McKinstry said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Mendocino County's district attorney said he is not charging Clearlake's interim police chief for an April 2010 case in which he's alleged to have assaulted a neighbor.

Last month, District Attorney Don Anderson and Sheriff Frank Rivero had stated that misdemeanor assault and battery charges were going to be filed against 40-year-old Craig Clausen, who has been interim Clearlake Police chief since December.

But on Friday, new Mendocino County District Attorney C. David Eyster, who Anderson had asked to take over the case due to concerns about potential conflicts, said Clausen was not being charged following an investigation he and his staff conducted.

Instead, Eyster said he gave “great weight” to the wishes of the elderly neighbor who originally had alleged that Clausen assaulted her.

“She didn't want to be bandied about in what she saw was becoming a political situation,” said Eyster, who ultimately proposed an “alternative disposition.”

That disposition? “An apology,” Eyster said.

Clausen's attorney, Matt Pavone, called the decision “good news.”

“I think it's terrific that the Mendocino County district attorney stepped in,” Pavone said Friday. “This is obviously a difficult decision.”

He said both he and Clausen thanked Eyster's office for the work they did and the fair and prompt decision.

Pavone said they hope the case is “finally resolved, once and for all.”

With the California Penal Code requiring that the misdemeanor charges that would have applied in this case be filed within one year of the incident, and with that statute of limitations running out on April 5 – this past Tuesday – the case indeed appears to be at an end.

Rivero was surprised by – and critical of – the decision. In Rivero's analysis, the elements of a crime were there and that Eyster's conclusion has given Clausen a “pass.”

“In my opinion, it's sending a terrible signal on so many different levels,” said Rivero, adding, “It's a sad day for law enforcement and justice in Lake County.”

The sheriff suggested that the decision not to file was “fishy,” noting, “An apology on an assault case is rather unusual to say the least. As a matter of fact, it's a first for me.”

Eyster in turn criticized Rivero, who he said has never talked to him about the case yet spoke to the press last month about charges before the investigation concluded.

“I think it was a complete attempt to try to paint me into a corner,” Eyster said, suggesting Rivero was trying to force him to act a certain way, which Rivero vehemently denied.

Clausen was alleged to have assaulted the then-65-year-old neighbor on April 5, 2010, in a confrontation on another neighbor's porch in Lakeport.

In the sheriff's office's original complaint, the woman alleged that Clausen's young son had tried to run her off a property where she was walking her dogs, and when she went to speak with another neighbor she called the boy a “little s***,” a remark Clausen reportedly heard before confronting her.

The confrontation allegedly escalated to the point where the woman accused Clausen of poking her in the face with his finger and then grabbing her and twisting her arm up behind her, with the other neighbor who witnessed it claiming that the alleged victim's head hit her screen door.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office had filed the case last year, but then-District Attorney Jon Hopkins rejected the case after further examination.

Earlier this year, Rivero, Lake County's newly elected sheriff, refiled the case with the District Attorney's Office, now headed by Anderson.

Anderson asked Eyster – Mendocino County's new district attorney who in 1996 had worked in the Lake County District Attorney's Office under then-District Attorney Stephen Hedstrom – to review the case because he said he was concerned of potential conflicts for his office.

Anderson said his office had no actual conflicts in the case, but added, “There will always be that appearance of a conflict.”

That was a concern for Anderson because he said the county has just spent three years dealing with allegations of conflicts and coverups in the wake of the Bismarck Dinius case, involving a Carmichael man at the tiller of a sailboat hit by a power boat driven by an off-duty sheriff's chief deputy in April 2006.

Dinius was charged, while the deputy, Russell Perdock, was not, and the case formed an important campaign platform for both Anderson and Rivero.

Anderson said he didn't want a similar situation to happen again, so he turned to Eyster, who he said he has known for years.

“I have utmost faith and confidence in his ability to evaluate this case,” said Anderson.

Eyster said he and Anderson share a good working relationship, so he agreed to take over the case.

Challenges in investigating the case

Eyster said Anderson made arrangements for the state Attorney General's Office to make Eyster a special attorney if he had decided to charge the case in Lake County, but outside of those procedural issues, Eyster said the Attorney's General's Office wasn't involved.

“After reviewing the reports I thought there was additional information that I needed to develop,” said Eyster, who estimated that his investigators were in Lake County three or four times to work on the case.

He said they developed “great rapport” with the witnesses they were interviewing, and were able to bring back additional details.

However, Eyster said he and his team faced challenges in investigating the case due to the early press coverage.

Eyster said he had not authorized Rivero “to say anything about what I was thinking, what I was doing,” in the case.

