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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, opening arguments took place in the trial of two young local men accused of killing a 4-year-old child and shooting five others in the worst single shooting incident in the city of Clearlake’s history.
Paul William Braden, 21, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, each are facing 15 counts for the June 18, 2011, shooting that killed Skyler Rapp; injured and permanently disabled his mother, Desiree Kirby; and wounded Kirby's boyfriend, Ross Sparks and his brother, Andrew Sparks, and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.
After weeks of jury selection, two separate jury panels have been seated, one to decide on each man’s case.
A third man, Kevin Ray Stone, 29, originally was charged with murder in the case as well, but last November he reached an agreement in which he pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory to murder and possession of a .22-caliber rifle by a prohibited person, as Lake County News has reported.
District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News on Friday that Stone has not yet been sentenced. Based on previous statements in court, Stone is facing up to 10 years in prison and $64,000 in fines.
Anderson said during opening statements Friday that Stone will appear as a prosecution witness.
Judge Doris Shockley from Yolo County has been brought in to preside over the trial, which is anticipated to be lengthy, in Department 1 in Lake County Superior Court.
Shockley told jurors Friday that the proceedings are right on time, with presentation of evidence and testimony expected to be finished the first week of May.
During the morning session, the “orange” jury, which will decide on Braden’s case, heard opening arguments from Braden’s attorney Doug Rhoades and Anderson.
In the afternoon, Anderson and Lopez’s attorney, Stephen Carter, presented brief opening arguments to the “green” jury.
Before arguments, the court clerk read to each jury the charging documents against each man. Each reading of the lengthy documents took about 45 minutes.
The charges against them include murder, mayhem, numerous counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and many special allegations for, among other things, use of a firearm.
Setting the scene
Anderson told the juries the evidence will show that the events leading to the shooting begin about a week beforehand, with a fight involving a cousin of Kirby’s. The situation escalated when Kirby and Lopez’s brother, Leonardo, allegedly had a confrontation at Walmart a few days before the shooting.
On the night of the shooting, Braden allegedly got Stone to go with him to the neighborhood where Kirby and Sparks lived on the pretense of committing a drug robbery at the home of Curtis Eeds, their neighbor, according to Anderson.
It was from Eeds’ yard that Braden allegedly began shooting over the fence – with Lopez allegedly shooting through a hole in the fence – into a crowd of between 10 to 15 people gathered at Sparks’ and Kirby’s home, Anderson said.
Standing by the barbecue was the 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, who was getting ready to make s’mores.
“He takes a shotgun blast to the back,” said Anderson.
Almost every one of the child’s vital organs – his heart, kidney, liver and his spinal cord – were pieced by 11 shots of double ought buckshot, the district attorney said.
The child collapsed and died at the scene, Anderson said.
Kirby would be hit by two shotgun blasts and would suffer as many as 34 entry wounds covering her right leg and arm. Anderson said she has suffered permanent injuries, and for the rest of her life will have limited use of her arm and leg.
Stone, Braden and Lopez fled the scene, crashed the van that Stone had borrowed from his girlfriend’s cousin, and stashed the shotgun and a rifle. Anderson said Stone will identify a .22 rifle taken to the scene as his.
In addressing Braden’s jury panel, Rhoades told jurors, “Let’s acknowledge one thing up front” – that what occurred the night of June 18, 2011, was a tragedy.
“The question that’s going to be before you is, is Paul Braden responsible for that?” he asked.
Rhoades pointed out that Daniel Loyd, alleged to have shot a Lucerne woman in September 2011, is going to be called as a a prosecution witness against Braden. Anderson told Lake County News that Loyd has information to present against Braden based on statements Braden allegedly made to Loyd in the Lake County Jail.
Rhoades said Loyd has every reason to say what the prosecution wants him to, as do witnesses against Braden who have family connections to Lopez.
Then there is Stone, who fled to Sonoma County after the shooting, Rhoades explained. While Stone was on the run, he arranged to turn himself in to police and then didn’t show up.
“He is no longer before the court on these cases or these crimes,” said Rhoades, adding that Stone’s involvement will be heard by the jury.
While Stone, and Lopez as well, allegedly disappeared after the shooting, Braden stayed in the county, Rhoades said.
“He went home. He didn’t have anything to do with it,” Rhoades said of the shooting.
Rhoades told the jury that nobody can put Braden at the scene except the others involved in the shooting, adding that none of the victims saw Braden there.
In the afternoon session, Carter offered a seven-minute opening in which he told the panel that opening arguments are “all about telling the jury ahead of time what they need to look for.”
Like Rhoades, he raised issues with Stone’s part in the incident, noting, “He doesn’t go immediately to the police and say, ‘You won’t believe what these guys did.’” Carter said Stone has now manipulated himself into a plea bargain.
Carter said it is not a simple case. “There are lots of different sorts of people with lots of different sorts of problems,” with some of the people at the scene high or drunk.
He asked them to remember all of their obligations, pay close attention to Judge Shockley’s rulings and render a fair decision.
The jury panels were ordered to return to court at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After several days of near record-high temperatures, snow is in the forecast for this weekend.
A high-pressure system that brought unseasonably high daytime temperatures to most of Northern California for the past few days moves out and weather forecasts predict returning to more normal temperatures for February with an expected high today in the mid-50s.
As the high-pressure system that brought warm daytime temperatures moves out of the area, a low-pressure system moves through, bringing a slight chance of rain showers early Sunday morning, with a slight chance of rain and snow showers and snow levels forecast to be at 3,400 feet, lowering to 2,500 feet throughout the day according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
The possibilities for rain and snow showers continue through Monday with snow levels down to 2,200 feet as daytime high temperatures top-off in the 40s and overnight lows continue dip below freezing.
Chances for rain and snow remain in the forecast throughout the week according to the National Weather Service, with daytime highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.
For up-to-the-minute weather visit http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_events&;Itemid=309 .
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A travel trailer was destroyed in a Friday evening fire.
The trailer, located on Mission Rancheria Road at Big Valley Rancheria, was being used as a residence, according to Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells.
Lakeport Fire sent two engines, one truck and seven firefighters, and Kelseyville Fire sent one engine and two firefighters, according to Wells.
Wells said the trailer was a total loss, and burned all the way to the ground.
The person who had been living there was gone by the time firefighters arrived, Wells said.
He added that there were no injuries.
Wells said firefighters didn’t know the fire’s cause, but noted that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was looking into possible leads as to who may have been responsible for the fire.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Firefighters in Napa County are continuing to work on a fire that began early Wednesday afternoon with an agricultural burn pile that got out of control.
The Soda Fire is located in the 3200 block of Soda Canyon Road, north of Silverado Trail and northeast of the city of Napa, according to a Friday report from Cal Fire.
The fire’s location in steep and rugged terrain was making it difficult to access, and Cal Fire said gusty winds made the going tougher on Thursday.
However, on Friday the winds tapered off, allowing firefighters to expand containment to 75 percent on the 200-acre fire, the agency reported Friday evening.
Approximately 143 firefighters were on scene late Friday, with three engines, eight fire crews and one bulldozer, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said full containment is expected Saturday at 8 a.m.
No evacuations were in place and no structures have been damaged, according to Cal Fire.
Two minor injuries were suffered by fire captains on scene, Cal Fire reported.
Agencies involved in the firefighting effort include Cal Fire, Napa County Fire Department, Calistoga Fire Department, Napa City Fire Department, St. Helena Fire Department, American Canyon Fire Protection District, Napa County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at