Lt. Brad Rasmussen of Lakeport Police said the department received three reports of stolen vehicles and one attempted vehicle theft between Feb. 4 and Feb. 13.

In most of the cases, said Rasmussen, the suspects took unlocked vehicles with keys inside.

On Feb. 5, a resident of the 1400 block of North Forbes reported their white 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass was stolen from in front of their home, said Rasmussen.

“It had a set of keys inside the vehicle and it was unlocked,” Rasmussen said, adding the keys were not in the ignition.

The vehicle was recovered on Feb. 7 when it was found on Adams Street, said Rasmussen. The car couldn't be started and its stereo was missing.

On Feb. 9, a Lakeport Police officer found a white 1997 Dodge Ram pickup in the area of Sunset Drive near Clear Lake High School, said Rasmussen. The pickup was found along a muddy, unpaved road not far from where the previous vehicle had been found on Adams.

Rasmussen said the pickup was stolen from the 1200 block of Berry Street, on the other side of Lakeport, where it had been left unlocked, also with the keys inside. A cell phone and keys were reported missing from the pickup.

On Feb. 13, a resident of Ruby Drive – close to the Berry Street area – discovered he had trouble starting his blue and white 1983 Ford Ranger that morning, said Rasmussen.

Upon closer inspection the man found that the pickup's ignition had been damaged with a pry tool, Rasmussen said. The vehicle had been left unlocked but its keys were not inside. No other damage was reported, and nothing appeared to have been taken.

Also on Feb. 13, a black 2000 F-150 Ford pickup was found parked in the 1200 block of Berry Street, the area from which another pickup had been stolen days before, Rasmussen said. It's believed the truck was taken either early that morning or late the night before.

The F-150 had been taken from the 1200 block of Sixth Street, where it had been locked and parked in the owner's driveway, said Rasmussen. The pickup's keys were taken from inside another vehicle, a 2005 Ford Expedition, which was ransacked. It's unclear if the second vehicle also had been locked.

Rasmussen noted that it's unusual to have so many vehicle thefts in Lakeport during such a relatively short time period.

“We believe there's a good possibility that they're all related,” said Rasmussen, especially considering the close proximity of where some of the vehicles were recovered.

Rasmussen said there could be various reasons for stealing the vehicles. “We believe that maybe somebody was possibly just taking them for a joy ride.”

Lakeport Police have received no other reports of stolen cars or trucks, and Rasmussen said they're not aware of any other recent car thefts in other areas of the county.

He urged people to make sure to lock their cars in order to protect them from car thieves. Many thefts, he said, result from the easy opportunity of an unlocked vehicle.

Anyone with information about the car thefts is asked to call Lakeport Police at 263-5491.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The matter, included on the board's Tuesday agenda, is set for consideration at 10 a.m.

The board meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., and will be televised on TV Channel 8.

Court Chief Executive Officer Mary Smith's written report to the board asks for approval to move forward with equipment installation to secure the courthouse buildilng.

“The ultimate goal of the project is to secure the fourth floor to provide a safe environment for our judges, employees, jurors, and the citizens who conduct business with our court,” Smith wrote. “It is also our goal to minimize the inconvenience to citizens, but at the same time, increase their ability to conduct their business in a safer environment.”

Equipment and staff would be paid for by the Superior Court or the state's Administrative Office of the Court, Smith reported.

In 2005 a state working group on court security found that 97 of the more than 450 court facilities in the state lacked weapons screening programs, Smith reported.

Among those 97 courts without screening programs were Lake County's two courthouses in Lakeport and Clearlake, she noted.

The state created a two-year program to add security to those courts, and set aside $18 million for security equipment. Some of those funds were used to start weapons screening at the Clearlake courthouse, which Smith reported began last June 4.

Since Clearlake began screening for weapons, they've found 926 rejected items, among them 526 folded-blade knives, 58 multi tools, 37 pairs of scissors, 19 cans of pepper spray, illegal drugs and 10 stun guns.

