From left, Javier Lupercio, Jeffrey Mitchell, Felicia Amparo, Nathan John and John Feeney were arrested Tuesday, March 8, 2011, as the result of an investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force. Lake County Jail photos.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The service of a search warrant by the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force on Tuesday night has resulted in five arrests and the seizure of controlled substances, marijuana, a stolen firearm and currency believed to be the suspected profits of drug trafficking.

On March 4, task force members obtained a search warrant for the person, home and vehicles of 48-year-old Javier Lupercio of Lakeport, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.

At approximately 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, one of the sheriff’s K-9 teams stopped a vehicle belonging to Lupercio in Upper Lake for an unrelated traffic violation. Bauman said task force members were alerted to the traffic stop and responded to execute the warrant.

Lupercio and 29-year-old Jeffrey Mitchell of Lakeport were among several people detained, Bauman said.

After the sheriff’s narcotics detection K-9, “Gracie,” alerted to several areas of the vehicle, a search revealed suspected methamphetamine and narcotics paraphernalia inside the car, according to Bauman's report.

Lupercio also was found to be in possession of more than $900 in currency, which was seized for asset forfeiture. Bauman said Lupercio and Mitchell were both arrested.

Task force members went to Lupercio’s home on Mission Way in Lakeport to complete service of the search warrant. Bauman said when detectives entered Lupercio’s home, they detained 20-year-old Felicia Amparo and 24-year-old Nathan John, both of Lakeport.

Another vehicle belonging to Lupercio found at the home was searched and a full bottle of Hydrocodone was seized, Bauman said.

While searching inside the home, detectives located a duffel bag containing 16 pounds of processed marijuana packaged for sales and a loaded .380 handgun that was reported stolen in a Lakeport burglary on Jan. 4. Bauman said detectives also located and seized two more bottles of Hydrocodone, digital scales, and other evidence of narcotics sales and trafficking.

John was arrested for violating parole and Amparo was arrested for a local bench warrant, Bauman said.

While detectives were in the process of searching Lupercio’s home, another man, 49-year-old John Feeney of Lakeport, arrived and was detained. Bauman said Feeney was subsequently arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Bauman said all five persons were booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Lupercio was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sales, possession of a stolen firearm and being under the influence of a controlled substance, Bauman said. Mitchell was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force will continue its efforts to eradicate narcotics from the

communities of Lake County and seize suspected profits from narcotics sales for asset forfeiture

proceedings whenever possible. Anyone with information that can assist the task force is encouraged to call the anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is warning county residents to be on their guard against a scam that targets senior citizens.

Capt. James Bauman said the agency has received reports of a fraud scheme in which elderly victims are getting phone calls from suspects impersonating relatives who have supposedly been arrested outside of the country.

Perpetrators are asking for money to either bail them out of jail or to pay fines, he said. The recent reports appear to be very similar to a trend seen in early 2009, in which elderly victims were sending money to persons they thought were grandchildren in need.

An elderly Lakeport couple has reported getting a call from someone claiming to be a friend of their grandson. Bauman said the scammer told them their grandson had been arrested in Canada and needed money.

Unfortunately in this case, the couple did in fact wire several hundred dollars to a specified address. Shortly after wiring the money, they called the father of their grandson and learned the grandson had not been in Canada at all and was home safe in Southern California, Bauman said.

An elderly Kelseyville woman also reported getting a call from someone claiming to be her grandson, Bauman said. The man claimed to have been arrested in Canada for DUI. The suspect talked the woman into wiring $2,800.00 via Western Union to Madrid, Spain, so he could pay his fines.

After returning home from wiring the $2,800, the woman got another call from the suspect asking for another $2,500 for attorney fees. Bauman said the woman again wired money to Spain and after sending the $2,500, she was called a third time asking for another $2,000. This time the woman refused and later contacted her son and found out her grandson had been in Redding the whole time.

In another case, an elderly Upper Lake woman received a call that her grandson was being held in jail in Madrid, Spain, Bauman said. She was told she needed to wire $2,000 to get her grandson out.

Fortunately in this case, the woman called her daughter who lived out of state as she was leaving to wire the money. Her daughter called the sheriff’s office who intervened before the $2,000 was sent to the suspect, Bauman said.

Bauman said those were some examples of cases reported to the sheriff’s office.

He said there is no telling how many others have gone unreported. The suspects in these cases usually have detailed information about the actual grandchild who is supposedly in trouble. They are often able to convince the victims they are in fact their grandchild.

There isn’t nearly as much advice on preventing fraud and scams as there are ways to be defrauded, he said.

However, aside from protecting one’s personal information, Bauman said members of the public are encouraged to always carefully scrutinize unsolicited request of any kind before acting on them.

Additionally, phone calls from supposed relatives asking for money in this manner should always be verified by contacting relatives or the Lake County Sheriff’s Office before sending any money, he said.

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THE LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE HAS ISSUED A CORRECTION ON WHERE TO SUBMIT COMMENTS. SEE LAST PARAGRAPH.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is seeking public comment on a grant application it is submitting to create an off-highway vehicle response team.

Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman reported Thursday that the agency currently is applying to the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division for the 2010-11 grants program for a proposed OHV enforcement project.

Bauman said the project is proposed to include a well equipped, well trained, OHV enforcement and off road response team with funding assistance from the Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program.

The purpose of the sheriff’s OHV enforcement project will be to promote and support the safe and authorized use of public lands by OHV enthusiasts in areas such as the BLM Cow Mountain and Knoxville Recreational Areas, as well as designated OHV use areas of the Mendocino National Forest, Bauman said.

The project also will provide for effective responses and abatement efforts relating to OHV trespass problems on private undeveloped lands and encourage the use of authorized, well managed, OHV recreational areas through public education, he said.

A 30-day public review and comment period for the 2010-11Grants and Cooperative Agreement Program begins March 7 and ends April 4.

He said the comment period provides an opportunity for the public to review the preliminary application submitted by the sheriff’s office to the OHMVR Division for consideration during the grant cycle.

Bauman said the grant application will be posted on the OHMVR Web site on March 8 and can be viewed at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov.

The public may provide comment on the proposed project to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office by contacting Bauman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and to the OHMVR Division of California State Parks at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week supported the sheriff's plan for pursuing the exploration of a new Middletown substation.

Sheriff Frank Rivero presented ideas to the board for developing the new substation Tuesday morning.

At the board's Feb. 1 meeting Rivero had received the board's permission to terminate the month-to-month lease with Jim and Hettie Hendrickson for 21130 A Calistoga St., which the sheriff's office had been using for a substation.

The lease was terminated effective Feb. 28. Rivero told the Hendricksons in a memo on the lease termination that he was seeking a larger facility.

On Thursday Capt. James Bauman confirmed that the sheriff's office currently has no substation space in Middletown, with the closest substation to the area being located in the Clearlake courthouse on Dam Road Extension.

On Tuesday, Rivero told the board that he had located a five-acre parcel on Highway 29 at the corner of Grange Road – between Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown – that would be a good fit, offering quick access to the highway.

He suggested moving the county-owned Loconoma School building to the property. Rivero said he also had spoken to Community Development Director Rick Coel about subdividing the land down to one acre if necessary, and that he was looking at the feasibility of connecting the new facility with the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District for sewer services.

Supervisor Denise Rushing questioned if the location was within Hidden Valley Lake's district boundaries, which Rivero said he didn't yet know.

“There are a few other logistical issues that I’m looking at right now,” including communications and Internet access, he said.

“This is very preliminary,” said Rivero, who wanted an indication from supervisors if they found the idea acceptable.

Supervisor Rob Brown, noting that the agenda had indicated that they would discuss more than one option, asked if Rivero had any other plans to propose at the time.

Rivero confirmed he had looked at other alternatives. However, “This is the one that has really got my full attention at this point,” with the other options pricing the sheriff's office out of the market.

Brown said development of a new facility could end up being too expensive, and he said the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) process to put the facility into Hidden Valley Lake's service district would be lengthy and expensive, estimating that half a mile of sewer line would cost around $500,000.

“I like the idea of this area,” said Brown, pointing out the location between Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown. “That's a good central location for you guys to be.”

Rivero said he didn't think there would be any easy solutions for putting together the new substation, but he believed there would be substantial savings by moving the school building.

Brown asked if he had looked at tax-defaulted properties. Rivero replied, “I've searched pretty hard in that area,” talking to about half a dozen Realtors.

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said the sheriff's office was focusing on highway frontage.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked about the school building's construction. Rivero said it was a stick-built structure on a slab. “It's actually a really nice building,” he said, noting he had personally checked it out. “I like the building a lot.”

Cox told the board that the county offered the building – located on the site where Middletown's new library and senior center will be located – for free to whoever would move it. He told Lake County News Thursday that the county recently offered the building in an advertisement, and another party also is interested if the sheriff's office doesn't use it.

Farrington said he wanted to see the cost before moving forward. He also felt the LAFCO project would make the plan too expensive. An aspect he said he liked was that the location could be used for boat inspections to prevent invasive quagga and zebra mussels in the future.

Rivero said the sheriff's office has some funds available to assist in the project, which he's trying to do as economically as possible. He suggested his office's location there would have benefits beyond public safety, including being a good anchor tenant and making the area more viable for businesses.

Farrington said the agency would be a better anchor tenant than Walmart. “I agree with that 100 percent,” said Rivero.

Rushing asked about the plan's consistency with the general plan and zoning. Brown also wanted to know the property cost, which Rivero said hadn't been determined yet.

Cox said he and Rivero spoke about the proposal Monday and they were considering funding sources. He said that information would be brought back to the board if there was consensus to pursue the plan.

Board Chair Jim Comstock said he knew the property and its owners. “This is a great location.”

He said the area has been discussed as a site for commercial development in the county's general plan process.

Comstock offered to go with Rivero to the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District to talk about linking the site to the district's services. “We want the presence on the highway, definitely,” Comstock said.

Community member Greg Scott asked about the planned substation's staffing and hours of operation.

Rivero said he anticipated moving a staffer currently assigned to Lakeport to the substation. There would be office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Rivero said his intention for the facility “is to have something for the future, that's going to be there and remain” to provide services to the community. “I want to do the best I can to provide that.”

Comstock asked Rivero to call him to set up a time to go together to speak with Hidden Valley Lake officials. “Thank you for pursuing this,” Comstock said, adding his interest in having a substation in that area.

The board then agreed by consensus for Rivero to move forward.

In other news, the board continued a hearing about an appeal of Bottle Rock Power's final environmental report certification on its steamfield expansion plan.

A decision has been continued until later this month while the board, at Farrington's request, attempts to meet with Bottle Rock Power and Pacific Gas & Electric to see if the utility will negotiate better energy rates for county residents because of the power produced at Bottle Rock, which it purchases.

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 .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is investigating the death of a man that occurred late last month.

Charles Minor, 23, died on Feb. 26 at St. Helena Clearlake Hospital, according to the Clearlake Police report.

At 7 a.m. that day Clearlake Police officers responded to the hospital on the report of an unconscious male subject, later identified as Minor, police said.

Police reported that Minor had been dropped off at the hospital by an unknown white male adult, approximately 30t o 50 years of age.

Despite life-saving efforts in the emergency room, Minor died, according to the police department.

Clearlake Police said its detectives were called to the scene to investigate the circumstances surrounding Minor’s death.

Detectives located the residence Minor was last in, the vehicle and the unknown male who dropped Minor off, the report said.

During the investigation, police said they discovered Minor was heavily using both illegal and legal drugs.

The case is under investigation pending the autopsy report for Minor, the agency said.

Anyone with information can call the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.

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