Humboldt Sentinel

 Morgan Wright accused of endangering underage girlfriend

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A young man from Ferndale is in the slammer after his attempt to evade a traffic stop went arye.

At about 9 p.m. last night, a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office patrol was headed north on Highway 101 near Thompkins Hill Road when he spotted a purple 2010 Hyundai Accent traveling at great speed. When the deputy caught up and activated his overhead lights, the sedan allegedly accelerated to over 100 miles per hour and exited the freeway at Herrick Road, skidding through the stop sign and back onto Broadway Avenue, entering the city limits of Eureka.

With sirens blaring, the patrolman pursued the vehicle north on Broadway, where they ran through several traffic lights before the driver headed up Harris Street and onto Central Avenue before skidding to a stop on a curb at the intersection of Soule Street and Allard Avenue.

According to a press statement by lieutenant Steve Knight, the driver, 20-year-old Morgan Donald Wright, jumped out of the car and ran on foot from the deputy, who caught up with him when he tripped and fell. Wright was taken into custody, and when his vehicle was searched, a 16-year-old girl was found, along with 11 grams of hash.

Wright was booked into county jail without further incident, and charged with felony evasion, resisting arrest, child endangerment, transportation of marijuana and possession of concentrated cannabis. His bail is $50,000.

The Eureka Police Department arrived on scene and contacted the passenger, who was eventually released to her mother.

Members of the public with information regarding this case or related criminal related activity are encouraged to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or their Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

SNIPPETS, RUMORS, HEARSAY MURMURS, AND THE LINKS:

MISSING MONEY: After being alerted by the Yurok Tribe, the Del Norte District Attorney’s office issued warrants Thursday for two Eureka biologists and a former Yurok tribal forestry employee suspected of embezzling over $900,000. It’s alleged the trio submitted false invoices related to spotted owl research following the tribe’s discovery of missing items during an inventory search. 

The Times-Standard has updates by Megan Hansen and Thadeus Greenson this weekend:

Saturday, February 25: Court documents outline how three biologists allegedly used an elaborate system of fake invoices, false purchase requests and electronic bank transfers to embezzle more than $900,000 from the Yurok Tribe during a three-year period in ’Court Documents Outline Alleged Embezzlement from Yurok Tribe- Former Yurok Tribe Forestry Director Still Wanted on $1 Million Warrant’

Sunday, February 26: When news spread Thursday that a pair of respected Eureka biologists were arrested for their alleged roles in an elaborate embezzlement scheme, the reaction was stunned disbelief: ’Shock, Disbelief Follow Arrests- Biology Community Has Trouble Digesting Embezzlement Allegations’

Moral principle is a looser bond than a large stack of easy cash.

EPIC SETTLEMENT for attorneys and steelworkers. The California State Assembly approved a $5.5 million dollar payout Thursday to the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) settling legal fees for their 2008 landmark victory against the Pacific Lumber Company and the California Department of Forestry. $3.5 million will go to attorneys who worked on the case and $2 million goes to the United Steelworkers union as plaintiffs. The bill awaits the Governor’s signature.

Pacific Lumber, MAXXAM, and Charles Hurwitz were unavailable for comment.  They were nowhere to be found after skipping town, evidently.

LAND GRAB GRANTS: The North Coast Journal reports the state Wildlife Conservation Board approved two major grants of nearly $2 million acquiring lands protecting riparian habitat. The City of Arcata received a $650,000 grant to acquire 22 acres expanding the 793-acre Arcata Community Forest and the Northcoast Regional Land Trust nabbed $1,228,750 for 1,622 acres just east of Willow Creek.  They’re just not making land like they used to.

HUMBOLDT, WASHINGTON, AND WEED: Daniel Mintz of The Arcata Eye reports that County supervisors Lovelace and Sundberg met with federal Department of Justice (DOJ) officials on their recent trip to Washington DC.  No doubt tired of being stonewalled locally by Northern California’s U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Mr. Lovelace and Sundberg reportedly ‘established an ongoing dialogue’ with her Washington boss about the locally unpopular enforcement actions against medical marijuana.  If you haven’t noticed, Humboldt’s got a good business thing going on.  Mr. Mintz has more to say in his article, ‘Supes Give Cannabis Gripes to Feds’.

MORE CITY MONEY: The Eureka City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct staff to draft applications for $2 million in California Community Development block grants. The applications request funds for an east-to-west railroad feasibility study, formulation of a business-friendly plan for the City, a first-time home buyers program, and over a million dollars for the new Open Door Community Health Center on Tydd Street. The applications will be brought back to the council for final approval at a future meeting, the Times-Standard reports.  With redevelopment monies dead in the water, Community Development block grants are looking better all the time.

IN ‘N OUT: The Eureka Police Department is accepting applications for the Chief of Police position while interim Chief Murl Harpham considers retirement after 55 years of service. Egads. We’re not sure we’d want to do anything that even feels good for that long.  The City fired Police Chief Garr Nielsen after four years on the job in a controversial move that sparked a public outcry from some sectors. Since his firing, Nielsen has filed a claim against the city seeking damages in excess of $10,000, alleging it violated his contract by failing to give him annual performance reviews, merit pay increases and other benefits.

MEAN STREETS: Death and kidney damage by a thousand ruts, cracks, and crevices.  It may not be sexy or exciting or interesting, but we hope the City of Eureka finds the time and money in their busy day for a basic priority: repairing the deteriorating streets. Calked, cobbled, and patched over the years, they are a complete and disgusting mess, with potholes, chuckholes, sinkholes, crack holes and black holes abounding throughout the Fair City.  The roads are so poor the City can’t even pay attention.  Don’t defer any longer from properly fixing and maintaining them.  That’s what our taxes pay for.  Or so they say.

MEANER STREETS: “One hundred pounds soaking wet, Felix Omai (age 57) doesn’t strike terror into most people. But last fall during a solo Occupy Movement protest she frightened a CHP officer so badly, she says, that he ‘just about punched’ the camera she was trying to photograph him with back into her face.  She says her cheekbone was sore for weeks afterward. By the end of the encounter, Omai had broken ribs and was transported to Eureka jail,” writes Redheaded Blackbelt’s Kym Kemp.

While cooler heads could have prevailed on both sides, no one deserves to be treated or injured this way from what we read.  We can also appreciate the fact that Felix is refusing to be bruised and battered, shanghaied and fried any further by the legal wheels of justice that are turning.

Ms. Kemp asks what society is gaining by having law enforcement respond so forcefully to a 57 year old, 100 pound woman hanging bedsheets on a bridge in her article, ‘Bedsheets on a Bridge: Protests Meet Police in an Occupied America’. 

Ernie gives his take, too, in ’Omai, Felix, What Have You Wrought?’

THE GALL OF IT ALL: The Bayshore Mall has a new owner. After emerging from bankruptcy in 2010, General Growth Properties , the second-largest mall owner in the United States, announced it would “spin off” 30 of its malls under the ownership of a new company, Rouse Properties. Eureka’s Bayshore Mall made the list. General Growth chose the selected 30 properties because they have similar “opportunities,” company officials insist. A high vacancy rate has plagued the mall in recent years but the coming of Wal-Mart to Eureka is a marriage made in heaven, many believe.  When the going gets tough, the obese will go shopping for cheap stuff.

We still haven’t forgotten that City officials blatantly omitted the very existence of WalMart to citizens until the cat was finally let out of the bag, as first reported here in the Sentinel.  The City Manager and Council still haven’t explained why they were so silently mum on the matter, pretending it didn’t exist, they didn’t know, or you simply don’t need to know.  It sets a terrible precedent.  Public officials and city managers may be wise to keep a secret, but not half as wise as those with no secrets to keep.

Let’s run the People of WalMart one more time.  You know it’s got a catchy tune that rings home.

CR STANDS FOR  Continuously Reprimanded:   The problems at College of the Redwoods have been going on for years but the longstanding CR Board of Trustees doesn’t seem to get it. CR may lose its accreditation in January of next year. What does that mean? Ryan Burns cuts to the chase in his North Coast Journal article, ‘Edge of Oblivion’, saying that unless CR gets it’s act together:

“…Chaos would ensue. Class credits from CR would no longer be transferable to four-year universities; attendance would plummet; government funding would evaporate. It would be the doomsday scenario, and for a college that serves more than 9,000 students across a district the size of Maryland, the fallout would be devastating.”

Perhaps it’s better to have loafed and lost than never having loafed at all?

FLAKE AND BAKE:  The Arcata Eye reports 69 jobs and millions of dollars were lost with the recent closure of Arcata’s Humboldt Flakeboard manufacturing plant.  This leaves the City of Arcata with two challenges – recovering the money it loaned and preventing the plant from falling into prolonged disuse.

