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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LUCERNE – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has arrested three people on first-degree murder charges in connection with the death of a Nice man.
LCSO reported Wednesday that two women and one man had been charged with murder for the death of Michael Eugene Fausnaugh, 38.
On Tuesday evening, following interviews with the suspects, Det. Brian Kenner arrested Jamie Christine Martin, 20, of Lucerne, for first-degree murder while shooting from a vehicle; and Terri Lee Kenney, 48, of Nice, for murder.
The third suspect charged with murder, Shamus Terrence Maroney, 27, of Nice, was already in jail, having been taken into custody March 23 on a felony parole violation.
Eyewitness accounts reportedly helped detectives connect the three Northshore residents to Fausnaugh.
Witnesses told investigators of seeing Fausnaugh in the company of Martin, Kenney and Maroney at the Middle Creek Campground on Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake during the evening of March 21, according to an LCSO report.
The witnesses told investigators that Fausnaugh had what appeared to be “significant” head injuries, according to the LCSO report. The three suspects were seen placing the injured Fausnaugh into their vehicle and driving away from the scene, reportedly to seek medical attention.
His body was found the following day along the west side of Highway 29 near north Lakeport.
Detectives would later go to the campground and recover evidence that was consistent with the version of events reported by the witnesses, according to LCSO.
In addition, authorities reported that the vehicle involved has been located and impounded, and a forensic examination is pending.
All three suspects are being held in the Lake County Jail. Bail has been set for $500,000 each for Martin and Kenney, with Maroney being held on a no-bail parole violation.
They are all scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court today.
Officials say the investigation into Fausnaugh's death is continuing, with detectives looking to identify others who were at the Middle Creek Campground on March 21.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Det. Brian Kenner at the LCSO Detective Bureau, 262-4200.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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SACRAMENTO – State officials are reporting that the state's critical snowpack is hovering below 50 percent of normal.
The California Department of Water Resources conducted the fourth manual snow survey of the season on Highway 50 near Echo Summit on Wednesday.
State hydrologists monitor snow-water content in order to determine water supply for the year ahead.
Measurements were taken at elevations ranging between 6,500 and 7,600 feet, with average snowpacks between 35 and 55 percent of normal. Snow depths measured between 35 and 52 inches.
Electronic sensor readings posted Wednesday on the California Data Exchange Center's Web site show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 52 percent of normal for this date, Central Sierra at 48 percent and Southern Sierra at 38 percent.
Statewide, the snowpack is at 46 percent of normal, DWR officials said. That's down sharply from the 64 percent of normal snowpack reported at the start of March.
Previous statewide averages for the season were 40 percent for February and 59 percent for January.
DWR Snow Survey Section Chief Frank Gehrke said Monday night's storm helped the snowpack by about 2 inches but "instead of seeing an increase of 5 or 6 inches in March, we lost 8 or 9 inches," he said.
"That's a pretty bleak month," he added.
Snowpack information is part of the data used by DWR's State Water Project (SWP) Analysis Office in determining how much water will delivered each year through the SWP. Currently, the SWP is meeting 60 percent of requested amounts, which officials say translate to about 2.5 million acre feet for the year.
DWR officials say those deliveries will be particularly meaningful for the south state this year.
While reservoir storage in California is at or above normal thanks to a wet 2006, much of Southern California is experiencing its driest rainfall year on record.
DWR reported Wednesday that only 2.47 inches of rain have fallen in downtown Los Angeles since July 1. In a normal year, that figure would be more than 13 inches. Los Angeles has received only 18 percent of its normal rainfall for this time of year.
Southern California and other parts of the state also could be facing water shortages due to a recent court decision. That ruling, which came last week, would would shut off the pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 60 days unless DWR gets the permits necessary for the killing of endangered fish, which die yearly in the Delta's pump system.
The fifth and last snow survey of the season will take place on April 26.
