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CLEARLAKE OAKS – A Friday afternoon collision may have been caused by driving under the influence.
The California Highway Patrol incident logs reported that a collision between a semi truck and a small pickup took place at about 2:18 p.m. on eastbound Highway 20 at Keys Boulevard.
The CHP reported there were major injuries involved in the crash, but it was not clear how many people may have been injured or were transported to area hospitals.
At least one subject was transported to Redbud Hospital, where a forced blood draw – usually done when alcohol or drugs are suspected – was to have taken place, according to the CHP logs.
No further information was available from CHP Friday evening.
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LAKE COUNTY – A report from the office of District Attorney Jon Hopkins states that five registered sex offenders who failed to register according to law have been sentenced to prison terms over the last three months.
Prosecution of sex offenders in Lake County remains a top priority for the District Attorney’s Office, according to a statement from Hopkins' office.
From April 27 through July 27, five registered sex offenders were sentenced to lengthy prison commitments for failing to comply with registration requirements. William Leland Fred, Clarence McCarty, Charles Sparks, Alberto Mendoza, and Jeffery Lee Hackler-Knight each violated Penal Code section 290, the sex registration statute, and received prison sentences as a result.
Deputy District Attorney John R. DeChaine prosecuted each of the five defendants, with help in several of the cases coming from Det. Mike Curran of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Fred sentenced to four-year term
On July 27, Judge Richard Martin sentenced William Leland Fred, age 51, to four years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender.
Fred is required to register pursuant to penal code section 290 as a result of a felony 1976 conviction, because he was found guilty of rape in concert with others while armed with a knife.
He pleaded guilty on June 29 to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290(a)(1)(D) and the District Attorney’s Office required that he admit that he had suffered a prior strike conviction.
The court sentenced Fred to two years in prison for failing to register. However, because he was required to admit the prior strike conviction, his prison sentence of two years was enhanced to a total of four years.
The admission of the prior strike conviction also mandates that Fred will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least 80 percent of his prison commitment. Had he not been required to admit his prior strike conviction, he would have been eligible for parole after serving only 50 percent of his time.
Prior to being sentenced, Fred was held in custody with bail set in the amount of $50,000.
Det. Curran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with the assistance of Deputy Fidjeland.
McCarty sentenced to five years
On July 2, Judge Arthur Mann sentenced Clarence John McCarty, age 36, to five years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender. McCarty is required to register pursuant to penal code section 290 as a result of a felony sexual battery conviction in 1999.
McCarty pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290(a)(1)(D).
A felony penal code section 290 violation normally exposes the perpetrator to a maximum prison commitment of three years. However, McCarty admitted at the time of his guilty plea that he had previously served two prior prison terms and had not remained free of prison custody for more than five years between each prior prison commitment.
McCarty's admission to both prior prison terms was that his prison sentence of three years was enhanced to five years.
At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, Judge Mann remanded the defendant into custody.
Curran investigated the case with the assistance of Deputies Chwialkowski and Hall.
Sparks sentenced to four years
On June 22, Charles Henry Sparks, Jr., age 40, was sentenced to four years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender. Sparks is required to register with law enforcement as a result of a rape conviction in 1995.
Sparks pleaded guilty on April 6, to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290. He had been registering at one address but the investigation revealed he had in fact been spending significant time at a second address and not registering at the second address. Sparks had been out of custody on bail of $15,000 throughout the prosecution of the case.
Pursuant to Penal Code section 1203(e)(4), probation cannot be granted to an individual who has two or more prior felony convictions unless the court first determines that the particular case is an unusual one and that the interests of justice would best be served by a grant of probation. The District Attorney’s Office alleged such a probation limitation against Sparks and probation was subsequently denied.
Because Sparks admitted to having served a prior prison term at the time of his plea, his prison commitment was increased to a total of four years.
Judge Martin presided over the taking of Sparks’s guilty plea as well as the June 22 sentencing hearing. Curran investigated the case.
Mendoza sentenced to six years
On April 27, Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom sentenced Alberto Mendoza, age 30, to six years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender.
Det. Martin Snyder of the Clearlake Police Department investigated the Mendoza case after Clearlake Police Officer Timothy Hobbs learned that Mendoza had moved into Lake County and that he was a sex offender who was likely out of compliance.
The investigation revealed that Mendoza had been living in Clearlake for approximately eight months before coming to the attention of law enforcement. His violation was aggravated in that he had been registering as a sex offender in Sonoma County, but had moved to Lake County without notifying the authorities.