BENBOW LAKE ENDANGERED: California State Parks officials are considering the permanent removal of Benbow Dam because the cost of maintaining the aging structure and complying with environmental regulations has become prohibitive. The removal of the dam means the loss of Benbow Lake, a popular tourist attraction and recreational site for 80 years. To re-install the seasonal dam, State Parks must renew its permit every five years.  But the cost of the permit and required studies are estimated at $6 million dollars — and with no guarantee it would be approved.

At the same time, the Benbow Lake State Recreational Area is slated for closure July 1. The trick for finding solutions, we believe, is what Sacramento legislators have been telling us for years. Stop thinking of it as “your” money.

WE’RE IN THE MONEY: The U.S. Highway 101 bypass around Willits received its final permit last week, paving the way for construction of the $200 million bypass project on 1,670 acres of right-of-way– as soon as the California Transportation Commission designates funding. The project will ease Highway 101 traffic around the town of Willits avoiding congestion and stoplights, reducing delays, and improving safety. Merchants are looking forward to having Main Street return back to normal, according to the Willits Economic and Development Department.

Life is too short for traffic and the longest journey begins with a turn of the ignition key.

HOME SWEET HOME: Home prices fell to their lowest point in more than 10 years in January but that helped to lift the pace of home sales, according the National Association of Realtors report. Home sales jumped 4.3% in January. The median home price in January fell 2% from December to $154,700. That’s the lowest price reading since November 2001, before the run-up in home prices that became known as the housing bubble. New home starts by builders have been rising, according to an industry survey. A large inventory of home in foreclosure still hangs over the market, serving as a drag on the price of existing homes.

HOME SWEET CRUDE: Have you noticed the price of gas lately?  Bloomberg reports oil prices are fluctuating near a nine-month high, due in part to the geopolitical tensions with Iran that continue to simmer. In contrast, Wednesday’s Energy Department report shows that U.S. crude supplies rose 1.35 million barrels, or 0.4 percent, since Feb. 17. The addition would leave supplies at their highest level over the last 5 months.

Curiously enough, Humboldt County leads the way by sporting the highest gas prices in the nation, prompting County Supervisors sending a letter pleading for petroleum relief to none other than the President of the United States. Might as well start at the top, they believe. Some old-timers will remember officials and citizens asking the State Attorney General to investigate high gas prices 25 years ago– which went suspiciously nowhere and remain unanswered to this day.

Tom Sebourn opines in his blog,

They used to tell us that demand was too high and domestic refining capacity was too low, and that was what was driving the cost of gas and diesel fuel here in the US. The fact is, today’s domestic demand is at a 15 year low for gas and diesel, and due to expanded exploration during the Bush and Obama administrations the country has too much oil and too much refined fuels…

…There is no domestic shortage of oil, gas or diesel. There is no shortage of refinery capacity and there is no shortage of manipulation by the main stream media trying to manipulate the US public into thinking that we need to drill in sensitive coastal waters and national parks to avoid $5-dollar a gallon gas. If we stopped the exports, prices would go down– but we can’t because we are not a democracy, we are a republic that favors international free trade over our own financial and physical well being.

Tell that to the Renner Company.  With analysts believing we’ll hit $5 a gallon gas by summer, it will be cheaper to mail your car on vacation.

IF YOU THOUGHT 3-D MOVIES WERE THE COOLEST THING, wait until you see this demonstration:  3-D printers can replicate physical objects on demand. Future uses, aside from space tools, include medical applications making custom fitted artificial joints, teeth, and ears for your soon-to-be bionic body.

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

SATURDAY’S INDIAN ISLAND CANDLELIGHT VIGIL:  Please join members of Table Bluff Reservaton-Wiyot Tribe for the Annual Indian Island Candlelight Vigil held the last weekend every February to remember those who lost their lives in the 1860 Indian Island Massacre and help heal the community.

This event will be held rain or shine on Saturday, February 25 at 6 p.m., on the West End of Woodley Island. The first vigil was held on the last Saturday of February in 1992 and has been held each year since. A fire is lit, a Wiyot elder lights their candle from the fire and from that candle all candles are lighted. A moment of silence is observed, a prayer is given remembering all who have gone before us, songs are sung, poems are read, and one leaves with a feeling of accomplishment.

This may be the first memorial for the lives lost where the Wiyot, other Indian nations, and the non-Indian communities have come together to create a process that helps heal the whole community.

Indian Island was and is the center of the Wiyot world. On the island a ceremonial dance would be held to start the new year. The ceremony may have been called the World Renewal ceremony. All people were welcomed, no one was turned away. The ceremony would continue for at least seven to ten days. It was held at the village site of Tutulwat on the northern part of the island. Traditionally the men would leave the island and return the next day with the day’s supplies. The elders, women and children were left to rest on the island along with a few men.

The massacre took place at such a ceremony on February 26, 1860.

THE HISTORY OF INDIAN ISLAND:

Indian Island has always been a sacred site to the Wiyot people, given to them by the Creator as the center of our world. It is the resting place of centuries of Wiyot ancestors and where other Indians of the area were invited for the World Renewal Dance.

The 1860 massacre of Indian Island’s inhabitants and visitors abruptly ended Wiyot occupation and centuries of ceremonial dancing and celebration. Most of the men among the Wiyot celebrants had traveled to the mainland during the night in order to replenish supplies when, during the early morning hours, a group of settlers paddled their boats over to the island and massacred as many as 100 women, children and elders. Only one newborn child survived. This was coordinated with massacres at two other village sites around the bay and dealt a crushing blow to the Wiyot people.

Indian Island, with its ancient shell mounds and rich history, remains an important symbol for many Northern California Native Americans. The Wiyot Tribe returned to the Island in 2000 with the purchase of a 1.5-acre parcel. In May of 2004, The Eureka City Council made history when they unanimously approved a resolution to return 40 acres, comprising the northeastern tip of Indian Island to the Wiyot Tribe.

After 140 years, the tribe has begun clean up and restoration of the land, and are seeking to re-establish its cultural connection to the island by once again hosting the World Renewal Ceremony on original locations with plans to build a place where traditional ceremonies can be restored to the island.

The 500 enrolled Wiyot tribal members hold an annual Candelight Vigil of remembrance and healing, and the entire community is welcome.

DIRECTIONS:

Located in Humboldt Bay between Eureka and Samoa, the vigil is at the West end of Woodley Island. To reach the view point and historic marker, take the Samoa Bridge (Hwy. 255)  and exit at Woodley Island. Drive all the way and park at the west end, then walk a few yards north of the Fisherman’s Memorial Statue.

Happenings, Events, Groups, Walks, and Other Good Stuff:

Friday, February 24

Saturday, February 25

Sunday, February 26

Other entertainment can also be found here.

Movies, reviews, times and trailers are here.

WORD

Americans are motivated by money, not ideals. Washington is the home of despicable trickery at elections, under-handed tamperings with public officers, and cowardly attacks upon opponents, with scurrilous newspapers for shields and hired pens for daggers. I am disappointed. This is not the republic of my imagination.

- Charles Dickens, 1842

Keith Carpentier’s traffic stop winds up exposing plants, pounds and nearly $20k

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

An unfortunate traffic stop during a local man’s out-of-state trip led the Humboldt County Drug Task Force straight to his grow house yesterday.

Task Force agents got the call Tuesday from the Oregon State Police Department, who said they’d taken down 39-year-old McKinleyville resident Keith T. Carpentier while he was allegedly committing a traffic violation on Interstate 5 near Eugene. Upon searching his vehicle, Oregon cops found 15 pounds of processed cannabis bud, promptly arresting Carpentier on marijuana sales and transportation charges.

DTF immediately obtained a search warrant for Carpentier’s house on the 2200 block of McKinleyville Avenue, where they found 49-year-old John Paul Krekeler as well as a “commercial indoor marijuana growing operation.”

The bust consisted of 102 growing marijuana plants (from four inches to three feet in height), 40 pounds of recently harvested plants, 15 individual pounds of processed bud, one shotgun, one pistol, and $19,73o in cash.

The county Building and Planning Department responded to the scene to make the pro forma determination that the electrical wiring for the indoor grow was a possible fire hazard, which was used as justification to force Pacific Gas and Electric to remove electricity service from the residence.

Krekeler was arrested on cultivation and sales charges and taken to county jail without incident; Carpentier’s extradition will be handled by the District Attorney’s office, again for cultivation and sales of marijuana.

This case is still under investigation by DTF, according to Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant Steve Knight.

Lance Lorenzen allegedly ran operation out of Foster Avenue apartment

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

In the latest in a string of pot busts in Arcata, an apartment running what police called a “concentrated cannabis ‘has’ manufacturing operation” was taken down yesterday.

According to Arcata Police Department sergeant Todd Dokweiler’s press statement, law enforcement had received information over the past month about the home in question, located on the 1600 block of Foster Avenue. After a lengthy investigation, APD obtained a search warrant.