Of those rejected items court screeners confiscated a total of 34: 18 folding knives, four razor blades, two small sets of scissors, two punch knives, two multi tools, a corkscrew, a handcuff key, a fixed blade knife, an unspecified “pointed item,” a laser pointer and one large tool (the example given is a hammer).

Now in year two of the security program, Smith noted that 70 percent of the original, unsecured 97 court facilities have installed equipment and operate screening program.

Still requiring a full screening equipment suite and protocols is the Lakeport courthouse, Smith reported.

Smith reported that Mondays and Fridays are the court's busiest day, with an average of 300 people – from litigants to attorneys to the general public – plus 30 court staffers passing through the Lakeport courthouse's four courtrooms.

Tuesdays, when jury trials typically begin, is the next-busiest day, with an estimated 125 jurors on the fourth floor in addition to court staff, attorneys and litigants. Wednesday and Thursdays are unpredictable, she noted, with less than 100 people passing through if no trials are getting under way.

Smith's report offers three options for screening.

The first proposes securing the entire courthouse and installing weapons screening equipment at the Forbes Street entrance, with video surveillance cameras on exterior doors and electronic card locks securing all doors but the large set of wooden doors at the main entrance. This option has the most pros and the least cons according to Smith's analysis.

The second option suggests screening only those people who plan to access the fourth floor, with screening taking place on the first floor and one of the building's two elevators being used to take those individuals directly to the top-floor courtrooms without stops at other floors. This plan could become cumbersome because of the need to funnel so many people, with added hangups and delays should one of the two elevators be out of order.

The final option, which Smith rules out, is installing all weapons screening equipment on the fourth floor and limiting the screening to that area. Smith suggests this option contains the potential for a hazardous situation, especially if an emergency were to occur and they had to quickly move people around the bulky equipment.

The security system isn't perfect, said Smith, and wouldn't prevent injuries on the courthouse steps. However, it would help monitor who comes and goes from the building.

Smith, who worked in the Siskiyou County Courthouse where a murder-suicide took place, says the trauma of such an incident extends to the entire community.

She wrote to the board, “I realize that we are in essence asking you to give up some of those cherished freedoms but the trade off is that we would be providing the employees and citizens a safer environment to work and conduct their business.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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On Friday the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that investigators received an arrest warrant for Morgan Matthew Jack, 31, who is being charged with the June 2007 murder of 39-year-old Paul Joseph Womachka.

Jack, who is being held at San Quentin State Prison on a parole violation, is expected to be transported to Lake County later this month.

“I'm still in shock,” Erica Womachka, Paul Womachka's ex-wife, said of the arrest Friday.

She added that she also was relieved. “It seemed so long since anything had happened.”

It was Erica Womachka who reported her ex-husband missing on June 27, 2007.

The couple, who have three sons together, ran a Hey Taxi franchise together.

Around midnight last June 27, Paul Womachka was called to Robinson Rancheria, where he was hired to drive Jack home to Big Valley Rancheria, as Lake County News as reported.

When Paul Womachka never returned home, Erica Womachka contacted the authorities.

Two days later, on June 29, Womachka's body was found inside the submerged Hey Taxi minivan in the marina at Big Valley Rancheria's Konocti Vista Casino.

Rescuers told Lake County News that the minivan was in an area about 10 to 15 feet offshore and about 9 feet deep, and was discovered during preparations for BoardStock.

Authorities determined that, based on Womachka's autopsy, he had been murdered, although they have so far not disclosed the manner of his death.

Sheriff's investigators took Jack into custody and questioned him about Womachka early on because he was believed to be among the last people to have seen him alive.

After he was released authorities told Lake County News Jack had not been cleared in the case.

The investigation appeared to have stalled last fall, when the sheriff's office reported that they were not receiving cooperation from Big Valley tribal officials.

Lt. Cecil Brown said the sheriff's office had received second-hand reports about several rancheria residents claiming to have witnessed an attack on Womachka or taken part in it.

However, Brown said when investigators when to question people at the rancheria some either ran away from investigators or went into hiding.

