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LAKEPORT – A 19-year-old Lakeport resident has been sentenced to life in prison for allegedly stabbing and critically injuring a young Clearlake Oaks man during a March 2007 gang assault.
Visiting Judge Galen Hathaway sentenced Ricardo Tapia Muniz to life in prison on Friday on charges of aggravated mayhem and a gang enhancement, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Muniz pleaded guilty to the charges as part of an agreement with the District Attorney's Office. In return, an additional charge of attempted murder and a special enhancement of causing great bodily injury were dismissed.
Muniz was one of five suspects accused of attacking Alex Larranaga, then 19, outside of TNT's Restaurant near Library Park in Lakeport on March 16, 2007, said Hinchcliff.
Deputy District Attorney Gary Luck handled the prosecution of this case. Muniz was represented by a private attorney, Richard Petersen from Ukiah.
Petersen could not be reached for comment on the case Friday.
The prosecution had alleged that Muniz and the other defendants had attacked Larranaga because they believed his brother was a rival gang member and had “flashed” some gang signs at them.
Hinchcliff said witnesses at the scene had described Muniz as the individual who possessed a knife which he allegedly used to stab Larranaga. The other defendants in the case had hit and kicked Larranaga.
The attack left Larranaga with numerous stab wounds, which have left him partially paralyzed on his left side, where he has lost the use of his leg and arm, Hinchcliff reported.
Lakeport Police arrested the five suspects within a few hours of the stabbing, as Lake County News has reported.
Muniz had pleaded guilty to the aggravated mayhem charge and also admitted the gang enhancement, said Hinchcliff, according to Hinchcliff.
In a written statement, Luck said he is pleased with the case's outcome and sentence, noting that Muniz's sentencing brings to a conclusion the case against all five of the individuals arrested and prosecuted for this crime.
Two of the five assailants were juveniles at the time of the commission of the crime, but were treated as adults, Hinchcliff reported.
One 14-year-old male juvenile admitted his involvement in the crime and was sentenced through the juvenile court.
Other defendants in the attack included Elias Hernandez, Juan Luis Yepez and Mathew Allen Domeier, all of whom were sentenced to prison last August. Hernandez, then 20, was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Yepez and Domeier – both 17 when they were sentenced – received six- and seven-year prison sentences, respectively, as Lake County News has reported.
Lakeport Police Det. Norm Taylor, a gang expert who helped lead the investigation into Larranaga's assault, told Lake County News in an August 2007 interview that the five defendants were part of South Side Willow Point, a local Surenos gang, and were known to spend much of their time in and around the Willopoint Resort and Library Park.
Taylor said at the time that the group accounted for “a substantial portion of the active gang members in the community.”
Luck praised the excellent response and investigation of the members of the Lakeport Police Department, especially Taylor, who he said was “instrumental in completing the investigation and putting together an excellent case for prosecution.”
The sentence requires that Muniz serve a minimum of 15 years before he is eligible for parole, Hinchcliff said.
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LAKEPORT – Sixty-six years after a young Lake County man and his crewmates died in a B-17 crash in New Mexico, local veterans are gathering to give him a proper military tribute
On Saturday morning a special ceremony will honor Staff Sgt. Thomas C. Ferron of Lakeport.
Ferron was only 22 years old when, on the night of Oct. 15, 1942, the B-17 on which he served as a radio operator crashed into a mountainside while on a routine training mission near Magdalena, New Mexico.
The entire nine-man crew – which was part of the Alamogordo Air Force Base's 459th Squadron, 330th Bomb Group – perished that cold night. In addition to Ferron, the crew included another Californian, 2nd Lt. Donald Jackson of Sacramento.
The Army brought the bodies of the men down from the mountainside, with Ferron returning to his family for burial in Lakeport.
The story might have ended there, had it not been for a man whose knowledge of the tragic story led him to creating a memorial tribute for the lost crew.
Rick Webster – who today lives in New Boston, New Hampshire – wrote to Kelseyville's American Legion Post No. 194 in March, seeking information on Ferron.
The letter came into the hands of the post's adjutant, Rich Feiro, a retired U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant.
Webster related growing up near Magdalena, New Mexico, and recalled how, as a boy, he hiked up to the peak where the plane had hit, bounced over the top and burned. He recalled how parts of the plane – including its intact tail section – could still be seen there at the time. However, a 2006 hike to the site with his grandson revealed that brush had overgrown the area and only a few engine manifolds were still visible, with all other traces of the crash having disappeared.
He shared with Feiro that he wanted to see a roadside memorial to the men – much as he had seen for wartime-era B-17 crash along a Wyoming highway. Webster had researched the crash, found out the crew members' names and had a plaque created, which is due to be placed during Magdalena Old Timers Days in the first week of July.
Webster asked if the post could find out if Ferron still had any relatives because he wanted to invite them to the July ceremony.
Feiro began to do some research himself, along with some good, old-fashioned legwork.
He said he called the county recorder's office and was able to track Ferron's gravesite to Hartley Cemetery, just outside of Lakeport. Feiro then went to the grave, where Ferron is buried in a family plot next to his parents, Serena and Thomas.
In 1942, there was no special headstone for fallen soldiers, said Feiro. The only indication of military service on Ferron's headstone is an inscription of his wing insignia.
Feiro and other local veterans, including Herman “Woody” Hughes – a retired U.S. Naval Reserve captain and chaplain of Lake County's United Veterans Council – then worked on looking for Ferron's surviving family.
The local vets eventually tracked down a cousin of Ferron's who lives in Nice. “That's the only relative we've been able to find,” said Hughes.
As they continued to seek out Ferron's story, the men decided they wanted to hold a memorial ceremony for the young man.
Because Ferron and his crewmates died in a crash 150 miles from the base, Feiro said, “We doubted very seriously that he got a proper military burial.”
All of the county's veterans organizations have been invited to present their organization colors at a ceremony which will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 3, at Ferron's gravesite, with Hughes officiating, said Feiro.
The United Veterans Council's Military Honors Team – of which Feiro is the firing party commander – will offer a gun salute and a bugler will play “Taps.” The group also will perform the flag ceremony and present a flag to Ferron's family.
Organizers welcome the community to the special event, with a special invitation to veterans to come and honor a fallen comrade.
Hartley Cemetery is located at 2552 Hill Road East, Lakeport.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The quake occurred at 6:28 a.m. at a depth of nine-tenths of a mile, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The US Geological Survey report said the quake was centered two miles north northeast of The Geysers, four miles west of Cobb and seven miles northwest of Anderson Springs.
A total of 12 shake reports were made to the US Geological Survey, from Middletown to as far away as Tehachapi.
The area was last shaken by a 3.0 quake on April 15, as Lake County News has reported.
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The drop-in style open house will be held on Thursday, May 15, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Nice Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, 3708 Manzanita Drive.
In addition to the no-build alternative, two alternatives are being considered to reduce collisions in the vicinity of this project: adding traffic signals or constructing a roundabout. Caltrans staff will be available to answer your questions and receive your comments.
To learn more about roundabouts, and how to navigate them, visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist1/d1projects/roundabout.htm.
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