Upon their arrival, the cops located about two-and-a-half pounds of hash and six-and-a-half pounds of processed bud. They arrested resident Lance Christian Lorenzen, 27, on charges of hash possession, marijuana possession and marijuana sales. He was booked into county jail without incident.

Members of the public who want to snitch out their neighbors in Arcata are asked to call APD at (707) 822-2428.

Sheriff’s probation search hits jackpot of pot, meth, coke. weapons and more

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Three Arcata men are in the local lockup after a probation search on one of them turned up pounds of pot.

At about 11 a.m. today, the Community Response Unit of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office descended on a house on the 200 block of Alder Grove Road in Arcata. The man on probation, 31-year-old Colin Baldridge, was at home, along with cohabitants Paul Cohen, 56, and Jimi Suma, 37.

Upon conducting their warrantless search, deputies found 171 growing marijuana plants and 200 pounds of processed marijuana bud, which they valuated (improbably) at $400,000. The cops also found a half gram of cocaine, one-and-a-half grams of methamphetamine and 451 grams of hash, which they (more probably) estimated to be worth $3,000. Packaging materials, scales, pay and owe sheets and over $3,000 in cash were all found, suggesting a drug sales business.

In the process of their search, HCSO personnel discovered that Baldridge had another home on the 2400 block of Eye Street in the Sunset neighborhood of Arcata. Upon arriving at the house, the cops found another 20 pounds of processed bud, again improbably estimated at $40,000. Three large garbage bags of pot leaves and two handguns were also discovered — with one of those guns reported stolen, according to a press statement by HCSO lieutenant Steve Knight.

Charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, cultivation and possession for sale of pot, drug house and narcotics possession were all leveled on Baldridge; Suma was booked on an outstanding felony warrant for violating a probation issued by the Superior Court in Mendocino County; Cohen was popped for possession of meth. All three were transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility without incident.

Members of the public with information regarding this case or related criminal activity are encouraged to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or their Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Jury also finds McKinleyville man guilty of threatening witnesses

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A notorious murder trial ended today with the conviction of a McKinleyville man who killed his friend in a drunken rage last year.

The jury in the courtroom of Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Marilyn Miles issued a guilty verdict for second degree murder against 23-year-old Jacob Charles Steele. He was found to have intentionally killed Jerry George by shooting him with his handgun during an argument at Steele’s McKinleyville apartment on Jan. 22, 2011.

The convicted man was also found guilty of criminal threats, stemming from statements he made to a witness who testified against him in the case.

“I am grateful for the hard work of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office Investigative Bureau and the jury,” Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos stated in the release. “And I extend my deepest condolences to Jerry George’s family.”

The DA prosecuted the case personally, and will be on hand for Steele’s sentencing on Mar. 13 at 2 p.m. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Bartender, five patrons taken down; decoys pop two other establishments

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A local pool hall drawing complaints of disorderly conduct, fights and assaults received a visit from undercover cops this weekend.

At about 1:17 a.m. early Saturday, the Eureka Police Department teamed up with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to deploy “plain clothes enforcement” personnel to Ragg’s Rack Room on Fifth Street. Not surprisingly, the investigators saw drunk people — however in this case, the patrons were being served even while having difficulty navigating the barroom itself, a violation of state law.

After sitting around through last call to observe the “numerous extremely intoxicated individuals in and about the business,” EPD arrested five patrons for public intoxication. They also charged the bartender, Eureka resident Stormy Marinella, with suspicion of serving an obviously intoxicated individual, a violation of California Business and Professions Code 25602(a). During her arrest search, the cops found Marinella to be in possession of prescription narcotics which did not belong to her.

With all six arrestees transported to county jail, the administrative investigation into Ragg’s by ABC is ongoing, according to the EPDs Ed Wilson.

This late-night bust came on the heels of an ABC sweep on Friday where 29 local businesses were subjected to undercover stings; the “minor decoy” tested whether store clerks would sell to an underage customer, while the “shoulder tap” sought adults who purchased alcohol for a minor upon request. The sweep was funded by a grant project from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Only one “shoulder tap” turned up an arrest, where a Eureka resident was popped for furnishing the decoy with an alcoholic beverage after being approached outside an area establishment. The suspect was cited and released with a notice to appear in Superior Court.

At the Patriot Gasoline station on Highway 101 near the south end of Eureka, as well as at Babetta’s Restaurant on Myrtle Avenue, minors were able to purchase alcohol, leading to the citation of those businesses’ employees. They face a maximum of a $250 fine and/or 24-32 hours of community service, while the establishments may face administrative action against their liquor license from ABC.

These 27 businesses passed the test and did not furnish the decoy minor with alcohol:

1). Performance Fuels (1125 4th Street)
2). Shell Gasoline (1310 5th Street)
3). N&S Liquors (1505 5th Street)
4). Chevron (2806 Broadway)
5). Texaco (3505 Broadway)
6). Broadway Gas-N-Deli (4050 Broadway)
7). Performance Fuels (1007 Broadway)
8). Patriot Gasoline (1723 Broadway)
9). Stop and Shop Market (39 Wabash)
10). C&V Market (1634 F Street)
11). Handee Market (3500 F Street)
12). Harris and K Market (3103 K Street)
13). Harris Street Market (411 West Harris)
14). Shell Gasoline (1434 Myrtle Ave)
15). Gas-N-Go (1711 4th Street)
16). Courthouse Market (905 4th Street)
17). Fourth Street Shell (2111 4th Street)
18). Plaza 76 / Circle K (2480 6th Street)
19). 14th Street 76 (1411 Broadway)
20). California Market (2100 California)
21). Safeway (2555 Harris Street)
22). Walgreens (2525 Harris Street)
23). United Gas (1679 Myrtle Ave)
24). Three Corners Grocery (5945 Myrtle Ave)
25). Harris Street Shell (111 West Harris)
26). Round Table Pizza (2810 E Street)
27). Winco Foods (636 West Harris)

For the curiously aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

SNIPPETS, RUMORS, HEARSAY MURMURS, AND THE LINKS:

WARM AND DRY and the cotton is high.  The weather has been unusually pleasant.  Now is the time to prepare your garden soil for planting next month.  Don’t put your plants in too early.  You can give them all the care and love you want, but the garden simply won’t grow until conditions become warmer.  There’s still a few frost days left.

REEFER MADNESS HOME INVASION:  From the HCSO Press Release Bureau and Bad Karma Division:

On Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 5:53 AM, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a 911 call from a male victim reporting a home invasion robbery that just occurred at his residence, 3000 block of Thomas Road, Salmon Creek.

Deputies were dispatched to the residence and arrived at the remote home at about 6:15 AM. Deputies interviewed the victim and discovered the following: At about 4:30 AM, the male victim was sleeping in his bed beside his wife. They both were awaked when their dog began barking and noticed four (4) men had entered the residence. The men were all wearing combinations of ski masks and hoods, each wearing latex type gloves.

As the suspects entered the home, they were yelling, “It’s the police, get up!” One of the suspects removed the male victim from the bed and forced him to the floor. The suspect “zip tied” the male victim’s hands behind his back. The suspects then began demanding to know where the marijuana and money was located. The male victim led the suspects to approximately thirty (30) pounds of dried marijuana.

The suspects continued to demand money from the victim, who led them to a small security safe. When the victim could not remember the combination to the safe, he was struck in the face with an unknown object or fist, causing a moderate injury near his eye. Ultimately the safe was opened and no cash was found. During the entire event, the suspects threatened to kill the victims and/or burn down the house. The suspects were estimated to be in the home for about an hour. During that time, they rummaged the house and took an estimated $3,000 to $4,000 in cash.

Prior to leaving the residence, the suspects used duct tape to bind the female victim. They next used duct tape and bound the male victim. The two victims were then bound together (back to back) in a seated position on the floor with duct tape. The suspects then entered the victim’s newly purchased Subaru and drove approximately 1.5 miles to the locked gate on the victim’s property. The suspects were not able to get the stolen vehicle through the gate and left it abandoned in the roadway.

The male victim was able to unbind himself within minutes of the suspects leaving his home and call 911 for assistance. There is no description of the suspects or description of a vehicle that may have been used to travel to the victim’s residence.

At this time there are no evidentiary leads to the identity of the suspects, but the case remains under investigation. The Sheriff’s Office is reaching out to the residents of the Thomas Road area to contact the Sheriff’s Office with any information regarding this robbery (707-445-7251).

BUSTED IN RENO AGAIN.  At least you weren’t stuck in Lodi.  The HSU Lumberjack and Kaci Poor fills us in with their student  pot piece du jour. That bust paled in comparison, however, to the one in Mendo County. A hundred pounds and a hundred grand just doesn’t seem like very much nowadays.  Some people got to have it.  Some people really need it. What we do for the love of Money on the dark side of the moon. 

HOW LOW WOULD YOU GO?  Scoundrels and skullduggery know no limits, especially when it comes to stealing garbage,  Mr. Sims reports.  Share the love but take out the trash. Too many have become another brick in the wall,  Comfortably Numb and not giving a whit about others or themselves.

