Jay Scott Soderling, formerly of Healdsburg and now reported to be living in Hidden Valley Lake, was arrested on Wednesday on one count of tax evasion, according to a report from United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Scott O’Briant, special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division.

Soderling, 54, made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on Thursday before federal Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, the US Attorney's Office reported.

During the brief arraignment, Soderling entered a not guilty plea and was assigned Geoffrey Hansen as his defense attorney, according to case documents. Assistant US Attorney Tom Moore is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat.

Following the hearing, Judge Corley signed an order directing the US Marshal to release Soderling on his own recognizance.

An investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division led to the prosecution, the IRS and US Attorney's Office said Thursday.

A federal grand jury indicted Soderling on the tax evasion charge on Aug. 9. An arrest warrant was issued the same day, and the US Attorney's Office succeeded in having the court seal the indictment in order not to tip off Soderling to his pending arrest.

The indictment stated that Soderling, the owner of Ripp It Earth Movers, willfully attempted to evade paying $161,155.44 in federal income and employment taxes due for tax years 1995 through 2004.

He allegedly placed assets in the names of nominees, dealt in currency, caused debts to be paid through and in the name of nominees, submitted a false financial statement to the IRS and made false statements to an IRS revenue officer, according to court documents.

The case against Soderling also alleges that he used funds from a nominee bank account to pay creditors, spend for a Hawaiian vacation, a Mastercraft boat and trailer, and a Dodge Viper.

He faces a maximum of five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000, the US Attorney's Office said.

This isn't Soderling's first brush with federal prosecution.

Soderling and his brother, Leif, pleaded guilty in 1987 to bank fraud for stealing millions of dollars from depositors in their roles as directors and officers at the Golden Pacific Savings & Loan in Santa Rosa, based on case documents.

Court documents stated that the Soderlings did eight months in prison and were ordered to pay $6 million in restitution to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Rather than making payments on the restitution, however, a 1990 Fortune Magazine report said the Soderlings went on a $500,000 spending spree while on probation. A judge sent them back to prison for six years each.

After the Soderlings were released, Jay Soderling found himself back in federal court once again for violating his probation. In December 1997 Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman sentenced Soderling to six more months in prison, according to the case history.

Over the last several years the brothers had been involved in unlicensed construction activities in Lake County and racked up large bills with local vendors. Ripp It Earth Movers is not licensed by the California Contractors State License Board, and neither of the Soderlings currently has an active contractor license, according to the board's online license database.

Neighbors of some of Jay Soderling's building projects in the Clearlake Park area told Lake County News that he attempted to harass and intimidate them. Soderling also clearcut oak woodlands on property he owned surrounding Borax Lake.

At one point in 2008 Jay Soderling had set up a pump to try to empty out Borax Lake. This reporter witnessed the setup, which neighbors later brought to the attention of state officials.

Neighbors told Lake County News that Soderling was trying to empty the lake to develop the land as part of a large subdivision.

According to a Santa Rosa Press Democrat article, Soderling had borrowed money from Sonoma County developer Clem Carinalli and backed up the loans with the 850-acre Borax Lake property. Carinalli foreclosed on the Borax Lake land in 2009.

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080911 Jay Soderling Indictment

Vector Control District Manager and Research Director Dr. Jamie Scott reported Thursday that routine surveillance detected the virus in a sample of 31 Culex stigmatosoma – the banded foul water mosquito – collected near Kelseyville on Friday, Sept.

Scott reminded county residents that any source of standing water can produce mosquitoes, and that residents can help protect their community by maintaining their pools to prevent mosquitoes, and to letting the district know of unmaintained swimming pools and spas.

“Our employees have been working hard to make sure that neglected swimming pools are not producing mosquitoes,” said Scott. “A single unmaintained pool can produce hundreds of thousands mosquitoes per week, and those mosquitoes can fly up to five miles away.”

She said that one neglected swimming pool increase an entire community’s risk of mosquito bites and mosquito-borne illness.

West Nile Virus has been detected in Lake County every year since its arrival in 2004, but only three residents have become ill from WNV infection in that time. Scott attributes the low incidence of West Nile virus disease in Lake County residents to the district’s vigorous efforts to control mosquitoes.

The Vector Control District regularly traps and tests mosquitoes throughout the county to identify the areas that are at highest risk, and target those areas for source reduction and treatment.

The district reports that mosquito activity – particularly for the Culex mosquitoes that transmit WNV – has been very high in some localized areas of the county.

While mosquitoes are an important part of the environment and cannot be eliminated completely, the district works to reduce mosquito populations near places where people live and recreate to prevent disease.

