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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Lake County Fire Protection’s chief gave a report on Wednesday morning regarding a late Tuesday night fire that destroyed three homes.
Chief Willie Sapeta said firefighters came from all of the agencies around Lake County to assist with battling the blaze, which burned three homes located off of the 14400 block of Lakeshore Drive next to the lake.
He said firefighters were dispatched at 10:53 p.m. Tuesday, with the first unit on scene at 11 p.m.
A total of six engines, one water tender, a rescue unit, a ladder truck, seven overhead command positions, and 30 to 35 firefighters responded to the fire, Sapeta said.
Sapeta said the winds coming off the lake were clocked at 35 miles per hour, and contributed to the spread of the fire from one building to another.
The winds sent flames 30 to 40 feet into the air, Sapeta said.
Also making it dangerous and challenging for firefighters was a propane tank’s relief valve that went off, along with a downed power line on the side of one of the residences, Sapeta said.
The homes were located behind a business that sits on Lakeshore. “It never reached the commercial structure,” Sapeta said.
The fire was contained at 1:15 a.m., Sapeta said. Mop up went on until early Wednesday morning, with his firefighters returning to quarters at about 3:45 a.m.
Three people were displaced from their homes due to the fire, he said. No injuries occurred.
Sapeta said the cause remains under investigation, with one of his staff working with the Clearlake Police Department to reach a conclusion.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The judge presiding over the trial of two local men facing charges for a June 2011 shooting that claimed a young boy's life and wounded five others has deferred a ruling on mistrial motions submitted by the defense.
Judge Doris Shockley said Wednesday morning that she will entertain the motions again – filed on behalf of defendants Paul William Braden, 22, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24 – once she's heard testimony from two additional witnesses.
In addition, Shockley said she wants to address the case's Miranda issues – which involve law enforcement notifying a suspect of their rights at the time of questioning – before making a ruling on the motions.
Braden and Lopez are accused of having shot into a crowd of people at a barbecue at a Clearlake home late on the night of June 18, 2011, killing 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, wounding his mother and her boyfriend, and leaving three others wounded as well.
Last week, District Attorney Don Anderson had questioned Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Celli about statements made by Lopez during the investigation. Lopez is alleged to have told investigators that he and Braden both were riding in a car driven by a former codefendant, Kevin Stone.
Braden's defense attorney, Doug Rhoades, objected on the grounds that it violated case law established by People v. Aranda and Bruton v. United States, which prevent the presentation of testimony by a defendant that incriminates a codefendant.
Rhoades and Lopez's attorney, Stephen Carter, filed mistrial motions on Monday, with Anderson filing his response on Tuesday.
In a hearing that ran just over an hour, the defense attorneys argued that Celli's statement in front of both juries was prejudicial to both defendants.
“I don't think the court has any doubt an error occurred, it's what's the impact,” Rhoades said.
Carter argued that Judge Stephen Hedstrom, who had ruled that the two cases be joined for trial, erred in doing so. “The joinder set us up for where we are now,” said Carter, arguing that the defendants had inconsistent defenses.
The court worked hard to create a two-jury trial to satisfy all of the concerns, but Carter said Anderson's mistake affected Braden's rights to confrontation and also impacted Lopez's rights.
He said Lopez was asking for a finding of prosecutorial misconduct by Anderson. He said improper questioning is misconduct that becomes egregious if it violates a previous court ruling.
Carter said Miranda hearings were scheduled to deal with the clients' statements during the investigation. “Mr. Anderson bulldozed that last week.”
If a mistrial were granted in Braden's case and not Lopez's, Carter said there would be an impact on the remaining jury, which would wonder where Braden, his attorney and the other jury went.
“The fairness of the process is so heavily impacted by what Mr. Anderson did last week that I fear it is impossible for Mr. Lopez to get a fair trial in this trial if it continues now,” Carter said.
In response to the mistrial motions, Anderson said he wasn't trying to hide the fact that he erred during questioning.
“It was an error, it was a mistake, and I will take full responsibility for the mistake,” he said.
However, Anderson argued that it was a harmless error and that the testimony that came out during his questioning did not necessitate a mistrial.
“In this case there is overwhelming evidence of two things,” he said.
First, Braden was in the car with Lopez and Stone, Anderson argued. Second, he alleged that there was “overwhelming evidence” of Braden's guilt in the case.
Anderson suggested that the court could take one of two actions – deny the mistrial motions outright and give an admonishment to the jury to disregard Celli's statement, or defer a ruling to a later time after more evidence is in.
He also argued regarding the joinder issues Carter raised that it's done and it's time to move forward.
“This motion is premature at this time,” he said.
Carter, in responding to Anderson, said regarding the joinder issue, “That's it? It's done, time to move forward, after they've trashed the case?”
He added, “Where is the concern for a fair trial for my client?”
Shockley, in discussing the motions, first addressed Judge Hedstrom's decision on joining the cases.
She said it was within Hedstrom's right to do. “I'm not going to relitigate that issue here,” she said, adding that an appellate court could take it up later if it wished.
“That leaves us with addressing what's happened in the context of this dual jury,” she said.
The trial had been set up in such a manner as to avoid Aranda error, Shockley said. She said Aranda error clearly took place, noting that Anderson conceded that.
She said she found there had been prosecutorial misconduct; while not malicious, it was “error so obvious” that it should not have happened.
Shockley said she did not feel that the defense's position was as clear cut as they would have liked due to the case law.
She said she would defer a ruling on the mistrial motion until she had heard testimony from jailhouse informant Daniel Loyd and former codefendant Kevin Stone, and after she had held hearings on Miranda issues with the prosecution and defense.
She said she was prepared to give an admonition to the jury to ignore Celli's testimony in its entirety.
After a break, the juries were brought in briefly to be instructed on when next to appear.
“I am so grateful for your patience,” Shockley told the jurors. “We have been working hard on this case.”
She ordered the Braden jury to be back at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 9, and at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 10. The Lopez jury will appear alone at 9 a.m. Friday, May 11.
Then, “we will all be together again” at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 16, Shockley said.
She reminded jurors that they are not to speculate about why they are called at certain times and not others.
Shockley apologized for the delays and again thanked jurors for their patience.
When one juror asked about an end date, Shockley estimated May 25.
The prosecution and defense will work on Miranda issues regarding Lopez out of the jury's hearing on Wednesday afternoon and will discuss jury instructions on Thursday, Shockley said.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Even a Princess can end up homeless.
Such is the case with Princess, a domestic long hair mix who recently arrived at Lake County Animal Care and Control.
The friendly calico came to the shelter after her owner died and now she’s hoping for a new life in a new home, where there is plenty of companionship and chin rubs.
Princess has been spayed and is ready for adoption.
She’s in cat room kennel No. 77, ID No. 32537.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Firefighters from around the county were called in to respond to a fire that reportedly destroyed two homes in Clearlake late Tuesday night.
The fire was reported at 10:55 p.m. in two residences located behind businesses in the 14400 block of Lakeshore Drive, according to witnesses and radio reports. Initially, radio traffic indicated four structures were involved.
Firefighters arriving at the scene were warned about propane relief valves going off and power lines down.
Lakeshore Drive was closed as firefighters and police worked at the scene.
At one point early in the fire, incident command warned firefighters to take defensive actions only due to the severity of the situation.
Lake County Fire Protection, the lead agency, called in mutual aid from fire agencies around the lake, and asked for ladder trucks. The Office of Emergency Services also responded.
The fire was reported contained at about 12:20 a.m., with incident command estimating several hours would be needed for mop up.
Red Cross also was called to the scene to help with several displaced residents, according to radio traffic.
Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta said just after 1 a.m. that he expected mop up would continue for most of the night.
Sapeta said more details about the fire would be available Wednesday morning.
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