As a newly relocated resident of Lake County, I am writing this letter in support of Jack Baxter, candidate for sheriff of Lake County.

I have known and been closely associated with Jack Baxter for over 20 years. During this time I have found him to be one of the most professional, dedicated and knowledgeable law enforcement officers I know.

With all the bad publicity, allegations of misconduct and racial discrimination and lawsuits, Lake County needs a sheriff it can be proud of. We need a sheriff with a clean law enforcement background, business skills and, most of all, leadership skills. We need a sheriff who has outside contacts that can add to the professionalism of the department. We need someone with good character that can lead by example.

The examples exhibited by opposing candidates and their staunch supporters lack truth, honesty and integrity. This race should be about trust. Can you trust them to do the right thing for the citizens of Lake County?

As voters can you trust the leadership, morals and ethics of anyone within the current Lake County Sheriff’s Office? Opposing candidates will never be able to piece back together this department that has been publicly torn to shreds by its members and this election.

Would either of the other candidates be able to pick up the pieces and regain respect within the community or within their department? Would candidates and deputies trust each other enough to keep working for the department no matter who wins, without reprisal, or are there more lawsuits on the horizon?

We need a sheriff who will provide the citizens of Lake County the service that we pay for with our taxes. We need a sheriff who is honest, professional and dedicated in his commitment to Lake County. We need a sheriff who can lead by example, with great work ethics and not sidetracked by politics. We need Jack Baxter as sheriff.

I am voting for Jack Baxter. It’s time for a change and the sheriff’s department needs to get back on the good side of the law. I urge the citizens of Lake County to elect Jack Baxter as sheriff of Lake County.

Joanie Steinmetz lives in Upper Lake.

LAKEPORT – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors approved a grant application that would fund a collaborative effort between the sheriff's offices in Mendocino and Lake counties to combat illegal marijuana in the Mendocino National Forest.

Sheriff Rod Mitchell, whose staff worked on the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) grant application with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman's staff, took the request for approval to the board as an extra item on Tuesday.

The item arrived late, Mitchell told the board, because he got a call from Allman on May 24 notifying him of the possibility of applying jointly.

The topic wasn't listed on the agenda but the report was available in the board clerk's office on Friday.

The grant would provide $550,000 to support a partnership between the two counties on regional illicit marijuana eradication operations, Mitchell said. That is helpful on forest-related operations, when jurisdictional lines aren't always clear.

“This is a good opportunity for two counties to be working in partnership on marijuana eradication efforts,” he said.

Mitchell said the grant would fund a sergeant's position for both departments, as well as 30 percent of a prosecutor's position for Lake County and 40 percent for a Mendocino County prosecutor. Mitchell said Lake County already has 70 percent funding from another grant for the rest of that prosecutor position.

Supervisor Denise Rushing, who said she had only gotten the packet that morning, asked if the grant could be used for methamphetamine.

“This is specific to marijuana,” Mitchell replied.

Rushing wanted to know about methamphetamine grants, and Mitchell explained that in the last 18 months the board has approved three such grants, and his department has a full-time position through the state-funded Cal Met program.

“Sheriff Mitchell, I'm struggling with this grant application for a lot of reasons,” Rushing said.

She wasn't happy that the quick turnaround was limiting public comment.

Rushing said she really cared about the environmental devastation illegal grows were causing on public lands. She said that, according to the grant documents, surveillance begins early in the year and eradication doesn't happen until August or September, after the damage is done.

While sitting in Upper Lake you can watch trucks head up Elk Mountain Road with pallets of potting soil or loads of water for the illicit crops. “I would love for that to not be happening,” said Rushing.

Mitchell said he agreed with her. “This kind of grant allows us to have a full-time dedicated supervisor” focusing on that very issue.

Supervisor Rob Brown asked Rushing about her specific problems with the grant.

She replied that she didn't think the program would accomplish its goal. “It's not working.”

Later in the discussion Brown returned to Rushing's comment about the program's success. “That's an easy comment to just throw out there,” he said.

Rushing said she wanted to stop the devastation in the forest and the violence but, pointing to the grant's timeline, she said she was concerned about eradication taking place after the damage is done. Brown said other grants deal with earlier eradication, and that all parts of the season need to be addressed.

Mitchell said they would like to catch people earlier, especially when they're running supplies. “We may be able to run conspiracy cases,” he said, adding that overflights are meant to do that as well.

He referred to a case about two years ago in which a California Highway Patrol officer spotted people being dropped off on the Hopland Grade. As they were heading for their supply area they were caught.

Supervisor Jeff Smith said it doesn't matter if it's marijuana or tomatoes, if it's being grown illegally in the National Forest it needs to be stopped. He added that not a lot of tomatoes are protected by guns and that it was a no-brainer that they needed to move forward.