The district recommends that residents dump out buckets, wading pools and other sources of water where mosquitoes develop; avoid being outside when mosquitoes are active, especially near dusk and dawn; wear long sleeves and pants and use a mosquito repellent – always read and follow label directions – if they are outside when mosquitoes are active.

The Lake County Vector Control provides free mosquito-eating fish to Lake County residents for use in animal water troughs, ornamental ponds and out-of-service (“green”) swimming pools.

Residents are urged to call the district at 707-263-4770 or visit the district's Web site at www.lcvcd.org to request service if they are having problems with mosquitoes or if they want to request mosquitofish.

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An upper level low will approach the California coast drawing in monsoonal moisture, which is predicted to trigger dry lightning across the northeastern section of California including Lassen, Modoc, Siskiyou and Shasta counties, Cal Fire said.

“The forecasts indicate weather conditions could be similar to the lightning siege we experienced in 2008 when the state saw nearly 2,000 lightning sparked fires,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of Cal Fire. “Cal Fire's firefighters are ready to respond if more fires do break out, but we especially need the public to be extremely cautious, because we don't need any additional fires.”

In response to the predicted dry lightning, Cal Fire is moving fire engines and resources into the areas expected to see an increased fire danger.

As this low moves into Nevada on Thursday, it will shift winds to the northeast creating breezy and dry conditions Thursday night into Friday across most parts of Northern California, including the areas where the dry lightning is predicted to hit, Cal Fire said.

In addition to the prepositioning of fire engines, Cal Fire also is staffing all reserve fire engines, staffing additional inmate fire crews 24 hours a day and plans to hold all personnel on duty.

Cal Fire reported that it is in close communication with local, state and federal partners including the U.S. Forest Service, the California National Guard and the California Emergency Management Agency.

Cal Fire is urging Californians to remain extra fire safe and help prevent new fires.

A few helpful reminders and safety tips include:

• Any mowing or weed eating should be done before 10 a.m. (and NEVER during extremely dry conditions).

• Never use lawn mowers in dry vegetation.

• Ensure campfires are permitted and, if so, be sure to extinguish them completely when done.

• Never pull your vehicle over in tall dry grass.

For more ways to help prevent wildfires visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org or www.fire.ca.gov.

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Lake Family Resource Center, on the advice of county health officials, moved out of their Clearlake building last month, as Lake County News has reported.

Natural geothermal activity is not uncommon in Lake County and residents of the Burns Valley neighborhood in the city of Clearlake have seen the signs of bubbling gas releases in puddles and smelled the rotten egg odor associated with sulfur gases for years, according to a Thursday report from Lake County Public Health.

Occasionally, those gases accumulate in enclosed spaces, causing health and safety concerns. However, Public Health reported that while the smell of sulfur can be a tip-off that geothermal gas vents are in the area, the odor does not correlate with the level of danger.

In fact, the human nose can detect hydrogen sulfide gas at levels even lower than what is measurable with detection equipment. Other geothermal gases may not produce any odor, according to the report.

While local agencies have responded to occasional geothermal gas concerns in Lake County for decades, they stepped up the frequency of air quality testing in the Burns Valley neighborhood starting two years ago in order to better understand the patterns and significance of the geothermal gas releases.

Over the years, Konocti Unified School District also monitored the air quality at Burns Valley Elementary School and twice arranged for indoor air quality studies by an outside party. Health officials said neither study detected measurable levels of concern in classrooms.

A continuous outdoor air monitoring device is operating at Burns Valley Elementary school under the supervision of the Lake County Air Quality Management District. The Konocti Unified School District plans to do further indoor monitoring.

The report said that ongoing evaluation of the geothermal gas releases in the neighborhood continues to be a subject of interest to numerous agencies, including Lake County Environmental Health and Public Health, Lake County Air Quality Management District, Konocti Unified School District, Lake County Fire Protection District and the city of Clearlake.

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Jesse Chavez of Lakeport, Calif., was arrested by detectives for drug use at the Lake County Fair on Friday, September 2, 2011. Lake County Jail photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport man was arrested last week for smoking marijuana at the Lake County Fair with a minor.

Jesse Matthew Chavez, 24, was arrested for felony selling/furnishing marijuana, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and felony parole violation on the night of Friday, Sept. 2, according to Michelle Gonzalez of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Matthews, who is on parole, was sharing a marijuana joint with a minor when apprehended by Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotic Task Force detectives, Gonzalez said.

