CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police are attempting to track down the man who they say stabbed a Clearlake resident on Saturday.
Craig Allen Fenno Jr., 28, is wanted for the attack, and is to be considered armed and dangerous, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph of the Clearlake Police Department.
At 4:15 p.m. Saturday Clearlake Police officers responded to a report of a stabbing in the 3000 block of Seventh Street in Clearlake Park, Joseph said.
Joseph said that when officers arrived at the location they found a 38-year-old male suffering several serious apparent stab wounds to his torso and a bloody crime scene nearby.
Initially, the male victim was uncooperative with police, according to Joseph.
Joseph said the victim was transported to an out-of-county trauma center via air ambulance. As of Monday evening, the man was listed in stable condition.
The victim’s identity is being withheld at this time for his safety, Joseph said.
During the course of the investigation, officers identified Fenno as the attacker, Joseph said.
Fenno is described as a white male adult, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 145 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes, according to Joseph's report.
Joseph said Fenno has several outstanding warrants for his arrest out of Lake and Napa counties.
Fenno is now wanted for attempted homicide in the Saturday stabbing case. Joseph said the weapon used has not been located.
On Monday evening Joseph said police have not been able to locate Fenno, who is known to be transient.
Anyone with information on this investigation is asked to contact investigating officer, K9 Officer Mark Harden at 707-994-8251, Extension 503.
Anyone with information on Fenno’s current whereabouts is urged to contact Clearlake Police Dispatch at 707-994-8251, Extension 1.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is asking for the community's help in identifying the individuals responsible for a series of vandalisms at the Westshore Pool.
Over the past week suspects have entered the Westshore Pool site, located on the grounds of the Lakeport Unified School District, several times and committed numerous acts of vandalism, police said.
One such incident caused the pool to be closed for 24 hours. In that case, pool staff reported that they came in on Thursday morning to discover that someone had defecated in the pool, requiring that the pool be drained and sanitized before it could be returned to service.
This vandalism is costing the Lakeport Public Works and Lake County Channel Cats money, time and resources that are meant to keep the pool open and available to the community, police said.
If anyone has information on the suspects, they are asked to contact an officer at 707-263-5491, send us a private Facebook message @LakeportPolice or send an anonymous tip from your cell phone by texting the word TIP LAKEPORT followed by your message to 888777.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was taken into custody on Friday with the help of a police K9 after he led officers on a vehicle pursuit.
Venancio Martinez, 26, was arrested following the incident, according to Sgt. Travis Lenz of the Clearlake Police Department.
Lenz said that on Friday at about 9:45 p.m., Officer Jesse Scott was driving a marked police vehicle conducting routine patrol when Scott observed a 2008 Smart car traveling southbound on Old Highway 53 near Hillcrest Avenue.
Scott observed the vehicle cross over the double yellow lines on the roadway, into the oncoming lane of traffic, a violation of the California Vehicle Code, Lenz said.
Lenz said Scott initiated a traffic enforcement stop on the Smart car on Palmer Avenue just north of Lakeshore Drive. The driver, identified as Martinez, failed to pull over and accelerated to an unsafe speed as he attempted to evade Scott.
Martinez evaded Scott for just over two miles until he drove into a dead end driveway with a locked gate in the 14000 block of Eastlake Drive, Lenz said.
During the pursuit, Lenz said Martinez repeatedly drove on the wrong side of the road and drove well in excess of the posted speed limit.
Lenz said Officer Scott completed a high risk traffic stop, with the assistance of Officer Michael Dietrick, Officer Mark Harden and Harden’s police K9 partner, “Zip.”
During the high risk traffic stop officers ordered Martinez to exit the vehicle, face away from them and place his hands in the air. Lenz said Martinez exited the vehicle and faced officers, briefly placed his hands into the air then abruptly put one hand behind his back near his waistband, out of view.
Officers ordered Martinez to place his hands back in the air and he would not comply. Officer Harden, fearing that Martinez was reaching for a weapon concealed in his waistband, decided to deploy Zip for the safety of the officers, Lenz said.
