Lakeport businesses hit by holiday burglaries

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LAKE COUNTY – When it came to major crime incidents over the holidays, the bad guys appeared to have taken some time off with a few notable exceptions in Lakeport.


Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke, whose agency reopened its public office hours on Monday following a two-week city furlough, said there were two burglaries of note in the city in late December – one at the Blockbuster video store and the second at the now-closed Carlos and Vinny's restaurant.


Blockbuster, located on Lakeport Boulevard, was the victim of a “smash and grab” early on the morning of Dec. 20, Burke said.


The perpetrators smashed in the business' front window on the northeast side of the building and took two Playstations. Burke said police were dispatched to the area at about 5:30 a.m. Dec. 20 when the break-in triggered the alarm.


About a week and a half later, at some time on the night of Dec. 29 or early on the morning of Dec. 30, a break-in occurred at Carlos and Vinny's restaurant on S. Main Street, Burke said.


He said the suspects, who aren't known at this time, smashed a window on the north side of the business, which has been closed since late November.


The building's property manager reported that most of the business' contents were there but believed alcohol had been stolen, said Burke.


“At this point we haven't confirmed exactly what was taken,” he said.


Besides those two notable exceptions, there were a few cases of vandalism and driving under the influence during the holiday period, which Burke said weren't out of the ordinary for Lakeport.


For the most part, the rest of the county was quiet for the Christmas and New Year's season.


Lt. Mike Hermann of Clearlake Police called the holidays “pretty uneventful.”


“We had a few minors arrests, just two DUIs, but nothing out of the ordinary,” he said.


The same appeared to be the case for the county at large.


“Fortunately, it appears to have been a slow holiday,” said Capt. Jim Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.


No DUI arrests outside of Clearlake or Lakeport were reported in the jail logs during the California Highway Patrol's maximum enforcement period from Dec. 31 through Sunday, although there had been three arrests during its increased enforcement period around Christmas.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


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