A subsequent search of Chavez turned up a green glass smoking pipe, with burnt marijuana residue inside, two lighters, and a plastic bag with a green leafy substance identified as marijuana, in his pockets. Gonzalez said Chavez did not have a medical marijuana recommendation.

He was arrested and transported to the Hill Road Correctional Facility. He remained in custody on Thursday due to a no-bail hold on the parole violation, according to jail records.

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From left, Joshua Leo Johnson, 35, of Santa Rosa, Calif., surrendered himself at the Lake County Jail in Lakeport, Calif., on Sunday, September 4, 2011. He was being sought in connection with an assault on rival motorcycle gang members on June 4, 2011, in Lakeport. Still at large (right) is 41-year-old David Daniel Dabbs of Santa Rosa, Calif. Photos courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Sonoma County man being sought in connection with an alleged June 4 assault on two rival motorcycle gang members has turned himself in to authorities, but another man who allegedly was involved is still being sought.

Joshua Leo Johnson, 35, of Santa Rosa surrendered at the Lake County Jail at 7 p.m. Sunday, according to a report from Michelle Gonzalez of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Johnson, who the sheriff's office said is the vice president of the Sonoma County chapter of the Hells Angels, is being held on $500,000 bail for participating in a criminal street gang, and remains in custody pending a bail hearing.

Gonzalez said sheriff's detectives placed a “1275” hold on Johnson, which requires him to account for the origin of his bail.

Johnson is the third person to be arrested in the case. Nicolas Felipe Carrillo, 32, of Geyserville and 33-year-old Timothy Robert Bianchi of Petaluma, also alleged to be Hells Angels members, were arrested last month in Sonoma County following the service of search warrants, as Lake County News has reported.

Carrillo and Bianchi also are being held in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $500,000 each, with similar 1275 holds, according to jail records.

Still at large in the case is another alleged Hells Angels member, 41-year-old David Daniel Dabbs of Santa Rosa, who also is being sought on a no-bail warrant out of San Diego for alleged kidnapping and torture, Gonzalez said.

Dabbs should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, and officials have warned that members of the public should not attempt to approach or apprehend him.

The felony arrest warrants for the men were secured after a two-month investigation following a June 4 incident at Konocti Vista Casino in which the four allegedly beat 39-year-old Michael Burns – a validated Vagos motorcycle gang member – and 48-year-old Kristopher Perkin, Gonzalez said.

The entire incident was recorded on the casino’s video surveillance system, and the suspects were identified through the assistance of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Santa Rosa Police Department Gang Task Force and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department Gang Task Force, according to Gonzalez.

On Aug. 25 SWAT teams from the FBI, Santa Rosa Police Department and the Petaluma Police Department assisted Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives in serving four arrest warrants and search warrants on members of the Sonoma County Hells Angels in Santa Rosa and Petaluma, which led to the arrests of Carrillo and Bianchi, Gonzalez said.

Bianchi was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery, fighting in a public place and a gang enhancement, while Gonzalez said Carrillo was charged with battery, fighting in a public place and a gang enhancement.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of David Dabbs is encouraged to call local law enforcement or the Lake County Sheriff’s Office's Investigations Division at 707-262-4200.

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Celestial Summer Dove Cassman, 35, of Santa Cruz, Calif., was found dead on Thursday, September 1, 2011, in Maui, Hawaii, the victim of an apparent homicide. Photo from the Web site of law firm Atchison, Barisone, Condotti and Kovacevich, where Cassman was employed.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Charges were filed Wednesday against a Santa Cruz man who is alleged to have killed his female companion – a young attorney raised in Lake County – during a visit to the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Gerald W. Galaway Jr., 38, is facing second-degree murder and kidnapping charges for the murder of 35-year-old Celestial Summer Dove Cassman of Santa Cruz, according to Maui County Prosecuting Attorney John Kim.

Cassman, who was born in Hawaii, was a 1994 graduate of Clear Lake High School in Lakeport, according to friends and a biography of her posted on the Web site of the law firm where she worked, Atchison, Barisone, Condotti and Kovacevich.

Galaway and Cassman were reportedly on a visit to Maui, having checked into the Kaanapali Beach Hotel on Wednesday, Aug. 31, according to the charging documents posted online by Hawaii News Now, www.hawaiinewsnow.com.

A report released to Lake County News by Lt. Wayne Ibarra of the Maui Police Department, police officers responded to a call regarding a domestic dispute involving a male and a female shortly before 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1.

The court documents said that a female witness saw the couple arguing, with Cassman running up to the woman's vehicle to ask for help. Galaway allegedly came up behind Cassman and grabbed her around the neck.

