From left, Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 2015 Commander Robert Deppe looks on as Lakeport Police Officer Norm Taylor is congratulated by his chief, Kevin Burke. Photo courtesy of VFW Post 2015.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 2015 of Lakeport held a potluck dinner followed by an awards ceremony on the evening of Sept. 14 at the Lakeport Senior Center.

Awards went to Bob Ray, Lakeport Fire Protection District captain and paramedic, for emergency medical technician (EMT) of the year; firefighter of the year to firefighter/paramedic Danny Copas; and police officer of the year to Norm Taylor of Lakeport Police.

Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells nominated Ray and Copas for their dedication and contributions to Lake County emergency services, while Police Chief Kevin Burke nominated Taylor, his department's most senior officer, for his efforts.

Ray, a 37-year veteran of the Lakeport Fire Protection District, was recognized for his volunteer and paid service to the progression of emergency medical services in Lake County, according to Lakeport Fire officials.

He has been instrumental in emergency medical services training for the department, serving on many medical committees and functioning as liaison officer with Sutter Lakeside Hospital and North Coast EMS.

Ray became an EMT in 1974, gaining valuable experience before upgrading to paramedic in 1992. A Clear Lake High School graduate, Ray has spent his entire life in Lake County, Lakeport Fire reported. He has five children and three grandchildren.

Copas was recognized for his overwhelming support of the fire service for both Clearlake Oaks Fire Department and Lakeport Fire Protection District.

Since starting a career in the fire service 24 years ago, Copas has been an innovator to the Lake County fire service. He coordinated the development of Clearlake Oaks ambulance services in 1993, served as a fire training officer for volunteers and new recruits, and assists local law enforcement with the “Every 15 minutes” program, according to Lakeport Fire.

Copas is an active member with the Lake County Arson Task Force and is a state-certified fire officer and firefighter II. He has been married for 19 years and has six children.

Taylor has been with Lakeport Police since 1992 and currently serves as president of the Lakeport Police Officers Association.

He grew up in San Jose, where at age 17 he decided to go into law enforcement.

Taylor said he was encouraged by his uncle, who worked in law enforcement following a military career.

“After hearing his stories I focused more on the career of law enforcement and ended up getting there,” Taylor said.

After Taylor completed studies at West Valley Junior College, he moved to Lake County while he was attending the police academy, and has been here ever since. Taylor is married with two sons.

Ray, Copas and Taylor received plaques, certificates of appreciation and $75.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 2015 will submit their names at the state level where they will be reviewed and sent to the national level for consideration of further honors.

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 .

Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 2015 Commander Robert Deppe (left) presents firefighter Danny Copas with his award. Photo courtesy of VFW Post 2015.

Capt. Bob Ray (left) receives his award from Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 2015 Commander Robert Deppe. Photo courtesy of VFW Post 2015.

Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain said his investigators are interviewing people and following up on information they've received about the death of Anthony Richard Cruz, 30.

Cruz was shot just after 5 a.m. Sept. 4 while he stood at the window in a back bedroom of his house, as Lake County News has reported.

Police say Cruz may have been confronting people attempting to steal marijuana from behind his Spruce Avenue home when he was shot.

A single gunshot was reported to have come from a subject behind the house. An autopsy conducted on Cruz last week confirmed that he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, McClain said.

The state Department of Justice, which sent criminalists to help investigate the scene, haven't yet provided Clearlake Police with any findings, as the evidence they gathered is still being processed, said McClain.

Investigators have interviewed a subject with whom Cruz had an altercation in the days before his death. That individual is a “person of interest” at this point, said McClain.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Officer Michael Ray of the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.

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 .

HIGHLAND SPRINGS – Boy Scouts of America Troop 42 n Lakeport is having a Court of Honor and reunion this Saturday, Sept. 19.

The gathering will be held at Highland Springs Park. Dinner will be served at 4:30 p.m.

Anyone that has been connected with Troop 42 over the years, as a youth or adult leader, is welcome.

Please R.S.V.P. if you intend to come for dinner; call Marty Klier at 707-263-3380.

Mitchell had the report posted online on Thursday. It includes audio files, although Mitchell's message to the community indicated some video files still have to be formatted for release.

On the night of April 29, 2006, a sailboat steered by Carmichael resident Bismarck Dinius was hit by a powerboat driven by Russell Perdock, an off-duty sheriff's deputy.

Lynn Thornton, 51, the girlfriend of the saiboat's owner, Mark Weber of Willows, was mortally wounded in the crash and died three days later.

Dinius was charged in the case because the District Attorney's Office alleged he was under way without running lights, with additional allegations that he was boating under the influence. Perdock, who witnesses stated was going between 35 and 50 miles per hour on a dark, moonless night, was not charged.

On Aug. 20, Dinius was acquitted of felony boating under the influence causing great bodily injury and misdemeanor boating under the influence, with the jury deadlocking on another misdemeanor charge, boating with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more, as Lake County News has reported.

The case has drawn worldwide attention, particularly in the sailing community, and last month Mitchell announced his desire to hold the debriefing with the community in order to answer questions and concerns about how the case was handled.

Mitchell is welcoming questions about the case, which are being compiled by a committee composed of community members, including Helen Whitney, Phil Murphy and Elizabeth Larson.

He said it took a few weeks to format the case file to put it online.

