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- Written by: Lake County News reports
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. – A Santa Rosa man who embezzled $125,000 from the Oakmont Golf Club pro shop has entered no contest pleas in the case.
Ryan Drucker Andress, 31, pleaded no contest to two felonies, grand theft and possessing stolen property, and admitted the charged sentencing enhancement of embezzling more than $65,000, according to a report from Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch.
“We are working with law enforcement to hold the offenders in these employee embezzlement cases accountable,” said Ravitch. “We encourage businesses to review existing auditing controls to ensure proper asset protection and account compliance to protect themselves from these cunning schemes.”
Immediately after being promoted to golf operations manager, Andress devised a scheme within the internal electronic accounting controls to systematically reverse legitimate cash and credit card golf shop purchases, Ravitch reported.
The investigation revealed that Andress would then use the business' accounting software to debit the revenue onto an Oakmont Gift Card. Andress then used the gift card to purchase golf equipment from the golf shop to be later sold via his personal account on eBay.
The scheme provided him the appearance of increased golf shop sales under his management, all while he was personally profiting from the theft and eBay sales, Ravitch said.
She said the embezzlement continued for approximately 14 months and was only discovered when another manager questioned one of the reversed transactions.
Ravitch said Andress will be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2013, before the Honorable Judge Conger in Department Seven.
He will receive a stipulated 12 months county jail sentence with a probation period of three years upon his release. Ravitch said Andress also is ordered by the court to provide a partial restitution check made payable to Oakmont Golf Club in the amount of $50,000 on his sentencing date or risk the maximum penalty under his pleas of 4 years, 8 months in state prison.
The case was investigated by Santa Rosa Police Detective Joe Bjornstrom and prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Brockley.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested Tuesday morning after he allegedly shot at a housemate during an argument.
Jimmy Evans, 63, was arrested following the incident, which occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday and involved his housemate, Joshua Seltzer, 28, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Dominic Ramirez.
Ramirez said that at approximately 8:16 a.m. Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to 14750 Highlands Way after numerous callers contacted law enforcement to report hearing what they described as a firearm being discharged and an argument at the home.
Officers arrived at the residence and six individuals were located and detained without incident. In addition there was information that a seventh subject may have been at the home but that individual was not located, Ramirez said.
A Clearlake Police K9 unit was requested to assist with clearing the residence and surrounding property. Ramirez said officers conducted a protective sweep of the residence to find anyone who was injured or any outstanding suspects, with none being located.
He said the investigation revealed a verbal dispute took place between Seltzer and Evans. During the confrontation, Evans was in possession of a firearm and allegedly discharged it in Seltzer's direction.
Ramirez said police also received information that Evans allegedly threatened Seltzer while shooting at him.
A search warrant was obtained for the residence. As a result, two loaded firearms were seized along with ammunition, Ramirez said. Police also found evidence that a the firearm had been discharged.
He said Evans was arrested for negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, terrorist threats, and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Joshua Seltzer was discovered to have a felony warrant out of San Francisco and subsequently was arrested for the warrant, Ramirez said.
The other four individuals contacted at the residence were identified and later released at the scene after it was determined they had not committed any crimes and were not associated with the shooting incident, Ramirez said.
The alleged seventh subject was not identified as being a part of the shooting and has not been identified, Ramirez said. It is believed the individual fled the property prior to police arrival.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call Officer Crandall at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After months of federal, state and local campaigns, it’s time to wrap up the 2012 election.
Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 21 polling places around Lake County.
In addition to the focal point presidential race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, there are 154 legislative and congressional seats up for election across California on Tuesday, with 320 certified federal and state candidates on the ballot, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is running for reelection against Republican Elizabeth Emken. Democratic Congressman John Garamendi and Republican challenger Kim Vann, a Colusa County supervisor, are battling for the new Third District Congressional seat, which would represent the northern half of Lake County.
Congressman Mike Thompson is seeking reelection in the new Fifth District – which covers the rest of Lake County – against Republican Randy Loftin.
