Details

Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 21 February 2008

Anthony Scott Cape, 41, of Ukiah was arrested by the Mendocino County Narcotic Task Force on Wednesday for a battery of drug-related charges, according to Mendocino County Sheriff's Office booking records.

The Clearlake Police Department had been looking for Cape for more than two months. He was one of three suspects identified by a man who was kidnapped and assaulted on Dec. 4 in Clearlake, as Lake County News has reported.

Cape and the other two men – Priest Rogelio Martinez, 34, and James Paul Miller, 21, both of Redwood Valley – allegedly abducted the victim from a residence on Fourth Street in Clearlake, beat and tied him up, placed him in the trunk of his own car and then stole the vehicle.

The victim called police with a cell phone but the men allegedly pulled over and took the phone from him, a confrontation during which police dispatchers are reported to have heard them beating the victim.

On Dec. 5 the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office arrested Martinez at his residence on warrants and charges relating to possession of ammunition and paraphernalia. They later served him with an arrest warrant for the kidnapping while he was in the Mendocino County Jail.

Clearlake Police arrested Miller on Dec. 12. Miller posted his $40,000 bail and was released from the Lake County Jail.

In addition to a felony kidnap charge, with a bail amount of $750,000, Cape is facing four misdemeanor charges – three for driving on a suspended license plus theft of utility service – with each charge adding $15,000 in bail.

Hermann said the home where Cape was arrested Wednesday had a methamphetamine lab in it, for which he could be facing additional prosecution.

“They'll deal with him there before we bring him here,” he said.

Meanwhile, prosecution of Martinez and Miller is now getting started, said Hermann, with charges of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery filed against the men.

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Details

Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 21 February 2008

COBB – A man being sought following a confrontation with Lake County Sheriff's deputies earlier this week was arrested without incident by members of the sheriff's SWAT team late Wednesday.

Victor Bronco Rodin, 43, of Cobb was arrested at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at his mother's Clearlake Oaks home, Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Thursday.

Rodin had been sought by sheriff's deputies since Tuesday night, when he had confronted two deputies at his ex-girlfriend's house on Brookside Drive, as Lake County News has reported.

Believing he was armed and about to shoot at them, one of the deputies shot once at Rodin, who was not hurt, Bauman said.

Rodin fled on foot into the woods, where deputies searched for him until 1 a.m. Wednesday. Later that day, a sheriff's SWAT team resumed the search for Rodin, who Bauman said was a convicted felon with a history of unstable behavior.

From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday SWAT members went door to door in the immediate vicinity of the

Brookside Drive home to check unoccupied homes and make sure residents knew Rodin was at large, Bauman reported.

Sheriff’s personnel continued to follow up on leads regarding Rodin’s whereabouts in the Cobb Mountain area until about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Bauman said.

At about that time the sheriff’s office received a call from Rodin's mother, who reported that he was at her home in Clearlake Oaks and was prepared to turn himself in to authorities, according to Bauman.

Several members of the SWAT team responded to the Clearlake Oaks home, Bauman reported, while the California Highway Patrol set up precautionary road blocks in the area along State Highway 20 to avert another potential escape.

Bauman said sheriff's deputies took Rodin into custody without resistance at about 10:30 p.m.

At that point they also confirmed that Rodin had not been injured as a result of the gunfire the

previous night on Brookside Drive, Bauman said.

Rodin was booked into the Lake County Jail early Thursday morning on misdemeanor charges of a felon in possession of tear gas, resisting/obstructing a peace officer and two unrelated arrest warrant, according to jail records. Bail was set at $7,000.

Bauman said the sheriff's office used its telephonic warning system to send out a public safety alert at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday to inform Cobb residents that Rodin had been apprehended. The previous day, the sheriff's office used the system to notify 600 people in the community of the situation.

This is the first time the system – purchased a few years ago – been used for a community safety alert, said Bauman. Previously, it had been used for staff and search and rescue callouts. “It's a pretty handy item to have.”

Bauman said he was not sure if the deputy who fired the shot at Rodin was placed on leave, although he had been off on Wednesday night. District Attorney's investigators had been called to the scene at Cobb late Tuesday to conduct an investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

Information on Rodin's past felony conviction was not available, however, Bauman said sheriff's deputies have had previous contact with him.

“His local record shows several warrants in the past several years,” said Bauman.

Rodin also was arrested in 2004 for spousal battery, according to Bauman, who said he did not know if the woman involved was the ex-girlfriend in whose home Rodin was found Tuesday night.

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Details

Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 20 February 2008

As Lake County News has reported, deputies were searching for a man late Tuesday night after he barricaded himself in a house and then escaped into the woods.

Lake County Sheriff's Chief Deputy James Bauman reported Wednesday that the department was continuing its efforts to find 43-year-old Victor Rodin.

Rodin is described as a while male adult, 6 feet, 4 inches tall, approximately 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Bauman said Rodin was last seen wearing a light-colored, dirty T-shirt and denim pants.

The sheriff's office issued a recorded telephonic warning to more than 600 Cobb residents at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, informing them of the incident, and the fact that Rodin was at large and possibly still in the area, Bauman reported.

The confrontation that led to the hunt for Rodin arose at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when deputies arrived at a Brookside Drive residence to conduct a welfare check on Rodin, who has a history of unstable behavior, Bauman reported.

Rodin's mother had called the sheriff’s office to report her son missing and at risk after learning of a dispute between him with his former girlfriend on Sunday, according to Bauman.

Two sheriff’s deputies located Rodin's former girlfriend, who believed Rodin was trespassing at her home on Brookside Drive, Bauman said.

Upon gaining her permission to check the residence, the two deputies entered the home to check on Rodin, Bauman reported.

The deputies announced their presence, and began searching the home, Bauman said, finding Rodin in a bedroom.

In very limited light, Bauman said deputies could see that Rodin was holding a canister of pepper spray in one hand and concealing the other hand.

After repeatedly refusing to show his other hand, Bauman said Rodin suddenly brandished what appeared to be a weapon.

One of the deputies fired one shot from his sidearm in defense, Bauman said.

The deputies then backed out of immediate danger and took cover, and Rodin closed the door to the room, barricading himself inside, according to Bauman.

As the deputies waited for additional cover units to arrive, one of them went outside of the home to check for escape routes, and saw Rodin run into the nearby woods, Bauman said.

Five additional sheriff’s deputies responded to the area and with the assistance of several units from the California Highway Patrol and a K-9 unit from the Lakeport Police Department, an extensive search for Rodin was conducted until about 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to Bauman.

Because an officer-involved shooting had taken place, Bauman said the Lake County District Attorney’s Office was called in to conduct an independent. Meanwhile, sheriff’s detectives continued to process the scene throughout the night.

On Wednesday morning an extensive search for Rodin was resumed by members of the sheriff’s

SWAT team, Bauman said.

Bauman said it's believed that Rodin was not wounded by the deputy's single gunshot; however, he may be injured by other means.

Rodin is a convicted felon with a history of unstable behavior, has an unrelated outstanding warrant for his arrest, and should be considered armed and dangerous, Bauman reported.

Anyone who sees Rodin or knows of his whereabouts should immediately call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, 262-4200 or 911, and should by no means, attempt to contact or apprehend him.

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