CLEARLAKE – Authorities have located a teenage girl missing for a
month and a half.

Sixteen-year-old Ashli Athas was reported missing on Oct. 17 after
running away from her grandparents' home with her boyfriend, reported
Lt. Mike Hermann of the Clearlake Police Department.

Hermann said Monday that the teen was found at about 11 p.m. Sunday
while the passenger in a Mitsubishi Montero that had been reported
stolen earlier that day from Kelseyville.

Clearlake Police Officer Dominic Ramirez located the vehicle on
Highway 53 near Lakeview Avenue and pulled it over, according to
Hermann.

The driver, a female juvenile, reportedly admitted to Ramirez that she
had stolen the Mitsubishi and was subsequently arrested for vehicle
theft, said Hermann.

Also in the vehicle, Hermann said, was Athas' juvenile boyfriend, who
was arrested for a probation violation warrant that had been issued
some time ago for his arrest.

Hermann said police removed Athas from the missing person system and
notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which
was assisting in finding the girl.

Athas has since been returned to her grandparents, said Hermann.

Clearlake Police currently have two other runaway cases, said Hermann,
but neither involves a teen in an at-risk situation, as was the case
with Athas.

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CLEARLAKE – Starting in January the Clearlake Police Department will kick off an enforcement campaign to ensure that certain businesses are complying with municipal codes.

A report from Lt. Mike Hermann of Clearlake Police said the department is on the lookout for violations of Clearlake City Municipal Code Section 6-3.1, which stipulates that businesses must first procure a business license in order to operate legally within the city.

Some businesses are exempt from the requirement, Hermann reported, including those that result in sales from a booth or stand located within a duly licensed flea market, swap meet or similar type of business, as well as limited real estate actions as listed in the Clearlake Municipal Code.

Businesses included in the code which require a business license, Hermann said, include:

• Auctions and liquidation sales.

• Any work done on real property located within the city, including, but not limited to, construction, repairs, alterations, pest control, chimney sweeping, landscaping, janitorial service, and liquefied petroleum gas sales and service.

• The services of a real estate licensee in connection with the proposed sale or rental of real property within the city.

• Unlicensed flea markets and swap meets, and outdoor festivals.

• The rental or leasing of any real or personal property located within the city limits for any term shorter than 30 days.

• Five or more sales of real property located in the city by the owner in any 12-month period.

• The rental or offering for rent of more than one nonresidential unit located within the city limits in any 12-month period.

In an effort to gain full compliance with this code section, Hermann reported that Clearlake Police officers will conduct business license checks upon receipt of complaints or witnessed violations during the normal course of their duties.

In cases where persons or businesses are found to be conducting business or sales without a valid license, Hermann said a warning will initially be issued and the owner/proprietor will be directed to obtain a license before continuing any further business.

Once a warning has been issued, Hermann said additional violations will result in citations leading to court appearances, and possible court-mandated fines and penalties.

Businesses or persons with questions about the business license requirements should contact Clearlake City Hall at 707-994-8201.

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LUCERNE – The county has appealed a September court ruling awarding $1.7 million to a Lucerne woman who alleged she was discriminated against because of a physical disability.

Sharon Leuzinger, 56, won the case against the county following a six-day jury trial in federal court, as Lake County News previously reported.

Leuzinger, who worked for 16 years as a correctional officer at Juvenile Hall, was noticed in 2004 that she would not be allowed to return to her job because of a 1998 wrist injury she had suffered while on the job. She received the notice while on leave for breast cancer treatment.

Mark A. Jones of the Sacramento firm Jones and Dyer, who represented the county in the suit, said he filed two motions – one for a new trial and a second for a “judgment as a matter of law,” he said.

“We're asking that the judge basically set aside the jury verdict and enter judgment in favor of lake County,” said Jones.

Both of those motions are set to be heard Feb. 5, 2008, Jones said.

It's the county's stance, said Jones, that there was an insufficient evidentiary basis for the verdict.

Jones explained in a previous interview that the court found the county had failed to accommodate Leuzinger in doing her job. He said it was the county's stance that Leuzinger could not perform the essential functions of her position – including restraining juveniles – because of her wrist injury.

Leuzinger must file her opposition to the motions by Dec. 17, Jones added.

Also set for a hearing next year is the matter of payment for Leuzinger's attorneys, including Susan Sher of Ukiah. That hearing, said Jones, is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2008.

Sher, however, believes a decision on the fees will be rendered sooner than the February date by Judge Sandra Brown Armstrong.

Along with Sher, three other attorneys worked on Leuzinger's case. Those four attorneys are seeking a total of $845,000, Sher said.

A fifth attorney is now representing all of them in filing the post-trial motions, Sher explained.