THE BIG LITTLE COMMUNITY we’re impressed with. The Willow Creek Community Services District tackled many issues in their first meeting of the year, as this extensive article by Kay Heitkamp shows. The complexity and issues taken on by the members was nothing less than astounding. One citizen remarked, “The WCCSD accomplished more in one meeting than Humboldt County planners do in three or four meetings.”

Many things caught our eye: notice that Redwood Region Economic Development Commission Director Gregg Foster is retiring; ambulance services from Hoopa to Mad River Hospital costing the Hoopa Valley $500,000 annually, resolving complaints of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s reportedly slow response times (or was it the lack of communication? Opinions vary), infrastructure upgrades and repair monies needed, and a wide variety of other issues. One trait consistently illustrated in Ms. Heitkamp’s article is that this community pulls together. Everyone chips in what they can offer.

Humboldt County 5th District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg should be proud of the Valley, the WCCSD, and the community’s efforts getting more things done with less. More self sufficiency and less bureaucracy, that is.

A CENTURY OF BUSINESS:  The Times-Standard articles by Donna Tam and Grant Scott-Goforth report that Harper Motors and the Minor Theatre have hit 100 years of being in business.  To curiously note, there are others who have done the same thing:  the hardworking dairy families of the Eel River Valley.  Why is Ferndale the second wealthiest region per capita in Humboldt County, behind Trinidad?  Their farms, houses, mortgages and herds were paid off long ago– and they’ve enjoyed 120 years of steady milk money coming in.

HELPING HOOPA: Two Rivers Tribune’s Allie Hostler penned a thoughtful memoriam for Dr. Karl Fisher, who passed away January 24. Well known in Humboldt County’s counseling and mental health circles, Dr. Fisher loved Hoopa Valley and everyone he met along the way.

Ms. Hostler wrote, “Because of the hundreds of lives he touched in the Hoopa community, the Human Services Division has arranged a remembrance get-together to be held on Friday, February 24 at noon at the Community Center (formerly Church of the Mountains) on Loop Road in Hoopa.”

Ms. Hostler also included a reprint of Dr. Fisher’s article, “12 Steps to Take If Your Child Has Problems at School, “ aside with her column regarding bullying issues.

ONE MODEL FOR ENDING HUNGER: Dr. Josh Strange, in his article for the Two Rivers Tribune, wrote:

Being able to keep food cheap and accessible for the poor while increasing the income of farmers, especially small scale family farmers, appears to be opposing goals.

But what if I told you that a city with over four million people had found answers and achieved these opposing goals? What if such a city made chronic hunger a thing of the past and allowed small family run farms to thrive like never before?

Hard to imagine right, especially when you can see lots of destitute people in modern, wealthy cities like San Francisco, or heck even here in Humboldt County. And yet it’s true—such a place really exists—it’s called Belo Horizonte, the fourth largest city in Brazil.

You can catch his story—and that of Belo Horizonte—in his article here. Ending hunger at a penny per day per resident seems like a good return and a worthy investment.

It’s a Beautiful Day and a Beautiful World if we make it so.  Don’t let it get away.

TIME TO START RUNNING: Eric Kirk’s SoHum Parlance II site reminds us that Yes, Rex Bohn Does have an Opponent for the race of 1st District Supervisor. Her name is Annette De Modena. She has a website.

Mr. Kirk suggests, “If she wants to win this race, she had better start running. Or walking. Kerrigan beat Rex by walking to every home in Eureka. If you don’t have the money, that’s a pretty good way to meet people.”

Well said, Mr. Kirk. And we thank you for adding the Sentinel to your site.

THIN MINTS, SAMOAS, AND TAGALONGS: Expect the Girl Scouts and their cookies coming by to a location near you, starting on February 13 and continuing through March.

ONE LOVE, ONE HEART: Let’s get together and feel all right.

Reggae on the River tickets go on sale March 1st.

The Mateel Community Center organizers say, “This year’s festival will take place on Saturday & Sunday July 21st and 22nd, 2012 at the Benbow Lake State Recreation Area. Advanced tickets go on sale March 1st, and prices and artists will be announced soon.

Set before a backdrop of ancient redwoods on the banks of the majestic Eel River, this 2-day celebration of the best in reggae and world music has been a favorite festival tradition for over a quarter century and offers attendees an opportunity to soak up the irie northern Cali vibes while enjoying a diverse array of top-class international artists, vendors, and kids activities in a family friendly environment. We look forward to seeing you at the 28th annual Reggae On The River!”

Right on. Yah Mon. We suggest reserving/making your lodging/camping accommodations now and getting your tickets March 1st while they last. Folks, we have two kinds of people: the quick and irie-less. One love and all. Peace, Humboldt.

ONE LOVE, AGAIN: Love has been showered by the Ambrosini School and the Cuddeback Kids Care Club. Nice. Sudents taking flight,  Learning to Fly with their own wings.

MORE LOVE AND NOTE TO SELF: don’t forget Valentine’s day like you almost did last year.  Get your garden ready, sign the GMO ballot initiative, don’t jeopardize your family or get ripped off, lock up your garbage if you must, buy girl scout cookies, look after your business, help the poor and your community, and remember your loved ones.

Yeah, that’s about it.  The moral of the story?  Easy.  One world, one love, and do the right thing.

You only have so much Time.
 

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

Happenings, events, groups, walks, other hip or rad stuff

Friday, February 10

Saturday, February 11

Sunday, February 12

Other entertainment can also be found here

Movies, reviews, times and trailers are here.

WORD

Woody Allen said,

“To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you’re getting this down.”

Five arrested, nearly 1,000 pounds of garbage removed

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Old Town got a bit cleaner today with the new Neighborhood Oriented Policing unit already swinging into action.

In cooperation with the Eureka Police Department’s Old Town Foot Patrol officer and others, NOP swept the greater business district in response to numerous complaints from residents and business owners. Primary targets on the hit list were public intoxication, prostitution, illegal dumping and unlawful camping.

Donavan Powers

By the end of the day, 15 suspects were cited on various code violations, with five arrests made, including one against a repeat offender that’s been arrested for causing mischief in Old Town before — Donavan Powers, 42, a Eureka transient whose prior convictions include child molestation. He also goes by the aliases of Donavan Anderson and Donavan Adairs.

Also arrested were 3o-year-old Robert Moon on an outstanding arrest warrant for resisting arrest and 34-year-old Jillian Burke on outstanding drug possession charges; 27-year-old Hamzah “Adam” Garay and 39-year-old Christopher Morgan were popped for violating the terms of their probation.

Just about 1,000 pounds of garbage were removed from an illegal campsite as well, according to a press statement by EPD sergeant Adam Laird.

Jillian Burke

Adam Garay

Christopher Morgan

Robert Moon

EPD position to focus on ‘quality of life’ complaints about growers, squatters and partiers

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Taking down meth dealers and escaped parolees apparently isn’t enough for one Problem Oriented Policing officer.

The Eureka Police Department announced today that they’ve kicked off a new Neighborhood Oriented Policing program to compliment the POP unit — a force which has landed a number of high-profile busts across the city leading to the arrest of over a dozen suspects charged with serious or violent felonies. Interim Police Chief Murl Harpham stated in a release that the expansion was made possible by the transfer of a POP-assigned officer to become the new NOP investigator, along with a reserve officer also reassigned from POP to NOP.

Yet unlike the POP, the NOP doesn’t seem quite as interested in hard-core criminals.

POP served a search warrant on an Elizabeth Street house in 2010. Property was subsequently cleaned up with "problem tenants removed," according to EPD.

“Their primary focus will be on solving neighborhood nuisance, crime, and quality of life problems not sufficiently being addressed by standard patrol-based responses,” Harpham stated in a release today. “It is anticipated NOP will focus much of its attention on Eureka’s West Side, which has been the origin of many such complaints.”

Although complaints about Eureka’s “tweaker” problem, lack of pedestrian safety and a recent rash of robberies are ongoing, the NOP apparently looks to go after nonviolent, low-level violations such as loud parties with excessive noise, squatters in abandoned buildings, transient camps and “homeless issues,” not to mention the ubiquitous references to grow houses and medical cannabis.

Harpam also says the NOP will work as the enforcement arm of the City’s Community Improvement Team (which includes the City Attorney’s office and a building inspector from the Community Development Department), and will tackle all sorts of general “nuisance and quality of life problems.” They’ll even hold community-based meetings to “improve neighborhood health.”

The return of three EPD cops from overseas military deployment by the California Army National Guard was credited for freeing up the manpower needed for the NOP — as one of the returned officers has resumed his EPD duty as a POP unit member.

A NOP/POP investigator investigates a homeless camp behind the mall in December 2011.

Harpham anticipates that, given sufficient funding for increased staffing levels, the department will hire a full-time NOP investigator, and return the current NOP officer to his original duties in POP.