Zip was deployed and apprehended Martinez by his lower right leg. With the assistance of the police K9, officers were able to detain Martinez in handcuffs and place him under arrest, according to Lenz.
After his arrest, it was determined Martinez was unarmed during the incident. Lenz said it is unclear why Martinez failed to comply with the lawful commands given to him by officers, and why he made the abrupt movement with his hand.
After being medically evaluated at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, Martinez was booked into the Lake County Jail for evading a police officer while driving in wanton and willful disregard for public safety, evading a police officer while traveling in the wrong direction of traffic, driving while under the influence alcohol and driving without a valid California driver's license, Lenz said.
Martinez's bail was set at $35,000. He later posted bail and was released, according to jail records.
Anyone with information in regard to this investigation is asked to contact Officer Scott at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251, Extension 544.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Police safely took a Lakeport man into custody on Friday after he wielded a knife at a police sergeant during a domestic violence call, with the man later stating that he had wanted to kill the police officers who came to his home.
Lizardo Elias Velasquez, 50, was arrested Friday afternoon on a felony charge of making terrorist threats, and misdemeanors including domestic violence, exhibiting a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, assault on a peace officer and an outstanding warrant, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
At 4:20 p.m. Friday two Lakeport Police Officers and a sergeant were dispatched to a residence in the 1000 block of Martin Street to investigate the report of a male subject threatening to stab his 61-year-old female cohabitant, Rasmussen said.
Upon arrival, the two officers attempted to contact the residents at the front door but the male subject – later identified as Velasquez – refused to open the door and stated that if officers did not leave he would “blow them up,” Rasmussen reported.
Rasmussen said the sergeant went to the back door of the residence where the female victim opened it, stepped out on the porch and stated that she was afraid the man was going to stab her.
The sergeant ordered the female to a safe location and then approached the porch, at which point Velasquez – who was not yet armed with a weapon – came to the open back door, saw the sergeant and then ran back inside, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the sergeant pursued Velasquez into the house, drew his department-issued Taser and tactically approached the kitchen area where he saw Velasquez go and then saw him pick up a knife.
The sergeant immediately ordered Velasquez to drop the knife and alerted the other officers. Rasmussen said the sergeant told Velasquez that if he approached with the knife he would be shot.
Velasquez then stepped toward the sergeant with the knife in his hand and the sergeant, who Rasmussen said already had the Taser deployed, immediately fired it, striking Velasquez in the abdomen with both darts, causing him drop the knife and fall to the floor.
Rasmussen said the sergeant continued the Taser deployment while the two officers handcuffed Velasquez and took him into custody.
Per standard procedure, Rasmussen said Velasquez was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for medical clearance due to the Taser deployment before he was transported to the Lake County Jail for booking.
During transport to the jail, Velasquez told the sergeant that if he had possessed a gun he would have shot him and that he wanted to kill the police who arrived, Rasmussen said.
Velasquez remained in custody on Monday, with bail set at $15,000.
“The department is thankful that our sergeant and officers were not injured and commends them for their use of good tactics in this situation which could have turned deadly,” Rasmussen said.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Retired Lake County Sheriff Ray Benevedes will be the featured speaker at the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum's next Living History Day on Saturday, July 23.
On the fourth Saturday of each month local historians come to the Ely Stage Stop to visit with guests and answer questions regarding different aspects of Lake County history. As these visits are recorded, the stories of Lake County's history are being preserved for future generations.
On July 23 the docents and volunteers of the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum will welcome Benevedes, who served two four-year terms from 1983 to 1991.
His early truck driving career found him on the road to Lake County in 1955. Stories of his path to becoming the Lake County sheriff will be shared. History and celebrities of the time will be remembered.
He will contrast practices in place during his terms with those in place in today’s “high-tech” world.
The presentation will begin at noon.
Admission is free with donations accepted.
The Lake County Historical Society’s Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum is located at 9921 State Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road) in Kelseyville, near Clear Lake Riviera, just north of Highway 29-Kit's Corner.
Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – With its new report now completed and released to the community, the 2015-16 Lake County Grand Jury held a Wednesday morning ceremony to honor young people who contributed their artistic talents to this year's document, while the jurors themselves also were honored by the superior court for their work.