Sher said she has worked 700 hours on the case, so far without pay, and passed by other jobs to continue her effort on Leuzinger's behalf.

“I wouldn't have given up three years of my life if I didn't believe in this case,” Sher said.

She added the case was “tragically unnecessary.”

The $1.7 million will accrue interest and, if it isn't overturned, will end up costing the county more, Sher said.

“We're hoping they'll come to their senses,” Sher added.

Jones, however, said the county plans to keep up the fight.

“If we don't prevail we plan to appeal,” Jones said.

With the appeal process a slow one, Jones added, “It's going to go on for a while, I suppose.”

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LAKEPORT – The man accused of a Nov. 20 murder was in court for arraignment Monday.

Ivan Garcia Oliver, 29, of Lakeport is being charged with the murder last Tuesday of 67-year-old Michael Anthony Dodele of Lakeport.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said Oliver faces charges of murder, elder abuse and burglary.

“Burglary includes entering an inhabited residence for the purpose of committing theft or any felony,” said Hinchcliff.

In this case, said Hinchcliff, the charge applies because of Oliver's attack on Dodele, whose age also resulted in the elder abuse charge.

Defense attorney Bruce Lanning was assigned to Oliver's case, according to Hinchcliff.

The case was put over until Friday, said Hinchcliff, when Judge Arthur Mann will continue the hearing.

“We don't have all the reports yet,” said Hinchcliff.

Another reason for the Friday continuance stemmed from Judge Richard Martin recusing himself from the case Monday, according to Hinchcliff.

Martin's son, Brian Martin, is a deputy sheriff and is involved in investigating the case, causing Judge Martin to disqualify himself, Hinchcliff reported.

Hinchcliff said at this point he cannot disclose information about Oliver's attack on Dodele.

The investigation into the murder is continuing, he added, and Dodele's autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

After Friday's court date, the next step will be a preliminary hearing. “I don't expect the preliminary hearing to take place for at least a couple more months,” Hinchcliff said.

Oliver was on parole out of San Diego for an assault with a deadly weapon charge at the time of the murder, the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported last week.

He is being held in the Lake County Jail without bail.

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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.

LAKEPORT – Lake County Sheriff's Officials were on scene en mass Tuesday morning at a North Lakeport trailer park, where two people were taken into custody in connection with a death investigation.

Sheriff's officials on scene were not discussing precisely what had taken place at Western Hills Trailer Park, located at 3555 Lakeshore Boulevard.

Sheriff Rod Mitchell told Lake County News late Tuesday morning that a death had occurred, and investigators were still trying to sort out just what had taken place at the park.

“At this point it is certainly suspicious,” Mitchell said.

Officials had removed a hysterical woman and a child from a building at the park, and were questioning the screaming woman. The child was placed in an unmarked car and the woman was placed, handcuffed, in a marked patrol car.

After removing the woman and child, plain clothes deputies, with guns draw, ran into the building. A struggle could be heard taking place in the building.

Deputies emerged with a handcuffed man who was struggling and yelling, with what looked like blood on his hands. They appeared to be attempting to load the man into an ambulance.

Six unmarked patrol cars, two marked cars, a sheriff's truck and an ambulance were at the park, with more sheriff's vehicles arriving. Crime scene tape was being used to mark off investigative boundaries.

The coroner's office also was on scene.

Residents at the park would not offer comment on the situation.

Lake County News will continue to follow developments and update this report as more information becomes available.

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CLEARLAKE – A Clearlake Police officer responding to an emergency call late Friday received minor injuries after his car was hit by another vehicle and totaled.

A report from Sgt. Tim Celli of Clearlake Police said that the incident took place 8:42 p.m. Friday.

Det. Richard Towle and other Clearlake Police officers were responding “Code 3” – with lights and sirens – to an emergency call regarding a subject threatening to kill an off-duty police officer in front of the officer’s residence, according to Celli.

Towle was assigned to a patrol shift and was working in uniform and driving a marked police vehicle while responding to the call, reported Celli.

As Towle entered the intersection of Highway 53 and Lakeshore Drive, a vehicle traveling south on Highway 53, driven by 19-year-old Desiree Perez of Kelseyville, struck the passenger side of his patrol unit at a high rate of speed, Celli reported. Both vehicles were totaled as a result of the collision.

Towle and Desiree Perez were transported from the scene to Redbud Hospital, where they were later released after treatment for minor injuries, according to Celli.

The intersection of Highway 53 and Lakeshore Drive was shut down to southbound traffic for approximately two hours, said Celli, while officers investigated the collision scene.

Celli reported that the investigation is still ongoing and the cause of the collision is yet to be determined. The investigation will be submitted to the California Highway Patrol for review once completed.

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