LAKEPORT, Calif. – Authorities are investigating the death of a Lake County Jail inmate that occurred Saturday morning.
The identity of the male inmate was not released in a Saturday evening report from Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At approximately 9:05 a.m. Saturday a correctional officer conducting routine cell checks inside a housing unit at the facility noticed something was wrong with the inmate and contacted medical staff, who immediately responded to the location, Brooks said.
An assessment conducted by medical staff determined that the male subject was not breathing and did not have any vital signs. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started by medical and correctional staff, Brooks said.
Brooks said Central Dispatch notified the Lakeport Fire Department, which responded to the facility with rescue personnel.
Rescue personnel continued CPR for several minutes, but were unable to revive the subject or detect any signs of life. CPR was discontinued at approximately 9:30 am., Brooks said.
Brooks said Lake County Sheriff’s detectives and an investigator from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office were called out to the scene, along with members of the sheriff’s command staff.
Both the sheriff's office and District Attorney's Office are conducting parallel investigations as to the circumstances leading up to the death, including the cause, Brooks said.
District Attorney Don Anderson confirmed to Lake County News that his office was involved in examining the case, noting that he had two investigators at the jail for much of the day Saturday.
Brooks said the inmate was housed alone and foul play does not appear to be a factor in the cause of death.
The exact cause of death is still under investigation and pending the results of an autopsy, which will be scheduled for early next week, Brooks said.
On March 29, an X-class flare erupted from the right side of the sun ... and vaulted into history as the best-observed flare of all time.
The flare was witnessed by four different NASA spacecraft and one ground-based observatory – three of which had been fortuitously focused in on the correct spot as programmed into their viewing schedule a full day in advance.
To have a record of such an intense flare from so many observatories is unprecedented. Such research can help scientists better understand what catalyst sets off these large explosions on the sun.
Perhaps we may even some day be able to predict their onset and forewarn of the radio blackouts solar flares can cause near Earth – blackouts that can interfere with airplane, ship and military communications.
“This is the most comprehensive data set ever collected by NASA's Heliophysics Systems Observatory,” said Jonathan Cirtain, project scientist for Hinode at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “Some of the spacecraft observe the whole sun all the time, but three of the observatories had coordinated in advance to focus on a specific active region of the sun. We need at least a day to program in observation time and the target – so it was extremely fortunate that we caught this X-class flare.”
Images and data from the various observations can be seen in the accompanying slide show.
The telescopes involved were: NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS; NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO; NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, or RHESSI; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hinode; and the National Solar Observatory's Dunn Solar Telescope located at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico.
Numerous other spacecraft provided additional data about what was happening on the sun during the event and what the effects were at Earth.
NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and the joint European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory both watched the great cloud of solar material that erupted off the sun with the flare, an event called a coronal mass ejection.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations GOES satellite tracked X-rays from the flare, and other spacecraft measured the effects of the flare as it came toward Earth.
This event was particularly exciting for the IRIS team, as this was the first X-class flare ever observed by IRIS.
IRIS launched in June 2013 to zoom in on layers of the sun, called the chromosphere and transition region, through which all the energy and heat of a flare must travel as it forms.
This region, overall is called the interface region, has typically been very hard to untangle – but on March 29, IRIS provided scientists with the first detailed view of what happens in this region during a flare.
Coordinated observations are crucial to understanding such eruptions on the sun and their effects on space weather near Earth. Where terrestrial weather watching involves thousands of sensors and innumerable thermometers, solar observations still rely on a mere handful of telescopes.
The instruments on the observatories are planned so that each shows a different aspect of the flare at a different heights off the sun's surface and at different temperatures.
Together the observatories can paint a three-dimensional picture of what happens during any given event on the sun.
In this case, the Dunn Solar Telescope helped coordinate the space-based observatories. Lucia Kleint is the principal investigator of a NASA-funded grant at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute grant to coordinate ground-based and space-based flare observations.