Charges mostly concern drug, probation and parole violations

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A total of 15 suspects were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday on various misdemeanor and felony warrants in an anti-gang sweep coordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Part of their Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative, the FBI North Bay Regional Gang Task Force descended on Humboldt County in coordination with the U.S. Marshall’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/Parole, the Humboldt County Probation Department, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the Eureka Police Department — in all, 22 agents and investigators executed a series of parole and probation searches all around the county to target previously identified members of violent street and prison gangs.

“SSTFs focus primarily upon street gang and drug-related violence and address specific violent crime problems through the teaming of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors,” EPD sergeant Steve Watson stated in a release.

The SSVCI was established in 1992 by the FBI to allow its field offices to address street gangs and drug-related violence through long-term, proactive task forces. There are now 160 such task forces operating across the country, primarily focused on racketeering, drug conspiracy and firearms violations.

Of the 15 suspects, arrested on various controlled substance possession, drug paraphernalia and parole or probation violation charges, ten of them were documented gang members, allege law enforcement. Those arrested include:

Jeremy Dean Wildman (moniker: Looney”), age 35 of Eureka, was arrested for possession of marijuana for sale after investigators found nearly 5 pounds of processed marijuana and multiple digital scales in his apartment on the 100 block of West Del Norte Street, Eureka.

Scott Ryan Campbell (moniker: “Droopy”), age 35 of Eureka, was arrested for a felony warrant alleging violation of his post release community supervision.  Campbell was contacted with Wildman at his West Del Norte Street residence.

Anthony Manuel Burgess (moniker: “Creeper”), age 19, was arrested for violation of his probation at a cottage on the 2900 block of California Street, Eureka.

Corey Allen Cole (moniker: “Sinner”), age 29, was arrested for violation of his parole at the same cottage where investigators encountered Burgess.

Zachery Jacob Chapman, age 34, was arrested in McKinleyville for a violation of his parole.

Michael Thomas Meyers (moniker: “Flaco”), age 34, was arrested for violation of his parole at an apartment on the 700 block of 10th Street, Eureka.

Short-lived success at Bear River Casino ends in assault, robbery

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A local man’s successful night of gambling ended with a trip to the hospital yesterday, with several suspects involved in a vicious assault under Fernbridge.

At about 11:10 p.m. yesterday, emergency service personnel and a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the Renner Fuel Station, where a 42-year-old man was found bleeding from his head and face and also had a swollen left eye.

According to the unnamed victim, he had enjoyed some cash winnings while gambling earlier at Bear River Casino, and called a friend named “Brodie” at 10:50 p.m. for a ride. When his supposed friend arrived, the victim got into Brodie’s grey 1980s Toyota Celica, which was also occupied by an unknown blond female. Although the victim asked to be driven to Fortuna, “Brodie” drove as far as Fernbridge and told the victim to get out of the car, after which “Brodie” drove off.

A short time later, according to the report disclosed by lieutenant Steve Knight in a press statement, an unknown male and two females contacted the victim and forced him to walk under Fernbridge. Once underneath the bridge, the male assailant struck the victim with a bat while the females kicked him repeatedly. After assaulting him, the assailants stole the victim’s wallet with his cash and cell phone — they also allegedly threatened to shoot the victim if he got up, although no firearm was displayed by the suspects.

Further descriptions of the attackers were not forthcoming due to the darkness, and the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Members of the public with information regarding this case or criminal related activity are encouraged to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or their Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

For the Curiously Aware of Humboldt County…

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

THREE SIDES OF THE SAME COIN:

Investigators are continuing to investigate an explosion and fire Tuesday night that burned a Church Street apartment building in Eureka leaving an 18-year-old in critical condition with severe burns on 60 percent of his body and a female inhabitant suffering from inhalation burns, the Times-Standard reported. They were transported by helicopter to a medical burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center. Much of the building burned, leaving 8-10 individuals homeless and damages of nearly $500,000. Humboldt Bay Firefighters fighting the blaze came upon several butane canisters and a device for extracting concentrated THC from marijuana inside the residence.

Fire investigators don’t think the hashish extractor was the source of the actual fire but noted any spark or flame could have ignited exposed gas within the apartment. A hashish extractor device is filled with marijuana and butane is forced through it removing the THC. The substance that drips out of the device is the concentrated THC, or hashish. Individuals using these extraction devices often work in areas with poor ventilation, and the butane fumes can pose very dangerous hazards.

The source of the blaze is under investigation.

* * * * * * *

$2.9 million in drug asset seizures for the past three years has the Humboldt County Drug Task Force basking in some serious money. Where does all the confiscated drug dough go? Perhaps the $170 per night poolside hotel accommodations for Drug Task Force members and their families near the Happiest Place on Earth—Disneyland– was a reasonable bon voyage training venture. Or the $400 custom-made boots? How did the DTF spend the rest of the $1.5 million in seized funds over the past five years anyway?

The North Coast Journal’s Zach St. George looked into the spending records and the expensive highlife of Humboldt’s drug cops in his article, Drug Money. Humboldt County seized 12 times more money per capita in forfeiture than California does as a whole. Two-thirds of that money goes to local law enforcement agencies in the County, St. George says.

“Last year the Sheriff’s Office took home $200,000, the District Attorney’s office $100,000, and The Drug Task Force got $500,000,” St. George reported.  The North Coast Journal also kindly listed the names and amounts of Humboldt County’s 25 largest seizures  for you to know.

* * * * * * *

On a similar note, exactly how large is the impact of marijuana on Humboldt County’s economy? How much money does a marijuana grower make? What’s life like for “trimmers” – the itinerant farm workers of the marijuana world? A lot of figures have been bandied about.  Humboldt’s readers and listeners demand answers for their enquiring minds.

These questions and supposedly more are explored in “The Humboldt Chronicles,” a radio documentary series from Lost Coast Communications starting February 2. Hosted by Southern Humboldt journalist Kym Kemp and produced by Mike Dronkers and Chuck Rogers, the series explores how marijuana cultivation plays a role in Humboldt County life – as economic driver, a touchstone of culture, an environmental burden (or boon), a source of violent crime, and a medical cure-all, depending on your point of view.

If you missed the Humboldt Chronicles debut, you can catch the interviews with a banker, grower, business owner, and economist in the podcast replay here.

* * * * * * *

SNIPPETS, RUMORS, HEARSAY MURMURS, AND THE LINKS: “Money”

Money doesn’t talk. Talk is cheap. Money screams.

OCCUPY THE OCCUPY: Time for a counter-revolution? According to the Times-Standard, “A rally is being held Friday afternoon, February from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Humboldt County Courthouse by community members who want the front of the courthouse cleaned up and unfenced. Organizer Julie Salminen said the purpose of the rally is to show the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and Eureka City Council that people want the area restored. ‘We want it cleaned up over there,’ Salminen said.”

“More than 250 people are anticipated to attend the rally. Salminen said people are tired of the occupiers that have taken over the courthouse entrance. She said courthouse workers have been accosted and some have even been assaulted. She said people should be allowed to protest but that things have gotten out of control. ‘It’s costing a lot of money with everything that’s going on,’ Salminen said about the fencing and law enforcement patrols.”

We hope protesters and counter-protesters keep a safe distance from one another and cooler heads will prevail. Protesting, like politics, has become the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

WHO KNOWS WHAT’S GOING ON: KINS radio’s Brian Papstein sat down and interviewed Eureka citizen and business magnate Robin Arkley. You can listen to it here . According to the Humboldt Herald’s take of the talk shop interview, Mr. Arkley says the Marina Center will see Coastal Commission progress by fall and Security National will be hiring 100 more employees over the next 18 months. He also offers his view on unions, the Keystone pipeline project, Mitt Romney, and liberals taking advantage (though the words ‘rape’ and ‘nailing’ were reportedly used) of today’s youth. We suggest listening to the interview and making up one’s own informed assumptions.

A big mountain of sugar is too much for one man. We can see now why God portions it out in those little packets for the rest of us.

ERNIE’S Place gives readers a brief progress report for restoring some portion of Southern Humboldt’s $450,000 in school bus transportation funding following last week’s road rage protest by residents, students, and staff at the State Capitol. Don’t mess with the SoHum parents. They’re not about to let schooling interfere with an education.

RAIL RECALL: Fred’s Humboldt Blog thinks “Governor Brown should face a recall over his continued fiscal support of the High Speed Rail project. The state has a continuing large deficit and supposedly can’t pay for what many consider essential government services, yet he steadfastly supports HSR,” Fred says. Originally voter approved to the tune of $9 billion, the High Speed Rail project could skyrocket upwards of $133 billion if it gathers traction. Meg Whitman will undoubtedly foist another media blitz of obnoxiously expensive radio and television ads upon us again should Fred’s recall efforts succeed. Thank you, Fred.