The witness said Galaway picked Cassman up several times and slammed her body on the asphalt roadway, as Cassman fought and screamed for help. He then drug Cassman by her head into shrubs near the rental vehicle, and kept yelling at the witness to leave, which she finally did, going to borrow a cell phone to call 911.

When officers arrived at the scene, in the area of Nakalele Point along Kahekili Highway, they saw a male, alleged to be Galaway, who was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and was nude from the waist down, according to the charging document. When police attempted to contact him he fled and jumped off a cliff into the ocean, where he swam out to sea and screamed for help.

Kim said Galaway fell about 100 feet before going into the water, and was injured as a result.

The Maui Police Department reported that the Maui Fire Department and United States Coast Guard responded to assist in rescuing Galaway.

Cassman was found about an hour after the initial call, and was unresponsive when officers discovered her, the Maui Police reported.

Kim said Cassman was found near the roadside, not far from where the rental car she and Galaway had shared was abandoned.

Court documents said she was found down a small embankment, under a tree. The way her body was found and her clothes were torn suggested she could have been sexually assaulted.

It wasn't until about 6:45 a.m. the day after the incident that Galaway was rescued, according to the Maui Police report.

On the morning of Friday, Sept. 2, officers were airlifted by helicopter to the rock point at Nakalele, where they found Galaway and took him into custody, police said.

The Maui Police reported that Galaway had sustained non-life threatening injuries. He was transported to the Maui Memorial Medical Center.

A hearing regarding Galaway's medical condition was held in the case on Wednesday morning. Galaway wasn't present, according to Kim.

“He's in the hospital under guard,” said Kim.

Kim added, “He's technically not been arrested and booked because I don't believe they can move him because of his medical condition.”

In the mean time, the complaint against Galaway was filed in district court, and the court must now decide when to schedule a preliminary hearing, Kim said.

Galaway was represented by two attorneys in the Wednesday hearing, Hayden Aluli, who did not respond to a message seeking comment, and William Sloper.

Sloper, when contacted by Lake County News, would not comment on the case or Galaway's condition, only offering that Galaway still was considered innocent under the law.

Officials so far have not stated the exact cause of Cassman's death.

“We had an autopsy done on Monday. The report is forthcoming,” said Kim, adding he was not at liberty to say more.

The Maui Police Department's official confirmation of Cassman's identity is pending a positive identification by her family. Ibarra said Wednesday that family members were in the process of traveling to Maui to make the positive identification and complete the notification of kin.

According to her biography, Cassman received a bachelor's degree in political philosophy and art in 1998 from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

From 1998 to 2001 she worked for a nonprofit affordable housing and community building organization in Portland, Ore., and entered UC Davis' King Hall School of Law in 2001. She graduated three years later and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2004.

After law school, Cassman worked for three years for McDonough Holland & Allen PC in Sacramento. In 2007 she returned to Santa Cruz to join Atchison, Barisone, Condotti and Kovacevich, where she continued working in public and municipal law.

Bay Area media has reported that Cassman served as deputy city attorney for the coastal communities of Half Moon Bay, Capitola and Santa Cruz through her work with Atchison, Barisone, Condotti and Kovacevich.

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090711 Gerald Galaway Court Filing

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites.

Images show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface.

At the Apollo 17 site, the tracks laid down by the lunar rover are clearly visible, along with the last foot trails left on the moon. The images also show where the astronauts placed some of the scientific instruments that provided the first insight into the moon's environment and interior.

“We can retrace the astronauts' steps with greater clarity to see where they took lunar samples,” said Noah Petro, a lunar geologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who is a member of the LRO project science team.

All three images show distinct trails left in the moon's thin soil when the astronauts exited the lunar modules and explored on foot. In the Apollo 17 image, the foot trails, including the last path made on the moon by humans, are easily distinguished from the dual tracks left by the lunar rover, which remains parked east of the lander.

Views of the Apollo 14 landing site as seen from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The paths left by astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell on both Apollo 14 moon walks are visible in this image. (At the end of the second moon walk, Shepard famously hit two golf balls.) The descent stage of the lunar module Antares also is visible. NASA released the image on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Image by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU.

“The new low-altitude Narrow Angle Camera images sharpen our view of the moon's surface,” said Arizona State University researcher Mark Robinson, principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. “A great example is the sharpness of the rover tracks at the Apollo 17 site. In previous images the rover tracks were visible, but now they are sharp parallel lines on the surface.”

At each site, trails also run to the west of the landers, where the astronauts placed the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package to monitor the moon's environment and interior.

