THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
LAKEPORT – A Tuesday morning report from sheriff's officials sheds more light on the case of a Nice man found dead in his taxi last week, and notes that one of the people who last saw Womachka alive is now in jail on a parole violation.
Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued a report that stated that the death of Paul “Joe” Womachka, 39, of Nice, is being treated as a “criminal homicide.”
Womachka's ex-wife and business partner, Erica Womachka, reported him missing last Wednesday after he didn't return from a run for their Hey Taxi business, as Lake County News previously reported.
Brown's report explained that Womachka had received a call from Robinson Rancheria at about midnight early on Wednesday morning to drive Morgan Matthew Jack, 30, to his home at Big Valley Rancheria in Lakeport.
Two days later, at 3 p.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies received a call about a vehicle under water in the Big Valley Rancheria marina, Brown reported. Divers from the North Shore Dive Team responded to the scene, where they recovered the van and discovered Womachka's body inside.
Brown said sheriff's investigators have interviewed Jack about his contact with Womachka early on Wednesday as part of the homicide investigation.
Sheriff's Det. Corey Paulich arrested Jack, who works as a handyman, for a felony parole violation Friday evening, just hours after Womachka's body was found, according to jail records. He remains in jail on a no-bail hold.
Jack was known to sheriff's officials, said Brown, and had been in and out of the Lake County Jail in recent years.
A call to the California Department of Corrections office in Ukiah to ask about Jack's parole was not returned Tuesday.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell reported on Monday that Womachka's autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. There's no word yet on when the results of the inquest will be ready.
Anyone with information regarding the Womachka case is asked to call Det. Nicole Costanza, 262-4236.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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