DWR coordinates the snow monitoring program as part of the multi-agency California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program. Surveyors from more than 50 agencies and utilities visit hundreds of snow measurement courses in California's mountains each month to gauge the amount of water in the snowpack.
For real-time snow-water sensor readings, visit http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/lsreports/DLYSWEQ .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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UPPER LAKE – Following last year's record number of illegal marijuana seizures in the Mendocino National Forest, several members of the forest's law enforcement team were honored this month with a national award.
On March 14 the Mendocino National Forest Law Enforcement team received a national Director's award from the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy for their outstanding service to the nation in combating marijuana trafficking on the national forest last year.
Officers Walt Bliss, Mike Casey, Matt Knudson and Ramon Polo received the award from Director John P. Walters in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Forest spokesperson Phebe Brown said Polo is based in Covelo, Knudson in Upper Lake, Bliss in Paskenta and Casey in Willows, but all of them travel all over the forest as part of their enforcement duties.
Last year, the team spent more than 300 days eradicating 405,399 marijuana plants from 55 illegal marijuana sites on the Mendocino National Forest. “We were No. 1 in the state,” said Brown.
In fact, Walters' citation to the officers reads, in part: "More marijuana was taken by this team than any other group within the Forest Service in 2006.”
Illegal marijuana eradication was a major issue for Lake County in 2006.
Last fall, when then-Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced the results of the state Department of Justice’s 2006 Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), Lake County led the state's 58 counties with the most plants seized – 314,603, almost 100,000 more than the second-ranked county, Shasta.
Statewide, Lockyer reported, CAMP set a new record with the seizure of 1,675,681 plants worth an estimated $6.7 billion during the eradication season – more than three times the number of plants seized in 2005.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell said the illegal marijuana growers are attracted to the Mendocino National Forest – not necessarily Lake County itself – as a location.
The forest's fertile soils and remote locations are a haven for illicit marijuana growing, he explained.
“This is an area that is deeply troubling to me and my staff who work in the area of eradicating marijuana,” he said.
That's because it involves trespassing on both private and public lands, said Mitchell.
Worse, threats are posed to humans who happen across the illegal grows, he said, and the growers show wanton disrespect for the environment.
“This is a huge area of concern and should be even for people who are pro-dope,” he said.
The Mendocino National Forest's officers expressed their thanks to agencies like Mitchell's for help in the marijuana eradication effort.
"We could not have been successful without the teamwork with the Sheriff's Departments of Glenn, Colusa, Tehama, Lake and Mendocino Counties, the California National Guard, and Department of Justice CAMP teams," Casey said. "We all worked together to locate and remove this illegal use of our public land."
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKE COUNTY – Employment numbers for Lake County improved in February, according to a recent report from Dennis Mullins of the state Employment Development Department.
Mullins reported that Lake County's February 2007 unemployment rate was 8.3 percent, down 0.2 percent from January 2007, but up slightly from the year ago February 2007 rate of 8.2 percent.
This compares to a California seasonally unadjusted rate of 5.2 percent and 4.9 percent for the nation, according to Mullins' report.
Other surrounding county rates included 6.3 percent for Mendocino, and 4.2 percent for Sonoma, he noted. Orange and Marin Counties again tied for the lowest rate in the state at 3.5 percent and Colusa had the highest with 18.1 percent.
Total industry employment grew by 190 jobs (1.3 percent) between February 2006 and February 2007, Mullins said, ending the year-over period with 14,470 jobs.
Year-over job growth occurred in the following categories: farm, natural resources, mining and construction, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and other services, according to Mullins.
Year-over job losses, Mullins said, occurred in trade, transportation and utilities.
Industry sectors with no change for the period included manufacturing, private educational and health services, and government, Mullins said.
Industry gainers easily outnumbered decliners for the year-over period with natural resources, mining and construction, and leisure and hospitality leading gainers with 60 each.
Farm and other services each added 40 jobs. Information, financial activities, and professional and business services gained 10 each.
Trade, transportation and utilities was down 40 for the period.
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