While she and her team were hunting for flares during ten observing days scheduled at Sacramento Peak, they worked with the Hinode and IRIS teams a day in advance to coordinate viewing of the same active region at the same time.
Active regions are often the source of solar eruptions, and this one was showing intense magnetic fields that moved in opposite directions in close proximity – a possible harbinger of a flare.
However, researchers do not yet know exactly what conditions will lead to a flare so this was a best guess, not a guarantee.
But the guess paid off. In the space of just a few minutes, the most comprehensive flare data set of all time had been collected.
Now scientists are hard at work teasing out a more detailed picture of how a flare starts and peaks – an effort that will help unravel the origins of these little-understood explosions on the sun.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A vehicle stop last week resulted in two arrests and the seizure of 17.7 grams of methamphetamine.
Detectives arrested 39-year-old Rafael Garcia of Los Angeles and Ashley Dawn Desano, 29, of Middletown, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Brooks said that at 6:20 p.m. Thursday, May 1, narcotics detectives were traveling northbound on Mission Rancheria Road near Lakeport when they observed a white sedan traveling in front of them and recognized the driver as being Garcia.
Detectives were familiar with Garcia due to his history of using and distributing methamphetamine, and Brooks said they did not believe he had a valid California Driver’s License.
Brooks said the detectives also noticed a female passenger in the front passenger seat who was not wearing a seatbelt.
Garcia drove into the Konocti Vista Casino parking lot and parked the vehicle. Brooks said Garcia and his passenger, who was later identified as Desano, exited the vehicle, at which time detectives contacted both subjects and asked to see Garcia’s driver’s license.
Garcia said he did not have a driver’s license, due to it being suspended for driving while under the influence. Brooks said Garcia also advised he may have an arrest warrant for missing a court date.
Due to Garcia’s history, detectives requested a K-9 unit with a narcotic detection canine respond to assist with the enforcement stop, Brooks said.
The deputy deployed his canine to the outside of Garcia’s vehicle, Brooks said. The canine provided a positive alert to both front doors and the trunk, indicating the odor of a controlled substance was present.
Brooks said the deputy deployed his canine inside the vehicle and she provided a positive alert to the area around both front seats. Detectives conducted a search of the vehicle and were unable to locate any illegal substances.
Central Dispatch conducted a records check of Garcia and advised he had two arrest warrants, one of which was a felony warrant with no bail. Central Dispatch also advised that Garcia’s vehicle registration had been expired since 2010, although the license plate was displaying a current 2014 registration tab, according to Brooks.
Garcia denied having any knowledge of the false tab or the fact that the vehicle’s registration was expired, Brooks said.
As the detectives were talking to Desano, they noticed she was exhibiting the signs and symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Brooks said detectives conducted a series of tests to determine whether or not she was under the influence, which Desano failed.
Garcia was arrested for the two warrants and displaying false registration tabs on his vehicle. Desano was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance, Brooks said.
Both subjects were advised that if they had any contraband on their person and knowingly brought it into a correctional facility, they would be charged with an additional felony. Brooks said Garcia and Desano were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
During the booking process both subjects were searched. Brooks said correctional staff discovered that Desano had concealed 17.7 grams of methamphetamine, which was seized.
Desano was also charged with possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance inside a correctional facility, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Paloma Colacion, graduating senior at Middletown High School, has been recognized as a member of the National Hispanic Recognition Program.
The National Hispanic Recognition Program, or NHRP, identifies academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students.
Each year, the NHRP honors more than 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from over 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
These students are from the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands, as well as U.S. citizens attending schools abroad.
Approximately 200 of the top-scoring Prueba de Aptitud Académica, or PAA, students from Puerto Rico are also included.
Although the NHRP does not provide a financial award, being named is an important academic recognition.
Colacion will be attending the University of Arizona on a full ride academic scholarship. She will be studying engineering in the honors program.
Middletown High School Principal Bill Roderick said Colacion's recognition is “a big deal” for her and her family, as well as for the school.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Narcotics detectives arrested two Middletown men and eradicated 1,304 marijuana plants last week while assisting Lake County Code Enforcement at a south county property.
Aaron Monroe Lentz and Andrew Peter Diehl, both age 31 and from Middletown, were arrested on Friday, May 2, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
Just after 3 p.m. May 2 narcotics detectives responded to a parcel of property located in the 12000 block of Dry Creek Road in Middletown, where they were to assist Lake County Code Enforcement with a possible illegal marijuana cultivation site, Brooks said.
Brooks said Code Enforcement officials advised the sheriff's office that they had located several hoop-style greenhouses on the property while inspecting several unpermitted structures. The property was listed as a vacant parcel in county records.
As detectives approached the locked easement gate to access the property, they contacted Lentz. Brooks said a Code Enforcement officer told the detectives that he believed Lentz was the owner of the property in question.
The detective told Lentz that he was with Code Enforcement to inspect some greenhouses that were possibly on his property. Lentz admitted that he had some greenhouses on the property. When asked what was inside the green houses, Lentz would not answer the detective, Brooks said.
Brooks said the detective asked him how many marijuana plants were growing on the property and Lentz replied that he wanted to speak with his lawyer.
Detectives entered the property and noticed multiple hoop-style greenhouses, which had been described by Code Enforcement. As they walked up to the greenhouses they could smell a very strong odor of marijuana, Brooks said.
One of the greenhouses was open at one end and detectives could see multiple marijuana plants growing inside, Brooks said. While checking the property, detectives located Diehl, who appeared to be working on a watering system for the greenhouses.
The detectives explained why they were on the property and asked Diehl if he lived there. Diehl said he did not want to answer any questions and requested to speak with his lawyer, according to Brooks.
Based on the amount of marijuana plants located, Brooks said detectives decided to secure the property and apply for a search warrant, which they obtained.
During the service of the search warrant detectives located a total of five greenhouses on the property. Brooks said the greenhouses contained a total of 1,304 marijuana plants, which were eradicated.
Inside one of the unpermitted structures, $2,492 was located in a bedroom. Brooks said the money was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings. Detectives located 15 ounces of processed marijuana in the refrigerator which was seized as evidence.
Both Lentz and Diehl were arrested for the cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. Brooks said they were both transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
Lentz had $538 in his possession which Brooks said also was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County residents are invited to attend a citizen committee town hall meeting to build support for the passage of the Measure N marijuana cultivation ordinance which has been placed on the June election ballot.
The citizens committee will hold a series of town hall meetings during the month of May to build public support, awareness and raise the funds needed to win the “Yes on N” campaign.
Each one-hour meeting will provide attendees the opportunity to ask questions and obtain Measure N information.
Yes on Measure N is endorsed by the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and numerous Lake County citizens.
Yes on N town hall meeting dates around the county include:
Friday, May 9, at 5 p.m. at St. Peters Catholic Church located at 4085 Main St. in Kelseyville.
Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m. at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center located at 3985 Country Club in Lucerne.
Monday, May 19, at 6 p.m. at the Clear Lake Riviera Association Community Hall located at 9689 State Highway 281 in Kelseyville.
Tuesday, May 20, at 6 p.m. at the Spring Valley Community Center located at 3000 Wolfe Creek Road in Spring Valley. Take Highway 20 East to Long Valley Road to Spring Valley Road to Wolfe Creek Road.
Wednesday, May 21, at 6 p.m. at the Greenview Restaurant & Café located at 18174 Hidden Valley Road in Hidden Valley Lake.
Additional Yes on N town hall meetings will be announced.
For more information about Yes on N, contact the citizens committee at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.VoteYesonN.org or visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-on-N/233502143511341 .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Kelseyville man arrested last month in connection to a cannabis oil lab pleaded guilty to hazardous waste-related charges this week.
On Tuesday, John Joseph Darnell, 27, pleaded guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance and unlawful treatment or storage of hazardous waste, both felonies, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
Darnell was arrested on April 25, along with Paige Polley of Kelseyville and Charles Knipp of Chico during a sheriff's office search warrant service at a Kelseyville residence, as Lake County News has reported ( http://bit.ly/1iwZDm8 ).
The three were alleged to have been manufacturing cannabis oil, more commonly known as honey oil, from a processing station inside the residence, officials reported.
Honey oil is a thick sticky substance derived from cooking marijuana using cylinders, filters and butane, Anderson said.
This kind of honey oil processing operation is very dangerous and has caused numerous fires and explosions, Anderson said. Frequently, people including children, are injured or have died due to the process of manufacturing honey oil.
Anderson said the defendants had processed 1 pound and 5 ounces of the honey oil with a street value of $29,700. The defendants also had in their possession 216 marijuana plants.
Darnell's case is being handled according to the District Attorney’s Office policy of strict enforcement of environmental crimes related to marijuana and drug crimes, Anderson said.
Anderson said his office is making every effort to prosecute environmental crimes, especially related to marijuana grows and illegal drug manufacturing, with the resources available. He said Darnell's case is being handled accordingly.
Darnell's sentencing is scheduled for June 2. Anderson said the maximum sentencing for these crimes is eight years in prison and a minimum fine of $5,000.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A national small box retailer got the green light Thursday from the Lake County Planning Commission for its plans to build two stores on the Northshore.
The commission gave unanimous votes of approval to the separate proposals for the Dollar General stores in Clearlake Oaks and Nice, according to Community Development Director Rick Coel.
Due to no significant environmental effects, the commission approved mitigated negative declarations for the store projects. Texas-based Cross Development filed the project applications on behalf of Dollar General.
Dollar General Corp., based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., plans to build two stores of between 9,100 and 10,000 square feet at 3539 and 3577 E. State Highway 20 in Nice and 13090 E. State Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks, as Lake County News has reported.
The company has 11,000 stores in 40 states.
Dollar General spokeswoman Jaclyn Dees told Lake County News in an interview last month that the company did not yet have specifics as to the number of staffers the two Northshore stores would employ.
The Clearlake Oaks store will be located on a 4.7-acre property next to Schindler Creek. Coel said that at the meeting some of the concerns raised were related to the Schindler Creek drainage and sedimentation.
However, Coel said those concerns are addressed by mitigation measures requiring engineered drainage plans and calculations, and a sediment basin to help treat the project runoff and meter it back off site.
He said several members of the public spoke, and all were generally in favor of the project based upon the various mitigation measures – included in the use permit conditions – that were required.
The commission also approved of the architectural designs for both stores, he said.
The county offers an appeals process, but if that isn't followed within the next week it's expected that the store projects could move forward quickly.
Coel said that funding tends to slow a lot of other county projects down, but funding isn't an issue for Dollar General.
Dees told Lake County News that both stores remain in the company's due diligence process until this summer. No projected dates for the stores' openings were available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office said the last day to register to vote for the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election is Monday, May 19.
The Elections Office said new residents of Lake County, and registered voters who have moved to a new address, changed their mailing address within the county or changed their name may need to reregister in order to be eligible to vote in the upcoming primary election.
The completed voter registration form must be either personally delivered to the Registrar of Voters Office on or before May 19; or postmarked on or before May 19 and received by mail by the Registrar of Voters Office.
Pursuant to Section 2101 of the California Elections Code: “A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election”.
Residents may register to vote at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office, Room 209 on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport, telephone 707-263-2372, or register to vote online by visiting http://registertovote.ca.gov/ .
Registration forms also are available at most local post offices, libraries, city offices, and chamber of commerce offices.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – During the past week the Lake County Sheriff’s Office – with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Service and State Parole – was able to locate and arrest three sex offenders who were in violation of their sex registration requirements.
Sheriff's Lt. Steve Brooks said 43-year-old Aaron Abner Ludtke of Cobb, 42-year-old Flash Blanton of Lucerne and Monty Willis Timmons, 34, were taken into custody.
On May 1, the sheriff's office had requested assistance from the public locating Blanton and Timmons, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday, detectives from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit contacted Ludtke at his residence in Cobb, taking him into custody for failing to register as a sex offender, Brooks said.
Brooks said Ludtke was on parole for a 2012 conviction out of Lake County for violating his registration requirements.
On Friday Ludtke remained in custody at the Hill Road Correctional Facility on a no-bail parole hold and for failing to complete his annual registration, with bail for the second charge set at $25,000, Brooks said.
On Wednesday, Blanton turned himself in at the Hill Road Correctional Facility and was booked into custody. Brooks said Blanton currently is being held on a no bail warrant for violation of probation and failing to notify law enforcement of a move, with the second charge carrying a bail of $15,000.
On Thursday, sheriff’s deputies and detectives from the Major Crimes Unit along with several U.S. Marshals located Timmons at a residence on Collier Avenue in Nice, Brooks said. Timmons was taken into custody without incident.
Brooks said Timmons was booked into custody at the Hill Road Correctional Facility on a no bail parole hold and for failing to complete annual registration. Bail for the second charges is $115,000.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Several street cleaning teams are in place, ready for the 10th annual Clearlake Clean Up Day on Saturday.
The event kicks-off at 8 a.m. at Austin Park where additional volunteers will be welcomed.
Volunteers will combine their efforts to pick up trash and debris, wash city signs and perform other tasks to help beautify the city.
Collection bags and tools will be provided at check-in, along with bright safety vests, which must be worn during the event for the safety of the participants.
The event will include an electronic waste collection site at the Austin Park headquarters. Items such as televisions, phones, computers, stereo equipment and other electronic waste will be accepted.
Registration Coordinator Adeline Brown said teams of volunteers have committed to several areas such as Olympic and Lakeshore drives and around Pomo School.
She said this year's effort will include attention for the area watershed with volunteers representing Elem Tribal Community focusing their efforts on Burns Valley Creek.
Volunteers from Bayberry Inc. got an early jump on the effort and have cleaned up Austin Park and Austin Playground.
Area business owners are encouraged to contribute to the effort by cleaning up their storefronts, parking lots and flower beds.
Email Denise Rockenstein at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The service of a search warrant last week led to the arrest of a Lower Lake man and the seizure of methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms and LSD.
Narcotics detectives arrested Philip Donald Marcelino, 43, during the warrant service, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Brooks said narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for a residence located in the 11000 block of Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake on April 21, serving it just before 1:30 p.m. last Thursday, May 1.
When detectives entered the residence, they located and detained Marcelino without incident. Brooks said Marcelino was located in the bathroom with a water pipe used to smoke methamphetamine, a propane torch and a lighter.
During the search, detectives located 14.3 grams of methamphetamine sitting on top of the living room coffee table in plain view, Brooks said.
Also located on the coffee table was a digital gram scale, a metal spoon coated with methamphetamine, 46.4 grams of processed marijuana and a stun gun. Brooks said all of the items were seized as evidence.
Detectives also located $200 sitting on the coffee table, which was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings, Brooks said.
Detectives noticed a pair of pants draped over the living room couch with a glass meth pipe protruding from one of the pockets. Under the couch cushions detectives located .2 grams of methamphetamine which was prepackaged and another glass meth pipe, which were seized as evidence, according to Brooks.
In the dining room detectives located and seized a scanner which was actively monitoring the sheriff’s office primary law enforcement channel. Brooks said detectives also located and seized 4.5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, which were located on the kitchen counter.
During a search of the garage detectives located and seized a sheet of suspected lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), containing 93 dosage units. Brooks said the suspected LSD will be sent to the California Department of Justice for further testing.
Marcelino was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, possession of a stun gun by a convicted felon and possession of marijuana, Brooks said.
He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. Jail records indicated that Marcelino's bail was set at $25,000, and he later posted the required percentage and was released from custody.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.