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LAKEPORT – Two men who were the subject of a daylong search on Nov. 13 after an alleged break-in and assault were arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Monday afternoon.
Charles William Burk, 30, a transient, and Malcolm Safa Brown, 40, of Graton, appeared in front of Judge Richard Martin but offered no pleas during the brief hearing.
They were arrested last Thursday after allegedly breaking into the Noble Ranch Road home of Burk's adopted parents and assaulting Burk's adopted father, Donald Merrill Sr., 52, and his son, Donald Merrill Jr., 22.
Burk and Brown are then alleged to have fled in a white pickup, ramming a deputy sheriff's patrol car while trying to escape, and then fleeing on foot into the Hidden Valley Lake community.
There, it's alleged they attempted to force their way into a home on Spruce Grove Road, but the home's owner, Brian Moynihan, 34, physically held the door closed and then chased them from his property.
Later in the day, Burk was found hiding under the exterior deck of a home on Stonegate, while Brown was arrested after being spotted on foot at Foothill Court and Spyglass Road.
When the men were arrested both were alleged to be under the influence of methamphetamine, according to a Nov. 14 sheriff's office report.
William Conwell was appointed to represent Brown, with Thomas Quinn to defend Burk. Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff is prosecuting the case.
Judge Martin read off a lengthy list of charges against the two men, including assault with a firearm, assault with force likely to cause great bodily harm, a charge pertaining to Merrill Sr.'s assault, battery with the intent to cause harm, larceny, vandalism with more than $400 in damage, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and causing damage to a law enforcement vehicle.
Burk also is facing attempted murder for the assault of his adopted father, possession of a firearm with a previous felony conviction and vandalism with more than $400 in damage for Moynihan's property.
In addition, the District Attorney's Office is charging special allegations for Burk's alleged used of a firearm and for a previous conviction in Oregon, along with possible probation violations in Lake County.
Brown has a record that includes multiple burglaries with violence in Sonoma County and at least one prison term that began in 2002. In addition to another violent felony conviction that was not specified in court, he has a Sonoma County conviction for drunk driving and may also be facing a parole violation.
During the Monday court proceedings, Burk sat with his head lowered and his chin cradled in his hand as he listened to the reading of the charges against him.
Martin issued a criminal protection order instructing both Burk and Brown to refrain from communicating in any way whatsoever with any of the victims or witnesses involved in this case.
The judge also continued the more than half a million dollars in bail for each man and instructed them to return Friday, Nov. 21, when a date for the preliminary hearing will be set.
Hinchcliff told Lake County News Monday afternoon that further charges may be filed against Burk and Brown as information and evidence continue to come in. He said he feels that the most serious charges already have been made.
Regarding possible punishment for the crimes Hinchcliff conceded that should Brown’s record show an alleged previous “second strike” he could spend a very long time behind bars.
Should he be found guilty, Burk could be facing close to 20 years in prison, Hinchcliff said.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Over a three-day period last week, six homes were reported burglarized at Lakeport Lagoons and Pier 1900, two mobile home communities on S. Main Street, as Lake County News first reported Saturday.
On Saturday at just after 8 p.m., another burglary was reported to a residence on 15th Street, said Lt. Brad Rasmussen of Lakeport Police.
About an hour after the burglary was reported, a Lakeport Police officer recovered most of the property reported taken from the 15th Street residence, including electronics, jewelry and coins – the kinds of things take in the other robberies around the city, said Rasmussen.
Meanwhile, outside the city limits, mobile home parks also are being hit at a rapid pace, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Since the start of November, Perk's Mobile Home Park has reported four burglaries and two attempted burglaries, while Lakeside Village and Northport – both off of Lakeshore Boulevard – and Sterling Shores off of Robin Hill have each reported a burglary in the past week, Bauman said.
Bauman said that, in two of the four burglaries reported at Perk's, vehicles were stolen. One, a 2002 PT Cruiser, was recovered in Nice the same day as it was reported taken. The other vehicle, a 2007 Buick Lucerne, was recovered several days after the burglary on Hickory Lane in Lakeport, less than a mile from Perk's.
In addition to the mobile home parks, Bauman said there have been five other burglaries reported at residences in the north Lakeport area since the beginning of the month.
The method of entry in all the burglaries has been pried windows or doors, said Bauman.
Because they appear similar, it's possible the crimes are related, but Bauman said that hasn't yet been proved.
Rasmussen said Lakeport Police has some leads on suspects who may have been involved in the burglaries in city limits.
As to whether they're connected to the burglaries outside the city limits, Rasmussen said, “We're looking into the possibility that they're related but right now we don't have enough information to prove that they're related.”
In the mean time, he urges anyone who sees suspicious activity in their neighborhood to call police immediately. Residents also are urged to keep residences locked and to put up security lighting to deter break-ins.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Boaz Joshua Pak, 20, and Simon Chulmin Son, 19, both of Hidden Valley Lake; Luke Kotaro Nishikawa, 22, of Honolulu, Hawaii; and Chong Whon Shin, 20, of Aloha, Ore., were killed in a crash that occurred on Deer Park Road east of the Silverado Trail in Napa County at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, according to the California Highway Patrol's Napa office.
"The PUC community mourns the loss of four wonderful young men who were already giving service back to the community," said College President Richard Osborn in a statement released Sunday. "Our entire campus is grieving along with their families. But as a faith-based college, we have hope that springs from our beliefs as we celebrate all these young men accomplished in their brief lives."
CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said that while it's early in the investigation, investigators believe speed was a factor.
The college reported Sunday that the students had just finished playing basketball at the college gym and were on their way to Safeway in St. Helena to get something to eat when the crash took place.
