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LAKE COUNTY – A woman who recently was sought in connection with an alleged kidnapping of a Glenn County child may not face kidnap charges after all, according to Glenn County authorities.
The Glenn County Sheriff's Office was seeking Tabitha Pasalo, 24,who lives between the Grindstone Rancheria in Glenn County and the Big Valley Rancheria near Lakeport.
Glenn County Sheriff's Det. Travis Goodwin said Wednesday that his department recently located Pasalo in Lake County and interviewed her about the situation.
Based on that interview and the other evidence in the case, Goodwin said the Glenn County District Attorney's Office has decided not to file kidnap charges against Pasalo.
Dwayne Stewart, an assistant district attorney with Glenn County, said the case is still open, and it's not the policy of his office to discuss open cases.
On April 21 Pasalo allegedly took a 2-year-old child from his home at Grindstone and brought him to her brother's home in Lakeport, according to Lt. Rich Warren of the Glenn County Sheriff's Office.
Warren said Pasalo's brother, John Pasalo, 22, may be the child's father.
Lake County Sheriff's deputies helped locate the child the next day, said Warren.
John Pasalo was arrested for felony child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest for trying to escape with the child, LCSO Chief Deputy Russell Perdock previously reported.
Lake County Jail records show John Pasalo remains in custody on those charges with no bail set.
As to why no charges have yet been filed against Tabitha Pasalo, Goodwin said investigators are looking at her claim that she took the child from his mother, 20-year-old Dahnna Burrow, for his own safety.
Goodwin said they're now looking at the question of whether or not the child was actually being harmed, which could have justified Pasalo's actions. “We have to answer that question before we can deal with the kidnap situation,” Goodwin said.
Asked if it's possible Burrows could end up facing charges, Goodwin said, “Anything is possible.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKE COUNTY – With the appeals court denying a change of venue motion, a young San Franciscan facing murder charges for the death of two companions during an alleged December 2005 break-in is scheduled to go to trial here this month.
Renato Hughes, 22, was arrested Dec. 7, 2005, the same day as he and two other men, Rashad Williams and Christian Foster, are alleged to have broken into the Clearlake Park home of Shannon Edmonds.
Edmonds reportedly shot Williams and Foster as they fled the scene. It's Hughes, however, who is facing charges for their deaths; a state statute allows those accused of committing a felony which is likely to result in a lethal response to be held liable for any deaths that may occur.
As Lake County News previously reported, Hughes' attorney, Stuart Hanlon of San Francisco, had filed a change of venue motion with Lake County Superior Court.
Hanlon said Hughes – who is black -- can't get a fair trial in Lake County due to the county's predominantly white population and other factors, including pre-trial publicity.
On March 2, Judge Arthur Mann denied the motion.
However, on April 10, Hanlon filed a petition for a writ of mandate and a stay of Mann's ruling with the state's First Appellate District Court, according to court documents.
Last week, the appellate court denied Hanlon's petition to have the order reversed and the venue moved, the court reported.
That means the way is clear to proceed with trial in Lake County.
In addition to two charges of murder, Hughes is facing felony charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and attempted murder, according to records from the Lake County Jail, where he has remained for the year and a half since his arrest.
District Attorney Jon Hopkins said motions in the case will begin May 8, with jury selection set for May 10.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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