On Feb. 2, Mendoza pleaded no contest to violating Penal Code section 290.
The District Attorney’s Office required Mendoza to admit that he was previously convicted of committing a lewd and lascivious act with a child under 14, in violation of Penal Code section 288(a), which served to double his sentence to six years pursuant to applicable law.
Hackler-Knight receives 13-year sentence
On April 27, Judge Hedstrom sentenced Jeffery Lee Hackler-Knight, age 22, to six years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender.
Det. Curran investigated the Hackler-Knight case. In doing so, Curran obtained evidence that Hackler-Knight had moved from his Middletown residence to Clearlake without notifying the authorities. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has jurisdiction over registrants in Middletown and should have been notified by Hackler-Knight within five business days of any change of residence.
On March 9, Hackler-Knight pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender in violation of Penal Code section 290. He also was required to admit a prior felony strike conviction at the time of his plea, which doubled the sentence to six years pursuant to applicable law. Committing Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a Child under the age of 14, in violation of Penal Code section 288(a), was the prior strike Hackler-Knight admitted.
Because Hackler-Knight was on felony probation for his underlying sex offenses at the time he violated the registration law, he also was found in violation of that probation and was simultaneously sentenced to state prison for his underlying sex crimes.
In total, Hackler-Knight was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison.
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KELSEYVILLE – The historic Ely Stage Stop took the first step in its move to its new home on Thursday.
The building was moved from its original site to a staging area near the S Bar S Ranch, where it will cross Highway 29 at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, according to county Public Services Director Kim Clymire, who was at the scene of of the move Thursday morning.
On Sunday, AT&T and Pacific Gas & Electric will move their lines along the highway to allow the building to pass. The highway is expected to be closed from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. that day.
Once it arrives at the other side of the highway, the building will stay there overnight. On Monday, crews will continue guiding it overland to a new site donated by Beckstoffer Vineyards, located along Soda Bay Road. Clymire estimated the move will take until later in the week, depending on conditions.
The stage stop is believed to be one of the county's oldest stick-built structures, dating from the late 1850s.
The Ely Stage Stop Museum will be owned by the county but run by the Lake County Historical Society, which will have its headquarters there. It also will feature several historic barns slated for relation to the site, historic implements and displays.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LUCERNE – Vandals are causing significant damage to new improvements at Alpine Park in Lucerne, and the county's top parks official said it's becoming a costly concern.
Kim Clymire, head of the county's Public Services and Parks and Recreation Departments, said Thursday that vandals have been destroying upgrades to the park almost as quickly as county park staff can complete them.
As examples, Clymire said that since the new $200,000 restroom facility at Alpine Park was completed a few months ago, it has already been vandalized several times, with graffiti painted on the walls and the restroom doors pulled off the hinges.
Then, on Wednesday night, vandals broke off 17 pop-up sprinkler heads in the park's lawn area, the sod for which recently was placed.
“I have six people running 19 parks and trying to build three,” a frustrated Clymire said Thursday morning. “We can't even keep up with what we have to do.”
In his 30 years working in public parks, Clymire said he's seen a lot of vandalism, which unfortunately comes with the territory. He said it's usually a very small group who try to ruin it for the community at large.
Park vandalism is a countywide problem, Clymire said, but it's especially troublesome when it follows so closely on park improvements.
“This is our biggest hit,” he said.
Another serious recent incident involved Nice's Hinman Park, which is still under construction. Clymire said they had concrete forms prepared and a cement truck bringing wet cement to pour into them for park improvements.
When the crews got to the park site, half of the costly forms had been ripped out and broken, said Clymire. The crews had to hustle to try to get what forms they could back in place while trying to keep the cement wet.
Summer usually sees increased vandalism, said Clymire, because more people are out and have more idle time.
“I can't understand the mindset of some of these people,” he said.
Repairs at Alpine Park will be delayed, said Clymire. His staff is busy with new park construction projects at Hammond and Hinman Parks in Nice, Lucerne Harbor in Lucerne and the new Nylander Park in the Oaks, and he's told his staff to stay focused on those new projects.
In the meantime, he said they'll try not to let Alpine Park's new lawn die.
Clymire said he has asked the Lake County Sheriff's Office for more patrol around the Alpine Park area at night, when most of the activity seems to be happening.
So far, they have no tips on who might be doing the damage, and Clymire is asking the community to keep an eye out and call the sheriff's office if they see any suspicious activities around Alpine Park or any other county facilities.
He said he hopes that the vandals will leave the new parks alone.
“I'm optimistic but I'm not naïve,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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