This equipment was a key part of every Apollo mission. It provided the first insights into the moon's internal structure, measurements of the lunar surface pressure and the composition of its atmosphere. Apollo 11 carried a simpler version of the science package.

One of the details that shows up is a bright L-shape in the Apollo 12 image. It marks the locations of cables running from the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package's central station to two of its instruments. Although the cables are much too small for direct viewing, they show up because they reflect light very well.

The higher resolution of these images is possible because of adjustments made to LRO's orbit, which is slightly oval-shaped or elliptical.

“Without changing the average altitude, we made the orbit more elliptical, so the lowest part of the orbit is on the sunlit side of the moon,” said Goddard's John Keller, deputy LRO project scientist. “This put LRO in a perfect position to take these new pictures of the surface.”

The Apollo 12 landing site, as photographed by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA released the image on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

The maneuver lowered LRO from its usual altitude of approximately 31 miles (50 kilometers) to an altitude that dipped as low as nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) as it passed over the moon's surface. The spacecraft has remained in this orbit for 28 days, long enough for the moon to completely rotate. This allows full coverage of the surface by LROC's Wide Angle Camera. The cycle ended Tuesday when the spacecraft returned to its 31-mile orbit.

“These images remind us of our fantastic Apollo history and beckon us to continue to move forward in exploration of our solar system,” said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

LRO was built and managed by Goddard. Initial research was funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. In September 2010, after a one-year successful exploration mission, the mission turned its attention from exploration objectives to scientific research in NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

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An image from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showed the Apollo 17 landing site. NASA released the image on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

A property owner and firefighters were able to protect a historic barn near Upper Lake, Calif., that was threatened by a small vegetation fire on Thursday, September 8, 2011. Photo by Gary McAuley.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A small wildland fire threatened an 1800s barn in Upper Lake on Thursday.

The fire, reported at 3:41 p.m., occurred at 10940 Elk Mountain Road, according to reports from the scene.

The vegetation fire, which radio reports indicated burned about a quarter acre, was in heavy brush and heavy grass.

It was heading toward a barn reportedly built in 1888 that the current property owner is attempting to restore. The barn suffered some minor damage.

The property owners were using a bulldozer and farm tractor to put a line around the fire when firefighters arrived, radio traffic indicated.

Three Northshore Fire engines, a battalion chief and the district chief responded, with Cal Fire arriving with a battalion chief and engine crew, according to reports from the scene.

The fire was reported to be contained at around 4 p.m., with fire units staying on scene another hour for mop up.

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David Mills of Kelseyville, Calif., was arrested by narcotics detectives on Friday, September 2, 2011. Lake County Jail photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Kelseyville man has been arrested after narcotics detectives found him with what is believed to be methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Lake County Narcotic Task Force detectives arrested David Bradley Mills, 50, of Kelseyville for possession of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, according to Michelle Gonzalez of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Gonzalez reported that on Friday, Sept. 2, at approximately 5:15 p.m. Lake County Sheriff’s detectives attached to the Narcotics Task Force pulled over a GMC SUV for traffic violations.

Mills, the driver of the vehicle, acknowledged that he was on searchable probation, Gonzalez said.

A search produced a glass pipe, commonly used for smoking methamphetamines, and a silver container in which there was a plastic bag containing a white, crystalline substance, according to Gonzalez.

Mills was arrested and transported to the Hill Road Correctional Facility. On testing the substance it flashed blue, a presumptive positive for methamphetamine.

On Thursday Mills remained in the Lake County Jail on a no-bail hold for the alleged probation violation.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

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On Tuesday Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata) strongly criticized the proposed new fire fee on homeowners in State Responsibility Areas.

Rural homeowners in a SRA would be required to pay $175 for their homes, plus extra fees on other structures, in addition to a fee based on the acreage of land, which could add up to $3,000 per year for some cattle ranchers and other resource land owners, according to Chesbro's office.

In a letter to Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Bob Blumenfield, Chesbro called the fees “grossly inequitable to rural residents.”

“As a member who represents large areas of Sate Responsibility Areas, these bills would be economically devastating to many of the constituents I represent,” Chesbro said. “I find it inequitable to charge someone who inhabits a one-room cabin or mobile home on the North Coast the same fee that would be charged to someone living in a million dollar home in the Southern California hills.”

Chesbro will voice his opposition and encourage his colleagues to vote against the legislation at Tuesday's Assembly Budget Committee hearing at the state Capitol.

The hearing time and location is yet to be announced, but Chesbro's office said it likely will be held upon adjournment of the Assembly Floor session on Wednesday. His office said the hearing may be available on www.calchannel.com or www.assembly.ca.gov.

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