Anderson acknowledged that when he spoke to Lake County News about the case in March the investigation wasn't completed.

While Anderson was aware of what was taking place in the case, Rivero, “seemed to show some poor judgment in his media relations,” Eyster said

Eyster also faulted Rivero for telling members of the Clearlake City Council and Clausen himself that charges were imminent when Eyster wasn't done working the case and hadn't announced his decision.

He added that he thinks Rivero, as a new sheriff, “doesn’t quite understand his place in the justice system yet.”

Rivero said Anderson had told him the case was being charged, and he notified the council, city administrator and Clausen as he believed he should have, out of courtesy, rather than let them get “blindsided.”

He acknowledged not speaking with Eyster. “I didn't need to speak to him. I spoke to our DA.”

Interim Clearlake City Administrator Steve Albright said Rivero called him March 15 to tell him charges were being filed against Clausen that day.

However, he said Rivero has not contacted him since to notify him of the case's outcome.

“I think some explanation is in order about what was really going on,” and why a city employee was put through such embarrassment, said Albright.

Eyster's investigators were in Lake County on March 16, the day the story that Clausen was to face charges – based on Rivero's and Anderson's statements – came out.

He said the article contained information about the case that made it appear that his investigators had reneged on certain promises they had made to the neighbor who originally had alleged the assault.

Eyster said his staff had to offer up apologies – even though they had not done anything – in order to keep good relations with the women.

“When they came back and presented me with their findings I decided an alternative disposition was the appropriate one and one that was well supported by the complaining witness,” Eyster said.

Many factors went into the decision, including the woman's wishes, said Eyster.

Eyster and his staff arranged a meeting on March 31 with Clausen and Pavone – who cooperated both with Eyster and his investigators – and the woman.

Then Eyster said everyone stepped back and let Clausen and the woman have a private discussion, which Eyster said went well. “They are neighbors, after all.”

Afterward, Eyster's staff spoke with the woman, who he said was satisfied with the outcome.

And that's the end of it, according to Eyster.

When Anderson asked him to take over the case, “The one thing we were very clear on was that my decision would be the final decision and how I handled it would be the final choice,” with no second guessing, Eyster said.

Adding that he wished the resolution had happened on week one or two of the case – not a year later – Eyster said, “I consider the case at this point finished,” noting that the neighborhood where Clausen and the woman live “seems to be back on the same page.”

Albright said the Clearlake City Council never met to discuss taking any action against Clausen, such as placing him on administrative leave, while the matter was settled. “There was never a thought in my mind to suspend him and I forwarded that to the council,” said Albright.

“You don't do anything when there's no charges,” Albright said. “We were correct in not acting.”

Rivero said he was disappointed in Eyster “for not having the guts to file it” and in Anderson for passing off the case in the first place when he had no conflicts.

Anderson defended Eyster's work, saying Eyster was not afraid to prosecute. “That's not Dave Eyster. Dave Eyster will prosecute anything,” said Anderson, who pointed out that Eyster has gone after outlaw biker gangs.

“He never backed down a bit,” said Anderson.

In an interview with Lake County News last month, Pavone had questioned the reasons behind the refiling of the case, suggesting political motivations had been at work.

On Friday, Pavone noted, “This was a case that was fully investigated and we thought resolved” when Hopkins evaluated the case last year.

In recent months a proposal has been floated about having the sheriff's office take over policing services for Clearlake, which some council members – including Mayor Joyce Overton – suggesting the city should explore. That idea appears to have suggested a possible motive to Pavone and others who defended Clausen in explaining why Rivero filed the case against the interim chief.

Pavone reiterated his concerns about the influence of politics, noting that Clausen, as interim chief, had some forces inside the county opposed to him. Eyster agreed with that initial assessment by Pavone.

Eyster said he didn't hold Anderson and his staff responsible for the political side of the case, which he attributed to Rivero.

“There's no question that some folks had political motivations that had no place in this case,” said Eyster, noting that his personal saying is, “Politics and the criminal justice system don't play well in the same sandbox.”

Eyster said politics can't be the deciding factor in such cases. “That's not something that I can allow to happen.”

Rivero called the idea that he wants to take over the Clearlake Police Department “absolute baloney,” and accused Eyster of “talking out of both sides of his mouth.”

Albright said the city has not initiated any discussions to allow the sheriff's office to take over the city's policing.

Albright, who joined the city on an interim basis in February, said he's discussed policing services with County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox – not Rivero – purely for his own background.

“This city is so committed to its police department,” both in terms of its personnel and financially, Albright said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .