- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Officials report on criminal history of Lucerne man arrested for Humboldt County double homicide
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A Lake County man arrested early Thursday in a Humboldt County murder case did not have a lengthy criminal history locally prior to allegedly shooting two people to death Wednesday evening.
Jason Michael Arreaga, 29, of Lucerne was taken into custody shortly after midnight Thursday and booked into the Humboldt County Jail on two counts of murder.
He's accused of the shooting deaths of Eureka residents Harley Wayne Hammers Jr. and Angel Robin Tully, both age 37, in the community of Fieldbrook at around 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Tully was declared dead at the scene, Hammers died a short time later at an area hospital, officials said.
Witnesses told investigators that Arreaga had quarreled with Hammers and Tully before the shooting, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office.
Following the issuance of a be-on-the-lookout for Arreaga's gold 2001 Buick, a Eureka Police officer spotted the vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 101 through south Eureka at 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Officials said he was stopped a short time later near Loleta.
In Lake County, Arreaga had several arrests but no felony convictions, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said Arreaga was a suspect in an August 2012 willful cruelty to a child case, and that same month had an out-of-area bench warrant. In April 2013 he was a suspect in a case involving resisting arrest.
However Hinchcliff's review of District Attorney's Office records indicated Arreaga was not prosecuted in those cases.
In April 2013 Arreaga – whose booking sheets indicated he was working as a landscaper – was arrested on felony charges of possession of concentrated cannabis and bringing a controlled substance in the jail, and two misdemeanor charges of hit and run with property damage and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to sheriff's records.
The following month, Arreaga pleaded to misdemeanor DUI and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and received a sentence of three years of summary probation and 120 days in the county jail, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said Arreaga also had a case alleging petty theft, but additional details on that case were not immediately available.
The most serious case Arreaga had in Lake County was for an October 2013 bar fight in which he stabbed another man.
“He didn’t have any prior history of violence,” said Hinchcliff.
The incident occurred at the Driftwood Lounge in Lucerne, where Hinchcliff said “a typical bar fight” broke out.
The man who was stabbed in the case, out-of-county resident James Martin, then age 37, was extremely intoxicated and threatening to stab others, Hinchcliff said. During the fight Arreaga pulled a knife and stabbed Martin.
Hinchcliff said Martin – who had a criminal history – later became very uncooperative with law enforcement officials and didn't want to press charges.
“We can’t make up evidence or force people to become cooperative,” said Hinchcliff.
Arreaga was prosecuted in the case and ended up pleading to misdemeanor assault.
Hinchcliff said Arreaga was sentenced in December 2013 to three years' summary probation and 365 days in jail.
By that time, Arreaga already had served 129 days in jail. Hinchcliff said Arreaga would have served either half or two-thirds of the one-year jail sentence before being released.
Arreaga is being held in the Humboldt County Jail, with bail set at $1 million, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office.
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