Mitchell said he had wanted to call in Deputy Steve Brooks to discuss the program, but at that time Brooks was in a helicopter over the National Forest.

Brown maintained that the illegal marijuana eradication effort is working, and that they can't stop pursuing it.

“We're not talking about the medical marijuana grows,” he said, contending that many people don't want them to approve the grants because they're hiding behind medical marijuana in order to cover illegal sales, including to children.

Rushing said she didn't want the board or the sheriff to think she doesn't believe they should enforce the laws in the National Forest. “I believe that our public has a lot to say about how these operational plans could work better,” she said.

She returned to her concern that growers be caught earlier in the process.

“Supervisor Rushing, you need to know that's under way,” Mitchell replied.

Board Chair Anthony Farrington noted that after 10 years of discussing the marijuana issue he was worn out.

Brown moved to approve the grant application, which the board approved 4-1, with Rushing voting no.

In other board news on Tuesday, supervisors approved a request from Lake County Environmental Health to use $40,000 the county received from a statewide Wal-Mart settlement as matching funds for a state-required department-wide software system upgrade.

Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski said Wal-Mart was sued for improper handling of hazardous waste products. While that didn't happen in Clearlake, it happened at other stores around the state.

The $27 million settlement was reached early last month, as Lake County News has reported.

Health Services Director Jim Brown said that with the state requiring the software system upgrade, “We thought this would be an ideal time, since we don't have the money just sitting there.”

Public Services Director Kim Clymire received approval to apply for $3.1 million in Nature Education Facility Program funds from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006. The fund would be used for Mt. Konocti, Rodman Slough and Clark Island improvements.

Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger gave the board an update on work on emergency work issues on the Southeast Regional sewer system, which serves the city of Clearlake.

He said engineering and a design report have been completed and circulated for a temporary pump station and pipeline facilities for the system. They're now working on legal agreements for the required property easements.

The board also approved sending Water Resources Director Tom Smythe to Henderson, Nev., in November for the Floodplain Management Association’s annual conference and approved a list of Proposition 1B bond fund projects.

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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

Since I've spent a fair amount of time over the years involved with many different issues involving the sheriff's office (Taser use policy, anti-nepotism policy, Internet technology and used equipment purchasing policy, Drug Enforcement Administration anti-pot funding, LCSO weapons choice, night time speed limit on the lake, and was chosen by the sheriff to screen questions for him on the Dinius case, etc.), I can say that I have had a lot of opportunities to get to know Rod Mitchell.

I have found him to be an intelligent, articulate and skilled debater, and have been impressed with his willingness to change his position over time when the facts warrant it.

However, for years I have believed that because of a two-tiered system of discipline at the LCSO there was trouble ahead, and that concern has been proven correct as we see multiple lawsuits filed against the sheriff/LCSO by deputies who claim this is true.

But the moment I knew that I couldn't vote for Mitchell was when he came to the Board of Supevisors a full week after the helicopter crash and told the board, “I haven't had a chance to talk to Dave (Garzoli) about it.'”

It was an in-your-face way of saying that he didn't give a damn about the outcry over this fiasco coming either from the public or the supervisors.

Rod Mitchell has always resented the fact that the Board of Supervisors holds his purse strings and has to approve every dime the LCSO spends, he seems completely unclear on the fact that this system was created to provide a check-and-balance function that encourages proper oversight and is a vital protection against abuse – maybe this is why no supervisor has endorsed him.

Then came the Rhonda Rully complaint against Mitchell's rival, Deputy Francisco Rivero. It's a clear example of an abuse of power as this nonevent should have been cleared up in an afternoon rather than be drug out for months in an obvious effort to unfairly discredit Rivero.

The last point I'd like to make is how could anyone make a case for the LCSO being in good hands when we've seen so many deputies fired (Beland, Morshed, Perdock, Garzoli, Correctional Officer Rusty Wright) and others have quit in disgust. Rod Mitchell has to be held accountable for his major staffing problems.

I think Frank Rivero is a good man but don't believe he can gain the confidence of the bulk of the public and the deputies. It's clear to me that the only man who can do that is Jack Baxter.

Baxter has shown he has far more experience, integrity and better judgment than his two rivals so he has my vote.

I hope he will have yours, too, so the LCSO can get back to fighting crime instead of battling itself.

Philip Murphy lives in Lakeport.

SANTA ROSA – The California Supreme Court has reversed a Sonoma County Judge’s decision to dismiss all charges against a man based on the deportation of a potential defense witness in an attempted murder case.

Armando Monter Jacinto's case now is expected to head back to court, according to Sonoma County

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua.

“I am pleased the California Supreme Court agreed with our assessment of the law,” Passalacqua said. “With the charges reinstated we intend to seek justice for the victim in spite of this great delay.”

Jacinto was charged in May of 2006 with attempting to kill Victor Retana. The case was set for trial and during pretrial proceedings the defense moved to dismiss the case based on the fact that a witness who was housed at the jail had been deported to Mexico at the conclusion of his sentence, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

Although the witness had been subpoenaed to appear at trial, the trial was set for a date after his release from jail. Passalacqua's office objected to the dismissal stating that they had no knowledge of the witness or that he was subpoenaed. At the time, the defense attorney informed the court that although the witness had been subpoenaed by the defense, the prosecutor knew nothing about the witness because the defense tactically chose not to disclose that information.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Antolini dismissed all charges despite the prosecutor’s objection. At the time, the prosecutor stated that the prosecution was not complicit in the deportation and should not be sanctioned with a dismissal of the case because of it, especially when the defense never told the prosecutor about the witness, Passalacqua's office reported.

At a hearing in 2007, a Sonoma County Judge found that Jacinto’s case was compromised because a witness for the defense had been deported by federal authorities.

The California Supreme Court ordered the Sonoma County Superior Court to reinstate the charges stating that the jail “properly acquiesced” to releasing the witness to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because he was in violation of immigration laws, the prosecutor played no part in that decision to cooperate, and ruled that the defense was not powerless to ensure their witness would appear at trial.

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LAKE COUNTY – A former sheriff's lieutenant who was involved in a crash landing of a helicopter last summer no longer is employed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

David Garzoli, 43, a 20-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was no longer with the agency as of May 12, according to Sheriff Rod Mitchell.

“We're fighting it,” said Garzoli's attorney, Dan McNamara of the Sacramento firm Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller & Johnsen.

Because the issue is a personnel matter, McNamara said he could offer no further details.

Mitchell also could offer no further statements because of Garzoli's personnel protections and right to privacy.

County Counsel Anita Grant told Lake County News in a previous interview that employees have protections in the California Constitution and in state law, with peace officers having additional statutory protections.

Last June, Garzoli and a flight instructor were involved in a hard landing during an autorotation maneuver in a helicopter owned by Cutting Edge Helicopters while on a flight from Ukiah to Lakeport, as Lake County News was first to report.

Cutting Edge Helicopters is one of several firms with which the sheriff's office has contracted for marijuana reconnaissance services under a federal Drug Enforcement Administration marijuana eradication grant.

It later was discovered that Garzoli was learning to fly under the auspices of the grant, and that he had authored an operations plan for the DEA grant allowing for pilot training that the DEA approved.

Garzoli, who had a private pilot's license and was training for a commercial one, also had proposed to create a sheriff's helicopter program that would include pilot training which, he suggested, could save costs and be useful to other agencies.

While Garzoli's proposal had been sent to Mitchell for his consideration, the sheriff told the Board of Supervisors that he did not know the extent of Garzoli's actual flight activities.

Those activities reportedly included night flights to various parts of the state, including Half Moon Bay, according to documents associated with the County Administrative Office's initial inquiry into the matter, conducted last year.

The issues with the helicopter flights became public in early July 2009; by the time Garzoli appeared to give testimony in the Bismarck Dinius sailboat crash trial on Aug. 14, 2009, he already had been demoted, identifying himself on the stand as a sergeant.

In an e-mail Garzoli sent to Mitchell on Sept. 9, 2009, he apologized for the situation with the helicopter, stating, “I feel like I have compromised any usefulness I could offer the you or the sheriff's department because of what I became involved in. This was a profession I loved and felt I was pretty good at and was always proud of the work I did and things I had accomplished. Because my choices over the past year relative to the helicopter issue were mine and I should have been more clear on what I was doing, I have caused you, the department and myself a great deal of trouble.”

He said that the Board of Supervisors meetings where he was the topic were difficult because they often included “blatant misrepresentations of things such as commercial drivers licenses & special flight suits etc.” which he said “severely impact my character and ability to do my job. It is hard enough to face the problems you did cause and even harder to accept criticism for things that are patently incorrect.”

Garzoli went on to explain a phone call he made to a radio talk show to ask for job advice. During that call, he had stated that he was having job issues because of a political situation.

“I have been dwelling on my situation for months now and decided to call in and ask what a person with my skills could do outside law enforcement,” he said in the Sept. 9 e-mail. “Rather than the host simply answering my question he unexpectedly dug into my job status. Because of my embarrassment and inability to accept responsibility for the fact that this was all my own doing my knee jerk reaction was to place blame elsewhere, causing you further problems.”

He continued, “In closing I want to sincerely apologize for everything I have done to you and put you through. None of it was intended to hurt you or your position yet it did and I am sorry for that. I assure you I will not address this issue further with anyone for any reason and I will continue to try and do the best I can,” and ended by offering that Mitchell could provide the e-mail to the board or the press if it would help.

About three days later, early on the morning of Sept. 12, 2009, he posted a comment on an insurance forum, noting he was working on becoming an insurance agent.

He asked other agents for advice, noted he was tired of “thankless government work” and was considering going into work for himself.

“I plan to use my knowledge of local crime trends to exploit peoples emotions to get appointments, such as going back to neighborhoods where we have taken crime reports and knocking on doors and/or leaving 'Community crime alert flyers' at homes and on cars encouraging people to call me for an insurance review/quote/policy app.,” he wrote. “After all we will have not caught the suspect yet and you certainly would not want to be the next victim of a burglary (homeowners), car vandalism (auto policy) or WORSE (life insurance) now would you? ....Call me to arrange the proper coverage for you and your loved ones ...”

He also stated he had been a deputy coroner for 20 years and can speak to the “suddenness and unexpectedness of the grim reaper and how often I have seen it leave families financially devastated.” Garzoli wrote that he also was seeking a legal opinion on whether or not he could use “deputy coroner” on his insurance business cards.

That forum post later was taken down as, apparently, was a partially built Web site registered to Garzoli that was created for a Ukiah insurance firm.

The Board of Supervisors has discussed the flight training matter over several meetings beginning last summer and up until as recently as last month.

Earlier this year the supervisors requested the DEA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the California Attorney General's Office look into the matter on grounds of propriety.

The DEA said it considered the matter closed, the FAA found no rules were broken regarding Garzoli's aviation training and flying and the Attorney General's Office sent the matter back to the county.

In April, District Attorney Jon Hopkins agreed to investigate the board's concerns about the use of public funds for the training.

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LAKEPORT – Lakeport Police officers took two suspects into custody Thursday and are looking for a third following a gang assault that may have been a planned attack.

James Ray Mooney, 21, and a 17-year-old male from Ukiah were arrested after attacking an 18-year-old male Lakeport resident, said Lakeport Police Lt. Brad Rasmussen.

A third suspect, 18-year-old Carlos Jesus Casillas of Lakeport, was identified as a suspect and is wanted for questioning for assault with a deadly weapon, Rasmussen said.

At approximately 12:19 p.m. Thursday Lake County Central Dispatch received 911 calls regarding a physical fight and assault involving a large group of male subjects in the area of N. Brush and First streets, he said.

Rasmussen said six officers were on duty Thursday – including those assigned to investigation – and they responded to the scene, where they contacted witnesses and the victim. The suspects allegedly fled the scene in a vehicle.

The victim, said Rasmussen, was known to the suspects but police have no information that he is connected to any gangs.

The investigation determined that approximately five to seven male subjects with ties to the Norteño street gang went to the location with the intent of assaulting the lone victim, who Rasmussen said was beaten with hands, feet and at least one blunt object.

“It appears to be a planned attack,” said Rasmussen.

He added, “Fortunately, witnesses quickly called the police. We were on scene in a couple of minutes.”

He said the victim received minor to moderate injuries to his nose and forehead, and was treated at the scene by Lakeport Fire Department Paramedics.

Rasmussen said Lakeport Police officers quickly identified two suspects who are known Norteño gang members and responded to a residence where one of the suspects is known to live. There, they located the involved vehicle parked in the driveway.

When the residence's occupants refused to open the door, Rasmussen said officers had to force entry into the home and conduct a protective sweep.

Once inside, they found Mooney – who has numerous previous arrests in both Lake and Mendocino counties – and the Ukiah teenager and arrested both, Rasmussen said.

Mooney was booked for assault with a deadly weapon, criminal conspiracy, criminal street gang enhancements and committing a felony with a dangerous weapon causing injury, Rasmussen said.

He said the Ukiah juvenile was booked for assault with a deadly weapon, criminal conspiracy, criminal street gang enhancements, committing a felony with a dangerous weapon causing injury, resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer, providing false information to a peace officer and threatening a peace officer.

Rasmussen said Lakeport Police have been aware of the alleged suspects in the case who are local and have made regular contacts with them. On Wednesday night, officers were attempting to contact some of them due to suspicious activity.

There has not been much gang-related activity in some time, Rasmussen said.

The last series of gang attacks took place in 2007, including a March stabbing near Library Park and an assault along 11^th Street a few months later, as Lake County News has reported.

Many major area gang members who were involved in those attacks ended up going to prison, police previously reported.

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