JUST SAY NO to unincorporated kids. The McKinleyville Community Services District voted Wednesday not to designate Pierson Park as the site of a skate park for kids, much to the consternation of supporters. The MCSD said it’s simply keeping all of its options available for a skate park site to be located anywhere the District deems worthy. Skate enthusiasts who raised almost $100,000 in donations are understandably confused by the adult’s setback. You can be young without money, but you can’t be old without it. Where’s major domo skate park politico Jeff Leonard when you need him most?

CO-OPTED: The North Coast Co-op General Manager David Lippmann reported the Eureka and Arcata stores have been experiencing annual losses of $275,000. He reports there’s still nearly $1 million in long-term debt from the construction of the Arcata store “ten or twelve years ago.” Payroll expenses, taxes, and benefits consume almost $4 million per year, or 26% of operating expenses. Profit margins on food are a slim 2 percent at best after the bills have been paid, Mr. Lippmann reports. The good news is the Co-op is a $30 million a year business. The bad news is sales are $600,000 below target. Their 2011-12 year-to-date earnings—profit—amounted to a paltry $59,000.

Relax, Co-op members, it’s much worse than you think. Given the consistently exorbitant price of the Co-op’s food and worker’s benefits, they’ll do what they’ve always reliably done:  stay cool, calm, …and collect. Money flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana.

OUCH, THAT SMARTS: Forgoing your PG&E smart meter may cost you up to $195. And that’s just for starters. The California Public Utilities Commission approved a proposal Wednesday to charge residential customers an initial fee of $75 plus $10 each month if they don’t want to have the wireless ‘smart meters’ installed in their homes. Low income customers would pay $70, an initial fee of $10 plus an extra $5 per month to avoid installation of the wireless devices.

Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, PG&E loves your money and their smart meters.

BETTER NEWS FOR JOB SEEKERS IN 2012:  Companies are saying the job market is getting better and workers are saying it’s already kicked into high gear.  Friday’s jobs report showed a national gain of 243,000 jobs and a separate survey using households to determine the unemployment rate showed far stronger job gains.  2 million jobs have been added in the past six months, the best job gain since August 2005 and preceding the Great Recession beginning in late 2007.  The unemployment rate has dropped for the past five consecutive months.  Friday’s Dow Jones Industrial Average roared to 12,862 making it the highest close since May of 2008.

When pressed, Newt Gingrinch begrudgingly told reporters, “If it makes you happy, give him (Obama) some credit.”  Misery loves company.

SPANK THE BANK AND STASH YOUR CA$H: In response to November’s call for a nationwide “Bank Transfer Day,” about 610,000 consumers switched from a big bank to a credit union or smaller community bank. According to a recent research survey, roughly 11 percent of the 5.6 million people switching banks during the three-month period cited “Bank Transfer Day” as their reason. While it certainly didn’t produce the mass exodus of customers that many banks may have feared, it was nonetheless significant. The number of “angry bank-switchers” leaving their bank was nearly triple for those walking out for similar reasons in 2010.

Although one credit union reporting the November publicity prompted a jump in inquiries and customers opening 1,500 new accounts– a 30 percent increase compared to 2010– it’s not clear exactly how big banks were affected by Bank Transfer Day. None are releasing figures. Wells Fargo reported a 3.2 percent net increase in consumer checking deposits for the fourth quarter last year, compared with 2010. Bank of America didn’t even bother to report transfer details for consumer checking accounts and declined to comment.

Analysts say banks are still set to raise fees increasing their bottom line. Banks will still loan you money if you can prove you don’t need it. Raises and bonuses for everyone– except you.

FOLLOW THE MONEY:  The City of Eureka was awarded a $26,000 judgement from notorious slumlords  Floyd and Betty Squires. We hope they don’t raise the rent.  From the City’s press release: 

The Humboldt County Superior Court has granted the City of Eureka’s motion for Attorneys’ Fees against Floyd and Betty Squires. The City was awarded the entire amount requested of $26,521.26. The City requested reimbursement of the fees it had incurred when it was forced to defend a lawsuit filed by the Squires against the City claiming that the City had no basis to enforce code violations for substandard housing at numerous properties owned by the Squires.

The City continues to move forward in its lawsuit against the Squires for substandard housing at numerous properties within the City of Eureka.

ABOVE IT ALL: Fortuna’s local blog, Above the Fold has come up with their ‘possible solution’ for dealing with the unsightly houseless issue in the Friendly City: “Send the building inspector out to the houseless camps on Fortuna Boulevard and levee fines for the many rule infractions–including improper tent installation and lack of plumbing.” Yup. Fees, fines, and money will certainly do the trick for those tentees not having any. We pine for the good old days when tar paper shacks and real wood shanties were in vogue.

A SLUMBER TO REMEMBER: Don’t snooze overnight in your vehicle in Arcata. Not only is it a crime, it’s a business, too.  An expensive proposition for snoring scofflaws who’ve had it too good for too long, it’s time to wake up, smell the coffee, and pay up for drowsy misdeeds and sleepytime misbehavior. Just ante up like these visitors did, posting their Humboldt forty-wink memories on the Ollie blog site. Their $35 fine—each—mushroomed to $155 after the gratuitous fees were tacked on shamelessly by the scales of justice:

The Criminal Justice Business

As we mentioned in a previous post, we recently got tickets (one each) for sleeping in our vehicle in Arcata. $155 each. We called the phone number on the ticket immediately, and were told that our information wouldn’t be uploaded into their computer system for at least two weeks — we’d have to stay in Arcata and try again. Two weeks passed, and we called back. We scheduled a date to appear in court, hoping to have the fine reduced.

We appeared at the Superior Court in Eureka yesterday, and the clerk (who was friendly, at least) informed us that we’d be able to meet with a court-appointed attorney before seeing a judge. Upon entering the courtroom, however, the judge told everyone– about 10 people with different infractions– that we did not have the right to a court-appointed attorney, and that we each had two, and only two, choices:

1) plead guilty and pay the fine in full, or,

2) plead not guilty and schedule another court appearance in a month or so.

We were, needless to say, really ready to leave Humboldt County, so we pled guilty and were charged $155 each.

Oddly, when we spoke with the judge, he told us that the fine for “camping in a vehicle- first offense” was no more than $50. Why are we being charged $155, then? Court fees. What court fees? Well the friendly clerk broke it down for us, and because I’m pissed, I’m going to type it all out for you:

$4.00 Surcharge

$1.76 County general fund

$3.92 DNA Add’l (?)

$3.92 St Crt Facility

$3.92 EMS Add’l

$1.96 DNA Add’l

$1.96 DNA Funding

$5.88 SB1732 Penalties

$13.72 State Penalty Fund

$5.88 County Penalty Assessment

$3.92 Courthouse Construction Fund

$5.88 Criminal Justice Facilities Fund

$3.92 Emergency Med Services

$17.84 Arcata General Fund

$1.52 State Automation Fund

$40.00 Court Security

$35.00 Criminal Infraction (the actual fine for sleeping in a vehicle)

I was last on the judge’s list, so by the time I was done speaking with him (which took about 30 seconds), the room had totally cleared out. As I joined Max and we walked toward the doors, the judge leaned over his desk and said cheerily to his staff, “Well, that went well!” Yeah, in about 10 minutes those jerks made several thousand dollars.

In case you are curious, we have never had this problem before. Ollie (the bus) was parked on a busy public street on Capitol Hill in Seattle for two weeks, and cops never bothered us; our only night-time callers in that spot were two drunk neighbors who thought Max and I were the coooolest people they’d ever met — they cooked up a whole dinner in their apartment across the street and delivered it to the bus, where we ate with them and drank wine and exchanged gifts and stories.

-Rachel

LET’S PUT MONEY ASIDE, FORGET OUR WORRIES, AND LEAVE YOU ON A HAPPIER NOTE

Proof positive that pets do love and  remember you.  Christian the lion does.  Whether you’re rich or poor, it doesn’t matter.

Outside of a dog, a book is probably Man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read anyway. The great pleasure of a dog is that you can make a fool of yourself and not only will he not scold you, he’ll make  a fool of himself, too.

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

Friday, February 3

Saturday, February 4

Sunday, February 5

Movies, reviews, times and trailers are here.

WORD

Reminiscing on his early Vaudeville days traveling with family, Groucho Marx said,

“We had a budget. That’s a way of going broke methodically. Because we were a kid act, we traveled at half-fare to save money, despite the fact that we were all around twenty. Minnie insisted we were thirteen. ‘That kid of yours is in the dining car smoking a cigar,’ the conductor told her. ‘One is in the washroom shaving. And another is drinking whiskey at the bar.’ Minnie shook her head sadly. ‘They grow up so fast.’”

Bayshore Mall branch’s cash grabbed by allegedly armed man

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The Criminal Investigative Services unit of the Eureka Police Department is on the lookout for a suspect who robbed a local credit union at the Bayshore Mall today.