Meanwhile, investigators also had sought help from General Motors, whose experts worked with the sheriff's office to recover information from the minivan's on-board computer in order to determine how it was being driven when it went into the marina.

Investigators also sent DNA evidence to the state Department of Justice for analysis in an attempt to identify possible suspects who may have been present during the murder.

Jack is in custody at San Quentin State Prison for violating parole relating to a 2001 conviction in Lake County for possession of a blank check, according to state parole officials. Jack received a four-year prison sentence in that case.

He also was sentenced to prison for two years and eight months in 1999 for possession of a controlled substance, parole officials reported.

When he is released from San Quentin on Feb. 28, Jack will be booked into the Lake County Jail on a single charge of homicide, the sheriff's office reported.

The sheriff's office was offering no further information on the case Friday, saying it was necessary to preserve the case's integrity.

Erica Womachka said she cried the minute she got the news about the arrest. She said she was grateful to the sheriff's department for their work on the case.

She said her three sons continue to struggle with their fathers' death, but she said she believes their father's influence will help get them through. “Joe was an incredibly good father so they have this great foundation.”

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact Lake County Sheriff’s Detective

Nicole Costanza at 262-4236.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Along with Wiggins, CSSA recognized Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman (T-Tustin), Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), Sen. Dave Cogdill (R-Fresno), Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks), Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Merced), Sen. Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga), Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) and Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

Wiggins said she and the others were honored for their strong advocacy of law enforcement and support for public safety.

“This elite group of lawmakers worked tirelessly to ensure we are able to continue to serve and protect our communities,” said CSSA President Laurie Smith, sheriff of Santa Clara County. “We are proud to recognize their work in support of public safety.”

“California Sheriffs are very appreciative of these strong advocates of law enforcement,” stated CSSA Legislative Committee Chair, Marin County Sheriff Bob Doyle. “They work to ensure the public safety of all Californians and to ensure we have the resources we need to keep our communities safe.”

In 2007, Wiggins authored Senate Bill 568, to allow county jails to provide medically approved treatment to defendants found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. The bill, which was backed by CSSA, was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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“I am honored to receive such recognition from small businesses and sheriffs,” said Berg, D-Eureka. “Rural districts, like mine, depend largely on small businesses to survive and sheriffs to keep us safe.”

The California Small Business Association recognized legislators in one of three categories – Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude. Berg received the Summa Cum Laude recognition, the organization’s highest honor.

Association members based their designations on the votes and positions of lawmakers on a range of issues including health care reform, adequate workforce training and educational needs, budget reform and affordable technology services and training.

Berg is one of 12 assemblymembers to receive an outstanding assemblymember recognition from the California State Sheriffs Association.

She was chosen for her support of law enforcement programs such as Rural and Small County Law Enforcement funding and Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Grant Funding.

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On Tuesday, the board held public hearings on the redevelopment agency's purchase of a building at 12588 Acorn St. in Clearlake Oaks. Also up for public hearing was the agency plan – in partnership with the sheriff's office's – to purchase property at 6222 and 6224 E. Highway 20 in Lucerne, which is slated for use as a sheriff's substation.

Redevelopment Deputy Director Eric Seely told the board that the Acorn Street property will be used for a restroom and storage facility next to the new Nylander Park.

Seely explained that buying the building from Gary Nylander for $150,000 and upgrading it – which he said will cost less than $100,000 – will cost significantly less than building restrooms from the ground up.

Supervisor Denise Rushing said the project is an important one for the community.

With no public comment, the board approved the purchase.

There also was no public comment during the hearing on the substation property, offered to the county by May Noble for $300,000.

Sheriff Rod Mitchell told the board at a meeting earlier last month month that the substation would be at the center of a Highway 20 operational area. He told Lake County News in a previous interview that the substation will eventually have a staff level officer assigned to oversee sheriff's operations there.

Rushing said Lucerne's residents are very supportive of the substation's location in that community.

“In addition, this is actually a good step for the economy of Lucerne, to have county employees based there,” she said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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