For California Assembly, the race for the redrawn Fourth Assembly District is between Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) and John Munn, also of Davis, a Republican and retired scientist.
Here at home, there are a number of local and statewide measures to consider.
On this fall’s ballot, three seats are open on each of the city councils for Lakeport and Clearlake. There also are a number of school board trustees appearing on local ballots.
The spotlight race for Lake County this fall is the race for the Lake County Superior Court Department 1 bench. Lakeport attorneys Judy Conard and Michael Lunas are each hoping to become the county’s next judge, succeeding retiring Judge David Herrick.
Local measures include Measure E, a half-cent sales tax that would be dedicated to projects to improve Clear Lake; Measure F, which does not impose new taxes, but which would allow South Lake County Fire Protection District to increase its limits on spending; and Measure G, a one-cent sales tax limited to the city of Clearlake, where it would be used for roads and code enforcement.
Both Measure E and Measure G must pass by super majorities of 66 percent or more in order that the funds may be dedicated to the specific proposed uses.
On the statewide level, there are 10 initiatives and a referendum on the ballot, with all of the initiatives requiring a simple majority to win, unless the measure’s language specifies otherwise, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Perhaps the most hotly contested of the propositions is Proposition 37, which would require genetically engineered food to be labeled, and Proposition 30 and Proposition 38, which are vying with each other as alternatives to addressing California’s school funding needs. Proposition 34 proposes to abolish California’s death penalty, and Proposition 36 would revise the state’s “Three Strikes” law to only impose life sentences when the new felony is violent or serious.
The California Secretary of State’s Office reported last week that a record number of Californians – 18,245,970, or 76.7 percent of those who are eligible – are registered to vote.
Lake County has 34,938 residents registered to vote this year, slightly under its 2008 presidential election registration total.
In Lake County, 53 percent of the individuals registered to vote for Tuesday – or 18,647 – are registered to vote by mail.
Absentee ballot can be dropped off throughout the day at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office, located on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-2372.
All vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the county elections official by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
If absentee voters wish to vote at a polling place, they can take their unused ballot to a precinct and turn it over to a poll worker to receive a new one. For those without their ballots, a provisional ballot will be provided.
For those voters who did not receive a ballot by mail, they can go to any polling place or the county elections office and cast a provisional ballot.
For the 16,068 Lake County voters who plan to cast their ballots at a precinct, Lake County News has mapped the precincts based on the Registrar of Voters’ final precinct list, obtained this week. It can be seen above.
Once the voting is done, county election officials such as Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley will have 28 days to complete vote tallying and auditing in order to certify the final results for the California Secretary of State.
The California Secretary of State’s Office offers a toll-free voter hotline, 800-345-VOTE (8683) for those with questions on Election Day.
The service can give a voter the address of their polling place and other election-related information. Voters may also confidentially report voter intimidation or potential election fraud by calling the line.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The next in a series of community meetings on the new Clearlake General Plan will take place this weekend.
The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 10., in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.
The first community meeting was held on Oct. 27, as Lake County News has reported. It focused on what community members like and dislike about Clearlake, and how to improve the city.
A general plan is a blueprint for the city’s future development and planning.
The Nov. 10 meeting will focus on the 11 different elements of the general plan and the community’s preference on different future directions, according to representatives with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s City and Regional Planning Department.
The city of Clearlake is working with the college and a team of 14 graduate students under the direction of Cornelius Nuworsoo, who has experience working on over 20 different city general plans.
Team members began visiting Clearlake early last month in order to begin the extensive research needed to complete the document.
City Manager Joan Phillipe told Lake County News in a previous interview that the city’s general plan is about 30 years old, and has long needed updating.
She said the new plan is expected to be completed by the end of June 2013. Additional meetings are planned at each step of the plan development process over the next several months.
More information about the plan and the process to create it can be found at www.planclearlake.weebly.com .
Email Elizabeth Larson at