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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Thursday, a former codefendant in a fatal June 2011 shooting returned to court, where a judge finished determining how much time he will spend in state prison based on his plea agreement.
Kevin Ray Stone, 30, will spend a total of about four years in prison when presentence and post-sentence time credits are applied, said District Attorney Don Anderson.
Stone originally was charged along with Clearlake Oaks residents Orlando Joseph Lopez Jr., 24, and 22-year-old Paul William Braden of the June 18, 2011, shooting that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp; injured his mother, Desiree Kirby; her boyfriend, Ross Sparks; his brother, Andrew Sparks; Ian Griffith; and Joseph Armijo.
Stone reached a plea agreement to lesser charges and testified against Braden and Lopez during their joint trial.
Last week they were given multi-century prison sentences, with Braden receiving 312 years and Lopez 311 years, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday Judge Stephen Hedstrom sentenced Stone to 10 years and four months in prison and a $2,000 restitution fine for his no contest plea to conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory to murder and possession of a .22-caliber rifle by a prohibited person.
However, Stone’s sentencing hearing was continued to Thursday after questions arose about how credits would be applied, with those complications arising due to new rules connected with state correctional realignment.
Anderson explained that Stone received credit for the 405 days in the Lake County Jail that he served before sentencing, plus another 202 days of credit.
Counting those credits and what he can expect to receive during his time in prison, Stone will spend a total of about four years in prison, according to Anderson.
Anderson said Stone will serve his time in state prison, not in the Lake County Jail, where some people who previously would have gone to state prison are now serving time in some cases because of realignment.
During the Tuesday hearing, when issues about the sentence credits came up – with some of them different than defense attorney Komnith Moth had understood them to be – Moth had suggested that one option was to withdraw Stone’s plea. But that didn’t happen on Thursday.
Considering the huge sentences that Braden and Lopez received, “He should be happy with what he got,” Anderson said of Stone.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – After another day on the fire lines, firefighters were able to keep the acreage on the county’s major wildland fire from growing further while they gained greater containment on the incident.
Cal Fire reported Thursday night that the Wye Fire had stayed at 7,934 acres, with containment rising to 85 percent.
Officials had anticipated full containment by next Monday, but progress over the past few days indicates they are ahead of schedule.
The Wye Fire includes two incidents – the Wye Fire near Highway 20 and Highway 53 and the Walker Fire, burning near Walker Ridge Road in Lake and Colusa counties.
Both began burning on Sunday afternoon and are now being managed as one incident by Cal Fire Incident Management Team 4.
The number of personnel on the fire was rolled back by nearly half by Thursday evening. Cal Fire reported that there were 755 personnel, 82 engines, 24 fire crews, two helicopters, seven dozers and nine water tenders.
Officials said Highway 20, while open to traffic in both directions, has a strictly enforced speed limit of 45 miles per hour through the fire area.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
The Wye Fire Call Center can be reached at 707-967-4207 or 707-967-4208.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A young soldier from Kelseyville was among 11 people killed in southern Afghanistan on Thursday when the Black Hawk helicopter they were riding in crashed.
Richard Essex, 23, was among the casualties who died in the crash, according to his aunt, Mayme Dyslin of Kelseyville.
Dyslin said Thursday evening that her family was notified just a few hours earlier during a visit from two members of the military.
The International Security Assistance Force said in a brief statement that the Thursday crash killed four of its members, three U.S. service members, three members of the Afghan national security forces and an Afghan civilian interpreter.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, and none of the casualties were named in the statement.
Media reports have stated that the Taliban has claimed credit for shooting down the helicopter in Kandahar province, whose time zone is 11 and a half hours ahead of Kelseyville.
Dyslin said her nephew was the helicopter’s gunner.
Essex was a 2008 graduate of Kelseyville High School who had always wanted to go into the U.S. Army, Dyslin said.
“It’s just what he always wanted to do,” she said. “He wanted to help people.”
She recalled her nephew as being a “laid back kid” who never caused problems or got into trouble. “He was just a free spirit,” Dyslin said.
He played the bass guitar, was an artist and a published poet, with one book of poetry to his credit and another ready to be published soon, she said.
Essex had been in Afghanistan for about a year, Dyslin said. His Facebook page – where he kept up with family and friends – showed numerous pictures of the barren landscape where he was serving. His profile stated he was a 91B Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic.
Dyslin said she and other family members had just spoken to him over the last few days. On Tuesday she and Essex had spoken over Facebook.
“He said he was doing good and he would be home in November,” she said.
But she said his family became alarmed when they didn’t hear any more from him.
“We all just knew when he didn’t call yesterday,” she said. “He always calls or Facebooks and he didn’t get a hold of anybody yesterday.”
Dyslin said her family is still trying to find out what happened and is set to meet with a military chaplain. They’ve not yet been notified of when Essex’s body will be returned home.
In addition to his aunt, Essex is survived by his parents, Marion and Brett Hopkins of Kelseyville; sisters, Stacey Hopkins and Jennifer Williamson; and brother, Michael Essex.
Lake County News will publish additional details about this story as they become available.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Four mosquito samples collected this week in Lake County have tested positive for West Nile Virus.
Two of the positive mosquito samples were collected near Upper Lake on Monday and Tuesday, one sample was collected south of Kelseyville on Tuesday and one sample was collected in Clearlake Oaks last Friday, Aug. 10, Lake County Vector Control said Thursday. The previous West Nile Virus-positive mosquito sample was collected last week near Upper Lake.
A total of five mosquito samples from Lake County have tested positive for West Nile Virus this year. No other West Nile Virus activity has been reported in Lake County in 2012, the district reported.
“We are finding West Nile Virus in Culex mosquitoes,” said Jamesina J. Scott, Ph.D., the district manager and research director of the Lake County Vector Control District. “They develop in wading pools, neglected swimming pools and spas, ponds, fountains, and other water sources. You can protect your family – and your neighbors – by dumping out small water sources like wading pools, or calling the District for help with larger sources like pools and ponds.”
One neglected (“green”) pool can produce hundreds of thousands mosquitoes per week, and those mosquitoes can fly up to five miles away.
The district recommends that residents:
- Avoid being outside when mosquitoes are active, especially near dusk and dawn.
- Wear long sleeves and pants and use a mosquito repellent (always read and follow label directions) if they are outside when mosquitoes are active.
- Dump out buckets, wading pools, and other sources of water where mosquitoes develop.
- Call the district at 707-263-4770 or visit the district Web site www.lcvcd.org to request service if they are having problems with mosquitoes.
West Nile Virus has been detected in Lake County every year since its arrival in 2004, but only three residents have become ill from West Nile Virus infection in that time.
Dr. Scott attributes the low incidence of West Nile Virus disease in Lake County residents to the district’s vigorous efforts to control mosquitoes.
The Vector Control District regularly traps and tests mosquitoes throughout the county to identify the areas that are at highest risk, and target those areas for source reduction and treatment.
The district reported that mosquito activity – particularly for the Culex mosquitoes that transmit West Nile Virus – has been very high in some localized areas of the county.
While mosquitoes are an important part of the environment and cannot be eliminated completely, the district works to reduce mosquito populations near places where people live and recreate to prevent disease.
Lake County Vector Control provides free mosquito-eating fish to Lake County residents for use in animal water troughs, ornamental ponds and out-of-service (“green”) swimming pools.
For those services or for help with a mosquito problem contact the Lake County Vector Control District at 707-263-4770 or visit the district Web site at www.lcvcd.org .
For more information about West Nile Virus, visit www.westnile.ca.gov/ .