Last week, the grand jury released its 102-page report, which can be seen below.
This latest report explores a number of topics, including the county's Office of Emergency Services and its role in county disaster preparedness; pension plan reviews; the county tax collector's check processing efficiency; a study of the duties and compensation of the Board of Supervisors; the District Attorney's Office Victim-Witness Division; alcohol and drug services available in Lake County; and employee accountability and record keeping.
It also looked at inconsistencies in Lakeport's general plan and zoning services; neighbor objections to expansion plans at Lake County Vector Control; fire safety; law enforcement K9 units; the Mendocino County juvenile facility, which is now under contract to provide services to Lake County juveniles; and nuisance abatement and code enforcement in and around Lake County after the 2015 wildland fires.
The Grand Jury report is distributed to all county departments, the governments of the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, local libraries and to the state's archives, according to Foreman Jim Baur.
This year, grand jurors took a unique approach to creating the report.
Baur said they decided to hold an art contest, with the goal of featuring the artwork in the final report.
They went out to the community at large and local schools to seek entries from young people ages 6 to 18.
That effort culminated in the Wednesday morning ceremony to honor both the young artists and the outgoing grand jurors in Presiding Lake County Superior Court Judge Andrew Blum's Department 3 courtroom,
Besides donating hundreds of hours of service, Blum explained how the grand jury had wanted to recognize some of the community's young people, so they got together to create the prizes for artistic achievement.
He added that the jurors paid for the contest and prizes for the students out of their own pockets.
Baur said Wednesday that they received more than 30 entries – more than anticipated – and ended up selecting 10, all of which are featured throughout the report, including its front and back covers.
Blum handed out the awards to the following young artists. Their names, ages, schools, contest placement and the page of the report where their artwork is featured is as follows:
– Landy Wade, age 7, Riviera Elementary School, third place (back cover); – Wyatt Chadwell, 9, Lakeport Elementary School, third place (page 11); – Madison Witt, 13, Mountain Vista Middle School, third place (page 27); – Ashton Legg, 16, Carlé High School, third place (page 93); – Madison Fletcher, 16, Konocti Education Center, third place (ad hoc committee cover page, before page 1); – Julia Lyon, 16, Clear Lake High School, third place (page 47); – Ciara Snow, 17, Clear Lake High School, third place (page 63); – Tasia Jardstrom, 17, Clear Lake High School, third place (page 83); – Indira Duncan, 13 Upper Lake Middle School, second place (page 37); – Megan Peterson, 16, Kelseyville High School, first place (front cover).
The young artists also got copies of the reports featuring their artwork.
Blum then presented certificates of appreciation to the 2015-16 grand jurors: Richard Bishop, Kelseyville; Rosemary Dontje, Kelseyville, the recording secretary who will be the foreman for the 2016-17 Grand Jury; Grace Gault, Lucerne; Maggie and Bill Magoolaghan, Kelseyville; Nanette Marschall, Lakeport; Venn Marschall, Lakeport; Bill Helldorfer, Lakeport, foreperson pro-tem; Richard Lewis, Lower Lake; Jan Pankratz, Lakeport, administrative secretary; Xian Yeagan, Upper Lake; Dennis Van Meter, Nice, sergeant-at-arms; and Jim Baur of Kelseyville, the outgoing grand jury foreman.
“They make $15 a day as grand jurors. Basically, that's volunteering,” said Blum as he handed a certificate of appreciation to Gault.
He also noted that jurors spend 15, 20, 30 or even more hours a week to complete their work.
Dontje presented Baur with a gift on behalf of the grand jury, explaining that when he first came on the grand jury two years ago, “He had never been on a grand jury, he didn't know what it was, but he still volunteered to be foreman.”
“And I learned a lot,” he added.
After the ceremony, Blum invited some of the youngsters to come up and have their picture taken with him. Wyatt Chadwell was invited up to the bench.
“Have a seat,” Blum said, allowing the boy to sit in his chair for a picture.
“Here, bang the gavel,” Blum said, handing the boy the gavel, which he took and knocked on the desk.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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