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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LUCERNE – A motorcyclist was injured in a Tuesday evening crash in Lucerne.
The crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m. in a two-way turn lane on Highway 20 near 11th Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters and the CHP were on scene, with the CHP reporting that the rider suffered minor injuries.
It was not immediately clear if another vehicle was involved, based on the preliminary CHP report.
Additional details about the incident and the identity of the motorcyclist weren't available late Tuesday.
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- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
Alan Dean Otis Palmer, 31, was sentenced in the case by Judge Richard Henderson on May 21, according to a Tuesday report from Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott's office.
Palmer had pleaded no contest to felony conspiracy to take 45 abalone for commercial purposes. Lintott reported that Henderson gave Palmer three years in state prison, a $20,000 fine and a lifetime fishing prohibition.
Early in the morning on July 21, 2009, Fish and Game Warden Joel Hendricks received a call from dispatch regarding a report that divers were possibly taking abalone behind the Little River Cemetery out of season, according to the report.
The warden observed two divers about 50 yards away from his location on the bluff. Each diver completed dives lasting nine seconds or more, returning to the surface several times, and handling things under the water, officials said.
After an hour the divers headed towards a sea cave entrance, which runs from the open ocean to a large sink hole on the Little River Cemetery property. Officials said Phillip Horch was there, acting as a lookout, and he told wardens that his two friends were diving for the purpose of one teaching the other to dive.
The two divers, Alan Palmer and Christopher Kern, then walked up the trail. They told the warden they were only spear fishing. Palmer was on felony probation for a past conviction for conspiracy to take abalone for commercial purposes. Not discovering any abalone in their possession, the warden advised all three persons they could leave.
At 11 p.m. that night Warden Hendricks, with the assistance of State Park Ranger Chris Glenn, climbed down into the sink hole. The tide had risen and sea water was pushing through the entrance to the sea cave. The warden saw a live abalone rolling around in the surf, leading him to believe it had been detached.
At 8:30 a.m. the next day, the report explained that the warden entered the sea cave and got into the water. He saw seven abalone clinging to small boulders, and then three game bags filled with abalone, all fresh and alive. There was a total of 45 abalone.
Warden Hendricks submitted a report to the district attorney's office, which charged the case and authorized three warrants of arrest.
On Aug. 31, 2009, prosecutor Tim Stoen presented the case against Palmer at a preliminary hearing before Judge Jonathan Lehan. Judge Lehan thereafter ordered Palmer to stand trial on the charges. Horch and Kern thereafter entered pleas in an associated case, receiving extensive jail terms.
This past April 23, Palmer – represented by defense attorney James Griffiths – entered a plea to the charge of felony conspiracy, and to a charge of commercial taking of abalone, each of which constituted an admission to violating his existing felony probation. He had been sentenced in October 2007 to a year in jail as a term of that probation, according to Lintott's office.
Upon being sentenced on May 21 by Judge Henderson on his new conspiracy charge and his probation violation, Palmer was immediately remanded to the California Department of Corrections to begin his prison term, Lintott's office reported.
Officials said three years is the maximum prison sentence for felony conspiracy in abalone cases.
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- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Curtis Dewayne Dodge, 39, was arrested at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday, according to a report from the Redding Police Department.
Dodge has been on the run since March, and when arrested was found without a GPS monitoring anklet which is a condition of his parole, according to the police statement.
The Redding Police Department reported that officers were dispatched to check out a suspicious black 1993 Oldsmobile Achieva parked to the rear of the Dark Side & Tattooing on Pine Street in Redding.
When officers contacted Dodge, he didn't have any identification and gave them a false name. They became suspicious and began an investigation, which led to their identifying Dodge as a parolee at large out of Lake County, Redding Police reported.
Dodge reportedly told officers that he had been in the Redding area for only five days before five days before Redding Police arrested him.
Officials reported that Dodge has an extensive violent criminal background and also is a convicted sex offender.
He was booked into the Shasta County Jail for violation of parole, sex offender registration violation and providing a false identity to a police officer, Redding Police reported.
Information provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation showed that Dodge originally was sent to prison from Madera County, where he was given a four-year sentence for cruelty to a child.
He was placed on parole in 1995, but was returned to prison six times over the next four years on parole violations, the records showed.
In Lake County in 2003 he was sentenced to prison for two charges of possession of a controlled substance and had five more parole violations. That was followed by a December 2006 sentence for the same charge and three more parole violations, the last one in 2009.
Dodge, who was being held without bail, remained at the Shasta County Jail on Monday, jail records showed.
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- Details
- Written by: Star Laurence
The event began Friday evening but really got going on Saturday morning, with a pancake breakfast at the fire station held before one of the main events – the parade through downtown.
Businesses up and down Highway 29 welcomed visitors coming from as far away as Merced.
The parade included a number of floats, including a clever “Wizard of Oz” float with interactive characters. Also taking part were Uncle Sam – played once again this year by Ronnie Bogner – and fire trucks from the South Lake County Fire Protection District.
It wouldn't be Middletown Days without the parade of horses, an important element in the celebration, with a gymkhana and junior rodeo coming later in the festivities.
Behind the vendor area there were rows and rows of horse trailers and cowboys walking with just as many cowgirls and kids. One of the youngest visitors was 3-month-old Owen Hawkins, there to see his big brother Jon, age 2, ride atop the lead line.
Vendors stayed busy and reported good sales at the event. Among the many items for sale were American accessories and handmade jewelry, plants and decorative, original and whimsical pottery. The Middletown Park fundraiser organizers also reported a strong weekend.
In addition to the parades and shopping, there also was an evening of music and dancing to entertain visitors and residents alike.
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