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California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia said the combination of the Lake County Fair, concerts and the X.S. Weekend at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa kept officers busy.
Statewide, CHP reported 36 people were killed in its jurisdiction while 13 died within California’s incorporated cities which are patrolled by local police. In 2006, a total of 46 people were killed on California roadways during the Labor Day weekend.
Of the 36 fatalities within the CHP's statewide jurisdiction this year, one was a pedestrian, three were motorcyclists and 32 were in passenger vehicles, the agency reported. Vehicle passengers were required by law to wear seat belts or child safety seats but 26 of the 32 did not.
In Lake County, the weekend had one fatality that resulted from a head-on collision which took place Friday night on Point Lakeview Drive, as Lake County News previously reported. The victim was 48-year-old Robert Faulknor of Kelseyville, Garcia reported Tuesday.
“Everything else was what you could expect for a holiday weekend,” said Garcia, who noted that there weren't any particular hot spots, but that activity was spread across the county.
Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke said it was a very mellow Labor Day weekend, with only a few fights reported the last night of the Lake County Fair, which didn't result in arrests.
Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Cecil Brown reported a few battery arrests and vehicle pursuits were the notable events that took place over the weekend. Brown said he expected to issue a report on Wednesday explaining the pursuits in more detail.
Clearlake Police Lt. Mike Hermann was out of the office Tuesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment on how the weekend went for that agency.
CHP usually has extra officers on for Labor Day, said Garcia. This year, they had 85 percent of their officers on duty, with two out-of-area officers coming to the county to assist.
An intersection safety grant from the Office of Traffic Safety helped fund the extra officer hours, said Garcia.
Just the extra officers alone accounted for 67 citations, 63 of which were for moving violations and four for open containers of alcohol, on Saturday and Sunday, Garcia reported.
In addition, the weekend yielded eight arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Garcia.
The numbers are still preliminary, but Garcia said so far he's counted a total of 199 CHP-issued citations for the weekend, which included everything from seat belt violations to the DUI arrests.
Statewide, during the Labor Day Weekend Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) up to 80 percent of CHP’s officers were on the road looking for violators. They arrested 1,580 impaired drivers compared with 1,749 last Labor Day Weekend.
All told, there were 39 arrests over the weekend for charges ranging from DUI to bench warrants, according to the Lake County Sheriff's logs.
There were four arrests in Lakeport, 10 for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, 14 for Clearlake Police, 10 for CHP and one for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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CHP Officer Adam Garcia reported Tuesday that at 10:22 p.m. Saturday CHP Officer Robert Hearn spotted 31-year-old Clearlake resident Erik Wayne Sutch's 1992 Saturn crossing the double-yellow lines on Point Lakeview Drive near Fairway Drive in the Clear Lake Riviera.
Hearn attempted a traffic stop of Sutch, Garcia reported, but rather than pull over, Sutch took off, driving recklessly into Lower Lake.
Sutch was unable to negotiate a left turn onto Mill Street from Main Street and ended up hitting a utility pole, said Garcia.
After hitting the pole, Sutch attempted to flee on foot, said Garcia, but was taken into custody a short time later.
Why he attempted to run may be explained by the CHP's discovery the following day that the vehicle had been stolen from Kelseyville shortly before the chase occurred, according to Garcia.
Sutch, whose occupation is listed as mechanic on his booking sheet, faces charges, including felony vehicle theft, possession of narcotic controlled substances, evading a peace officer and bringing a controlled substance into a jail, and misdemeanors including driving without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol, obstructing a peace officer, and hit and run with property damage.
Sutch has since posted bail and been released from the Lake County Jail.
Garcia said it's important for the public to remember to lock vehicles and secure keys in a safe place to deter theft.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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