“Please accept my apology for the delay in getting the documents online,” Mitchell said in a letter on his Web site, www.lakesheriff.com . “The process was more labor intensive than I envisioned and our records staff had to perform their 'day to day' records business at the same time.”

Mitchell said the process of scanning the documents to PDF left horizontal lines across each page. “We apologize for the lines and hope that they do not create a distraction. I am addressing them now so that readers do not infer that the lines were an effort to highlight or cross out any particular information. You will note that we have redacted (by covering with a black marker) the addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth for all of the parties listed on the report.”

Also redacted were addresses and phone numbers of 911 callers, Mitchell noted.

“We are presently working to format the video of two witness interviews that were captured by a patrol car MAV system (Mobile Audio Video). As soon as this is properly formatted it will be added to our website for viewing by the public,” he explained.

The sheriff's Thursday statement noted that, with the exceptions of the redactions and protections of personal identifying information, the PDF document, the video files, and the audio files are duplicates of the entire record that his office sent to the District Attorney’s Office for review.

“I look forward to answering your questions regarding our department’s role in this investigation,” Mitchell said.

Questions can be e-mailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The committee has gathered numerous questions and plans to submit the final list to the sheriff shortly.

Anthony Richard Cruz, 30, of Clearlake, was the victim in the early morning incident Sept. 4, according to the Lake County Sheriff-Coroner's Office.

Cruz sustained a single gunshot wound to the chest as he looked out a window into his backyard, said Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain.

“At this point we do not have any solid information as to why this incident occurred,” said McClain.

Police are exploring all possibilities, and are receiving leads in the case, he said.

“We know he was involved in an altercation a couple days before this incident,” said McClain, adding police aren't aware of any threats made against Cruz.

At approximately 5:03 a.m. Friday a woman reported that her boyfriend had been shot in the chest by an unknown suspect at a Spruce Avenue location, according to department reports.

McClain said Tuesday that officers dispatched to the scene found a wounded Cruz, with the first officer on scene starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Paramedics with Lake County Fire continued CPR on Cruz as he was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, where he was pronounced dead, according to McClain.

Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman said an autopsy on Cruz is scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Napa County Coroner's Office.

McClain said detectives haven't yet released information about the caliber and type of weapon used to fatally shoot Cruz.

Cruz's girlfriend told police that there was some type of disturbance in the backyard of the house where Cruz lived, on the corner of Spruce Avenue, McClain said.

When Cruz went to a window in a back bedroom to see what was going on in the backyard, he was shot. McClain said it wasn't clear if he yelled at someone while at the window.

It's not yet clear how large a part in the shooting a small backyard marijuana grow played. McClain said Cruz had about 15 to 20 marijuana plants in a small fenced off area behind his house, with the tops of the plants visible over the fence.

McClain said Cruz – with whom police have had past contacts – didn't have a medical recommendation for the marijuana.

Police are trying to determine who might have been involved, as it appears that only Cruz saw the suspect or suspects.

“Right now we don't know how many subjects there may have been, so we're leaving that aspect of it open,” said McClain.

McClain said it's possible that there are witnesses who saw the shooting who haven't come forward.

District Attorney Jon Hopkins said he and four of his investigators were at the scene Friday, working with Clearlake Police's management staff, investigators and patrol.

Hopkins said he worked that morning on search warrants for Judge Stephen Hedstrom to sign in order that the scene could be processed.

He said retired law enforcement detectives also were called in to assist with questioning, since the police department is short-handed currently.

McClain said in addition to the District Attorney's Office investigators, California Department of Justice latent fingerprint experts and crime scene investigators worked on the scene.

McClain said the investigation is continuing, with Officer Mike Ray leading the investigation.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.

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 .

Officials are looking for 22-year-old Herbert Preston, who was reported missing from the Lake County Jail on Sunday, September 6, 2009. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Jail.

NORTH LAKEPORT – Officials reported Sunday that they are seeking a male subject who is believed to have escaped from the Lake County Jail.

A 22-year-old transient out of Clearlake, Herbert Alexander Preston, was reported missing from the facility, according to a Sunday afternoon report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Sunday at about 10 a.m. sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Lafferty Road in North Lakeport on a report that a male subject had been seen swimming and then getting out of the waters of Clear Lake in denim pants and boots, Bauman said.

Deputies arrived in the area but were unable to locate the subject, according to Bauman.

Given the close proximity of the Lake County Jail and the area where the subject was seen, and the similarity in clothing to that issued to minimum security inmates, the jail was notified of the sighting, he said.

The jail conducted a formal count as a precaution, Bauman said, and it was confirmed that Preston was missing from the facility.

Bauman said Preston had been in custody since being arrested by the Clearlake Police Department and booked on charges of vehicle theft, receiving stolen property, and hit and run on July 29.

He also has an outstanding warrant out of Sonoma County and is the subject of another open investigation being conducted by the Santa Rosa Police Department, Bauman said.

Bauman explained that Preston was last accounted for at the jail Sunday at about 9 a.m. when he was proceeding with a group of other inmates to church services at the facility.

Preston is described as a 22-year-old white male adult, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 160 pounds, and clean shaven with short black hair and hazel eyes.

He was last seen at the jail wearing black work boots and clothed in blue denim jeans, a light blue denim shirt, and a white undershirt.

Notification of his escape has been made to all law enforcement agencies within and adjacent to Lake County, Bauman said.

Any possible sightings of Preston or other information as to his whereabouts should be reported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department by calling 707-263-2690.