Pak was driving a 2003 Honda Civic westbound on Deer Park Road when the crash occurred on one of the last curves heading down toward Silverado Trail, according to Paulson.
“It appears the vehicle lost control and actually slid sideways into opposing traffic,” Paulson said.
Pak's Honda collided broadside in the eastbound lane with a 1993 Toyota pickup driven by 28-year-old Sandalio Martinez of Angwin.
Carlos Rio Ortiz, 20, also of Angwin, was traveling eastbound in a 1993 Honda Civic behind Martinez. Following the first collision, Ortiz hit the back of Martinez's pickup.
The four students were declared dead at the scene, according to the CHP.
Martinez sustained major injuries and was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, the CHP reported.
Ortiz, who suffered minor injuries, was booked into the Napa County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, Paulson reported.
Paulson added that the CHP also is investigating the possibility that Martinez may have been driving under the influence.
The students, he added, did not appear to have been drinking.
Three of the men were wearing their seat belts, while Shin was not, according to the CHP.
Paulson said the CHP is not saying driving under the influence caused the crash, “but DUI was there.”
Pak's vehicle suffered “significant” damage, said Paulson. It took emergency personnel a few hours to remove the young mens' bodies from the vehicle.
The investigation, evidence collection and scene measurements and cleanup took a long time, said Paulson. “We were there a good nine hours.”
While CHP was processing the scene, Deer Park Road was closed and Sanitarium Road was used as a detour around the collision scene.
“It's a tragedy, it's a huge loss to our community,” said Paulson. “It's a great reminder to everyone to slow down and buckle up their seat belts.”
On Sunday, Pacific Union College – the Angwin-based liberal arts college of 1,400 students that is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church – held a prayer meeting in honor of the four young men, with counselors and pastors available to students afterward.
Pak, Son, Shin and Nishikawa “were well known and liked on campus,” the college reported.
The college said that Pak was a biology and pre-pharmacy major, while Nishikawa was studying American history. Shin was involved in youth ministry at the Rohnert Park Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church and studied business administration and pre-dentistry.
Son was involved in a campus outreach program called Homeless Ministries, according to the college statement. On Saturday morning, students said that Son had gone to the Bay Area with a group of students to feed the homeless. He was majoring in nursing.
The college reported that grief counselors, residence hall deans, and the campus chaplain began working with students during Saturday night as news of an accident involving fellow students spread around campus. On Sunday, the college offered support groups and one-on-one counseling for the campus community.
The college's Web site is offering a message board at www.puc.edu/news/memorial for students, friends and family to post their tributes to the students.
Messages have been coming in from around the country and around the world in memory of the young men, with one poster sending condolences from the United Kingdom.
On Thursday at 10 a.m., Pacific Union College will hold a memorial service for the young men during their weekly colloquy in the college church.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Five engines – one each from Lake County Fire Protection, Kelseyville Fire, Northshore Fire, Anderson Valley and Hopland – left on Sunday, said Lake County Fire Protection Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta.
The group included three firefighters per engine, said Sapeta.
Chief Jim Robbins of Northshore Fire said his district sent two battalion chiefs, Jamie Crabtree and Pat Brown, to serve as strike team leaders.
Capt. Dave Bosserman of Kelseyville Fire said their three firefighters got the call to go at 3:30 a.m. Sunday. They took with them a type-three fire engine, which he described as a four-wheel-drive truck with a pump system on it, which is good for wildland firefighting.
Sapeta said his firefighters pulled out at 7:15 a.m. Sunday.
The firefighters got to their destination in Southern California last night at about 10 p.m., said Robbins.
Robbins said they were assigned to the nearly 29,000-acre Freeway Complex, which Cal Fire reports includes the Freeway and Landfill fires. Nearly 3,700 firefighters are currently assigned to that complex.
The fires started in Riverside County and are now burning through rugged terrain in Orange County. Cal Fire says the complex is 40-percent contained.
The local strike team was assigned to a 24-hour rotation to work the fires, said Robbins. Sapeta added that the firefighters were due to be on the fireline first thing Monday.
“They were going with five other strike teams to the head of the fire,” said Robbins. “They know the Lake County boys can put the fire out.”
He spoke with firefighters Monday morning after their briefing. Brown told him about the eerie experience of driving down Highway 71, the Chino Valley Freeway, and finding its eight lanes barricaded and empty of all but fire traffic.
Over the weekend Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency in Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties due to a devastating series of wildland fires that have hit the area beginning Nov. 14. Santa Ana winds have assisted in fueling and moving the fires, according to officials.
A day earlier, Santa Barbara County was hit with the Tea Fire, now at 95-percent containment, with an estimated 210 homes destroyed, Cal Fire reported.
Sapeta said they have no idea how long the local firefighters will be needed in Southern California, although they have a seven-day minimum and 14-day maximum commitment period, after which they'll be switched out if more help is needed.
Local firefighters have ventured out of the county to offer assistance on fires in other regions several times this year, said Sapeta.
In May, a strike team was sent to the Summit Fire burning in the Santa Cruz Mountains, then the Humboldt Fire in Butte County and the Mendocino Lightning Complex in June, and to Santa Clara County in July. Local fire districts sent nine ambulances to Colusa County in October when a bus crash occurred, killing several people.
Lake County has received its fair share of help this year. Cal Fire, the US Forest Services and fire agencies from around the state converged in Lake County in June to fight the 14,500 Walker Fire east of Clearlake Oaks and the 8,652-acre Soda Complex burned from June to July in the Mendocino National Forest.
While it was very busy in the beginning of the fire season, until recently it had quieted down, said Sapeta.
Sapeta said there have been some years where local strike teams have been called out during the winter months of January and February in response to Southern California wildfires fueled by those devastating Santa Ana winds, which can make a fire deadly at any time of year.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson