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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH A COMPANY RESPONSE.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – A Lower Lake woman is facing felony charges for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from her employer.
Michelle Lynn Davis, 23, was arrested Jan. 2 by Lake County Sheriff's Detective Corey Paulich, according to jail records.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said a felony warrant was issued for Davis, who then turned herself in.
“She's been charged with embezzlement and with a special allegation that the amount embezzled was over $150,000,” Hinchcliff said.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Cecil Brown said Davis is accused of taking the money from her employer, Shannon Ranches of Clearlake Oaks.
Brown said Davis had been with Shannon Ranches, a vineyard management consulting business, for five years. The occupation listed on her booking sheet is bookkeeper.
The investigation was triggered, said Brown, when the company noticed suspicious uses of business checks and a credit card.
Hinchcliff said he couldn't discuss the specifics of the case, which is so new that it has yet to be assigned to a deputy district attorney. Davis also has not yet appeared in court for arraignment, he added.
Davis' case constitutes one of the larger embezzlement prosecutions the District Attorney's Office has dealt with recently, said Hinchcliff.
If convicted, Davis could face up to five years in prison, Hinchcliff said.
Shannon Ranches, owned by Clay and Margarita Shannon, was a precursor to the couple's Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery, which has won both praise and awards for its wines, produced from winegrapes grown in Clearlake Oaks.
The Shannons also have become known for their generosity to community causes. They have assisted in Clearlake Oaks improvement projects, and last month volunteered one of their trucks to transport flooring materials from Southern California to the Clearlake Skate Park so the park can be repaired and reopened.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKE COUNTY – The worst weather predictions came true Friday, as high winds and heavy rains battered the county, with downed power lines and flooding closing roadways.
And, while in some areas waters were starting to recede and rainfall was lessening, the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for northern Lake County – which includes the Lake Pillsbury area – through 4 a.m. Saturday.
Weather Underground reported Friday that between Thursday and Friday morning Cobb had received 8.3 inches of rain, with just under 4 inches falling in Lower Lake, 1.92 inches in Lakeport and about six-tenths of an inch in Clearlake Oaks.
The US Geological Survey's stream gauges showed Kelsey, Cache and Putah creeks running so high they were almost off the charts.
Clear Lake also has begun to rise, according to the survey's measurements. The lake water along the Northshore Friday had turned brown due to runoff.
Wind gusts of as high as 40 miles per hours were expected in areas of the county, according to Weather Underground.
High winds and wet weather contributed to fallen power lines and trees around the county, said Lake County Roads Superintendent Steve Stangland.
Downed power lines, in turn, resulted in power outages.
Thousands of customers around the North Coast were out of power Friday, said Pacific Gas and Electric spokesperson Jana Schuering.
Shortly before 12:30 p.m. Schuering said 55,000 customers remained out of power, through 509 separate outages, in the North Coast region, which includes Lake, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
The outages were so numerous that Schuering said she was unable to separate out just which ones were in Lake County.
In Clearlake, that city's Public Works Department reported all streets were open Friday afternoon.
The City of Lakeport's Public Works Department reported one street closure – on North Street, between Ninth and 10th – Friday afternoon, due to water. Water that had partially covered some city streets, including some close to downtown, had receded by afternoon.
County Public Works, which includes the Roads Department, is issuing county road updates every half hour because of fast-changing conditions, said Stangland. The updates can be found at the county's Web site, www.co.lake.ca.us.
“We're opening roads almost just as fast as they've been getting closed,” said Stangland.
Water had covered Lakeshore Boulevard at Lyons Creek near Lakeport, Witter Springs Road near Upper Lake and the new bridge on Perini Road at Siegler Canyon Road near Lower Lake, but Stangland said the roadways reopened once the water receded.
Road crews were working around the clock to keep on top of the situation, said Stangland. “It's going to be a continuous thing.”
In some cases where roads remained closed due to downed power lines, it was because road crews were waiting for PG&E to respond. “We won't even touch the tree if it has lines in it,”he said.
Crews hadn't had to help respond so far to accidents, Stangland said.
The California Highway Patrol reported numerous road hazards in Lake and Mendocino counties Friday, many appearing to be weather-related.
Caltrans had no road or lane closures in Lake County on Friday afternoon, said Caltrans District 1 spokesman, Phil Frisbie Jr.
“Currently, there's a lot going on in Mendocino County,” said Frisbie. “Lake County looks pretty calm right now, relatively.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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