At about 3:33 p.m. today, a suspect approached a teller at the Coast Central Credit Union branch with a note stating that he was armed — although the exact words used are being withheld from the public for investigative purposes, according to a press statement by detective Ron Harpham.

Despite the fact that no weapon was seen, the teller complied with the note’s instructions and the suspect fled with an unknown amount of cash north in the Bayshore Mall interior towards Sears, then east through the exit hallway between Sears and the bank.

Witnesses describe the suspect as a 30-year-old white male, 150 pounds and about 5’5″ in height. He was also described as clean shaven with medium-length brown hair and black rimmed, square glasses. He was wearing a black ball cap, black leather dress jacket, a bluish button up shirt with a black tie, dark slacks and dark running shoes.

Members of the public who know the suspect or witnessed him, either at the mall or around town, are asked to contact Harpham at (707) 441-4305.

Guns, pot, 141 empty butane bottles near day care center

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Three Hydesville residents are in the slammer on half a million dollars bail after an alleged drug manufacturing house was taken down yesterday morning.

At about 7:45 a.m. on Jan. 31, the Community Response Unit of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant issued by the local Superior Court at a residence at the 3100 block of Greybrook Lane in Hydesville. Law enforcement acted on a series of complaints about drug activity at the home, which is located near a daycare center, according to a press statement by lieutenant Steve Knight.

Upon entering the residence, deputies found 113 growing marijuana plants, 33 pounds of bud packaged for sale, a scale, a rifle, a handgun and $3,800 in cash, along with items consistent with hash manufacturing, including 141 empty butane bottles.

The charges stacked up against the three residents included manufacturing of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. Arrested and imprisoned in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility were 31-year-old Matthew Gary Caston, 58-year-old Thomas Dennis Miranda and31-year-old Sarah Rachel Miranda, with $500,000 in bail set.

Members of the public with information regarding this case or criminal related activity are encouraged to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or their Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Suspect Nu Yang’s meth and $3,000 cash seized, along with his girlfriend

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The Problem Oriented Policing unit of the Eureka Police Department rounded out January with another drug sales bust today.

During one of their narcotic sales investigations, POP detectives were tipped off concerning suspected methamphetamine sales by a 33-year-old Hmong male named Nu Yang. When contacted by phone by an undercover cop earlier today, Yang, a Eureka resident, expressed his willingness to meet up to sell meth, according to a press statement by sergeant Steve Watson.

Yang was found at about 3:30 p.m. outside a business on the 1600 block of Myrtle Avenue, dutifully arriving on-time with the presumed drug buyer. Arriving to meet him instead were a team of POP investigators, who located the suspect seated in his car. Yang was detained on suspicion of attempted controlled substance sales.

Yang’s girlfriend, 22-year-old Sierra Lee Camilli, was inside the business when detectives arrived and tried (but failed) to hied in the bathroom. She was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant, namely the revocation of her post-release community supervision agreement.

To handle the drug detection duties, EPD called in a K-9 handler with Maggie, the narcotic detection dog on duty. As the canine proceeded to sniff the exterior of Yang’s car, she suddenly diverted to where Yang was seated in the backseat of an EPD cruiser, alerting upon his person. The cops subsequently searched the suspect, locating a large plastic baggie containing 1.65 ounces of meth under Yang’s clothing. The drugs were seized, along with over $3,000 in cash as evidence of suspected illicit drug sales.

Both Camilli and Yang were transported to county jail; the later was booked on possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation and attempted sale of a controlled substance, and felony conspiracy charges.

Members of the public with information concerning suspected drug sales activity occurring in Eureka are encouraged to call the POP unit at (707) 441-4373 or the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at (707) 444-8095.

Suspect Scott Boudreaux currently held on $100,000 bail

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

An assailant accused of robbing a woman at a local business is in county jail after Eureka Police Department personnel hunted him down.

Police got the call at about 6:37 p.m. on Friday, responding to a laundromat on the 2900 block of E Street, where the found a female victim who said a suspect had approached her and ripped her wallet out of her hands. The victim told EPD investigators that she attempted to follow the man, who fled out the back door of the business, but lost sight of him in the area of Henderson and D Street while she was on her cell phone with EPD dispatch.

The cops searched the area and a suspect closely matching the assailant’s description, 21-year-old Scott Darrell Boudreaux of Eureka, was found and detained without incident. According to a release from sergeant Patrick O’Neill, the victim was brought to Boudreaux’s location, where she positively identified him as the man who robbed her. The EPD search also turned up the victim’s wallet in the back yard of a residence near to where the victim had originally lost track of Boudreaux.

The suspect was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on robbery charges, with his bail set at $100,000.

Carter Daniels accused of robbing Blue Lake Museum to pawn seven hats

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A break-in early this morning at a local museum led to the arrest of a Eureka man at a pawn shop.

Carter Daniels, 30, is in county jail after his arrest on possession of stolen property charges this afternoon.

Police caught up with him after a chase which started at 5:15 a.m., when an alarm was set off at the Blue Lake Museum on Railroad Avenue. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office personnel were immediately dispatched, and while en route a local resident called the HCSO dispatcher to say they could see someone was inside the museum; they later said they saw a suspect dressed in black flee on foot towards Hatchery Road.

Law enforcement found the front door of the museum forced in and damaged, with glass case display cases smashed. Deputies immediately began notifying pawn shops and local organizations of the incident, along with the description of the stolen property, namely woven hats from the Yurok Tribe and Hoopa Tribe — estimated to be over 100 years old and worth anywhere from $1,200 to $3,500 each according to museum staff. An initial release from lieutenant Steve Knight said that 11 hats were missing; this was later adjusted to seven hats.

At about 11:45 a.m. came the break in the case — the Eureka Police Department was notified by Heritage Antiques that someone was at their business attempting to sell Native American hats which matched the description of the stolen relics. EPD responded and detained two subjects until HCSO personnel could arrive.

Upon interviewing the two men, they determined that Daniels was the one in possession of the hats. He’s now awaiting arraignment, with bail set at $25,000.

Follow-up investigation into this case continues, with additional charges and arrests possible. Members of the public with information regarding this case are asked to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or their Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

EPD catches up with Jules Dawson; Miles Sharp still eludes capture

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A third suspect in last year’s notorious strong-arm robbery in the Humboldt State University dorms was arrested yesterday.

Late Monday, the Eureka Police Department apprehended 23-year-old Jules Aubrey Dawson, also known as “Jay Doss,” and booked him into county jail. While Dawson is not a college student, the other three suspects are, and 20-year-old Miles B. Sharp remains at large on a $100,000 warrant.

The University Police Department caught up with the other two suspects shortly after the Dec. 2 incident, which took place in Sunset Hall. Eric Schneekluth, an HSU sophomore from San Diego, was taken into custody on Dec. 13 and is still sitting in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. Benjamin Beilin, an HSU freshman from Valencia, was picked up on Dec. 9, booked and subsequently bailed out of jail.

Members of the public with information on the whereabouts of Sharp are asked to contact the Anonymous Tip and Crime Report section of UPD at www.humboldt.edu/police/ or (707) 826-5555.

Glenna Morrison also had hash, 15 pounds of bud

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A resident of Hydesville, subject to unannounced police searches due to her probation status, was popped for drug possession and sales just after dawn today.

At about 7:45 a.m., the Community Response Unit of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office conducted a probation search on 55-year-old Glenna Morrison at her residence on the 3200 block of A Street. The HCSO had been tipped off by local residents concerning allegations of drug sales occurring at the home.

In the course of their search, deputies found over 15 pounds of processed marijuana, an unspecified amount of hash and two grams of methamphetamine. While Morrison told the cops that the cannabis was actually medical marijuana, law enforcement found items consistent with the sale and packaging of marijuana, according to a press statement by lieutenant Steve Knight.

Morrison was arrested without incident and booked into county jail on charges of meth possession, marijuana cultivation and possession for sale, possession of concentrated cannabis and violation of her probation conditions. Her bail is set at $25,000.

Members of the public with information on this case are asked to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Michael Stockhoff, 21, allegedly had bag of meth in his pocket

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A local man on the run from felony drug warrants since last year was caught on Saturday in the vicinity of a Loleta casino.

At about 9 p.m. on Jan. 21, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that a wanted suspect, 21-year-old Michael Sherman Stockhoff, was at the Bear River Casino Pump and Play.

Upon the arrival of the responding deputy, Stockhoff was exiting the gas station, and upon spotting the deputy, he immediately began to run. The cop chased Stockhoff on foot across Singley Road into an adjacent field where, according to a press statement by lieutenant Steve Knight, the deputy caught the suspect, who continued to resist arrest.

Upon arresting Stockhoff, the deputy searched him and located a small bag of methamphetamine in his front pants pocket. Stockhoff was subsequently booked into county jail on charges of resisting arrest and possession of methamphetamine, as well as on his two prior warrants on possession of drugs, one of which was a “no bail” felony warrant.

Members of the public with information regarding this case are asked to call the HCSO at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Cole Machado was a prominent figure in local politics prior to scandal

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

It’s the end of the line for a local gay rights activist ensnared in a multi-state federal crackdown on producers of sexually explicit materials that exploit children.

Cole Machado, 25 of Eureka, was sentenced on Friday to 327 months (27 and one-third years) in federal prison and lifetime supervised released due to his conviction last year on charges of producing child pornography. This was handed down by Rebecca Beach Smith, the Chief United States District Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The case moved from California to Virginia due to the original crime being tacked back to Norfolk resident Jakob Benjamin Lee, who was previously convicted on child porn charges and sent in 2011 to federal prison for a 30-year stay. Some of the pornographic images possessed by Lee were tracked back to Machado, who produced them himself by exploiting minors in California in late 2009.

An ongoing campaign to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual abuse, Project Safe Childhood was launched in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice and lead by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The Machado case was investigated by the FBI and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Yusi.

“Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims,” Neil MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, stated in a release.

Machado had been prominent in political circles as an organizer on gay rights issues, particularly opposition to the Proposition 8 initiative that (temporarily) banned gay marriage, and was a supporter of various politicians (including both Bonnie Neely and Virginia Bass in 2006, who would later become opponents in 2010). He even tried to become an elected representative himself in a half-hearted attempt to run for a Trustee seat for the Redwoods Community College District in 2007. All this came to a crashing end on July 20, 2010 when the HCSO raided his Quaker Street home and discovered a computer with multiple images of child pornography.

EPD claims property was “trashed” in a similar fashion to O Street residence

By Gabriele Fellows
Humboldt Sentinel

Another property manager found his vacant rental home broken into and vandalized early Saturday morning on the 3000 block of I Street.

Significant damage to the doorframe was found along with piles of trash harboring junk food and alcohol. The bathroom and heater had been used along with electricity.

Personal belongings were discovered in the home indicating the return of its owners. “The gear had been left in the house as if someone was planning on staying a while,” EPD sergeant Adam Laird said in an interview with the Sentinel today.

Although the actual “squatters” of the empty dwelling are unknown, the EPD thinks they were members of the Occupy movement because of anarchistic graffiti found on the walls similar to the spray painted images found at the O Street home.

“The graffiti also included anti ‘Nazi’ graffiti, which could be a reference to law enforcement,” Laird said.

There was no other evidence of the latest break-in’s connection to Occupy Eureka aside from the similarity of the graffiti.

Six individuals associated with Occupy Eureka were arrested at their O Street squat earlier this week, although they’ve all been released pending further court proceedings – with the exception of Martin Katz.

Members of the Occupy movement are being suspected as culprits because other house squatting episodes are “dissimilar.”  Trespassers rarely damage anything other than doorways into a home and don’t spray paint on walls. They also rarely leave belongings behind: “In general, the people who break into houses and sleep in them leave the next day and take their gear with them,” Laird claimed.

Laura Cutler, a local attorney and member of the Occupy Humboldt movement, proposed a resolution for tomorrow night’s countywide General Assembly (to take place at 6 p.m. in the Green and Gold Room at Humboldt State University) that dissociates the group from participants’ actions at O Street:

“We, the members of the Occupy Humboldt County General Assembly do proclaim that the afore-mentioned events were never considered, nor ever approved in any way, by the Occupy Humboldt County General Assembly.”

Occupy Eureka activist Talvi Fried thought tensions might be exacerbated by the resolution, but also didn’t want the public image of her cause tarnished by these incidents.

“[It is] just dim acting and obviously against Occupy Humboldt as a whole since it’s only caused a lot of bad press and hurts the good that is trying to be done elsewhere within the movement,” she stated in a post on the Facebook page of Occupy Humboldt.

Wallace Egger popped in routine traffic stop on Valley West

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

An Arcata Police Department traffic cop sent an alleged meth dealer in jail earlier this week.

At about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the policeman observed an equipment violation on a vehicle traveling along the 5000 block of Valley West Boulevard. Upon contacting the driver, 46-year-old Arcata resident Wallace Egger, the cop discovered the driver had an expired license; he also noticed that Wallace was displaying symptoms consistent with being under the influence of methamphetamine.

“Upon further investigation the officer saw that Egger had a white powdery substance on his fingers,” sergeant Todd Dokweiler stated in a release.

Egger was then arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance, and a search of his vehicle revealed nearly two ounces of meth along with scales and other items related to drug sales. He was further charged with possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance and driving while unlicensed.

Jamil Muhammad, who held a woman captive, had five prior prison terms

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A 58-year-old Eureka man will be spending all or most of his remaining lifespan behind bars after his conviction on multiple violent crimes.

Superior Court Judge Christopher Wilson handed down sentencing on Jamil Najm Muhammad today; the prison terms will stretch from 25 years to life due to his third “strike” offense (actually his fourth and fifth strike on serious and violent crimes), plus eight additional years due to multiple incidents of domestic violence.

On Oct. 3 of last year, a Humboldt County jury found Muhammad guilty on two felony counts of criminal threats, one felony count of false imprisonment and one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

The counts stemmed from two separate incidents earlier in 2011 where Muhammad held a woman captive in his motor home and threatened to hurt her if she attempted to leave. The victim was able to place a 911 call, leading officers to her location on Feb. 23, 2011;  on Mar. 14, 2011, Muhammad repeated the imprisonment and also inflicted multiple injuries.

“I commend Prosecutor Elan Firpo and the agencies that assisted in this case,” Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos stated in a release. “Domestic Violence cases are seldom simple and it is important to persevere and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Suspects told EPD they were protesting foreclosures, yet home was a vacant rental

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Several Occupy Movement protesters were busted Wednesday morning after Eureka Police officers answered a complaint from property managers that trespassers were squatting in a house on the on the 3500 block of O Street.

A graffiti 'anarchy' symbol was sprayed on the home's wall.

One of the protesters had already left at the property managers’ request, but others refused and likewise refused to follow officers’ orders to leave. As officers entered, two women later identified as Amanda Tierney, 24, and Shayanne Clark, 21, both of Eureka tried to leave through the front door and were taken into custody.

Four other protesters tried to barricade the front and back doors with their bodies or furniture as officers entered. After repeated tries officers were able to force their way in to arrest Martin Katz, 23, Ann Rian, 21 and Keelan McWayne, 21, all of Eureka; also Stanton Wood, 25, of Florida.

The group told officers that they were “occupying” the house because of homelessness issues and foreclosures, although the house is a vacant rental unit, not a foreclosed home.

After the protesters were in police cars, officers walked through the residence with the property managers and found graffiti on the walls, including anarchist symbols, as well as a small amount of marijuana. The protesters had also removed several locks and replaced them with their own. Property damage was estimated at several thousand dollars by the managers.

The protesters have been jailed in Humboldt County Correctional Facility for vandalism, forcible trespassing, conspiracy and obstructing a police officer.

The O Street rental home.

Graffiti sign on the floor of the squat.

Conditions inside the squatted home.

Inside the squatted home.

Scattered parts of a lockset used to illegally change the locks on the O Street home.

Amanda Tierney

Ann Rian

Keelan McWayne

Martin Katz

Shyanne Clark

Stanton Wood

Randi Barton, 23, also a felon in possession of ammo

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A man stumbling into Fortuna City Hall with a bleeding stab wound led to the arrest of a young woman on the south end of Fortuna this morning.

At approximately 11:03 a.m. this morning, an unnamed 57-year-old victim came to the front counter of the Fortuna Police Department holding the right side of his neck, which was gushing blood.

According to an FPD release, the victim, whose name was withheld, said he’d been stabbed in the neck by 23-year-old Randi Elizabeth Barton, who he cohabitates with at a home on the 3400 block of Rohnerville Road.

While FPD detectives immediately provided first aid, they questioned the victim, who turned over a knife blade with the handle broken off, the implement that he had supposedly been stabbed with. He was later treated and released from Redwood Memorial Hospital.

Law enforcement responded to their home and arrested Barton without incident. She was transported to Humboldt County jail and booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a cohabitant likely to produce great bodily injury, violation of her probation, possession of a controlled substance and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Juliann Siple, 65, last seen walking dogs

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A local senior citizen was reported missing by her domestic partner, leading the local Search and Rescue team to swing into action this evening.

At about 5:30 p.m. today, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a possible missing person — a 65-year-old McKinleyville resident, Juliann Siple, who was overdue from walking her dogs this afternoon.

Siple’s domestic partner told police that she dropped Siple off at Moonstone Beach at about 1 p.m. today so she could walk her two dogs. When the woman returned at 2 p.m. to pick up her partner, Siple was not present, and could not be found in an initial search by her domestic partner.

According to the account provided by the HCSO, when Siple’s domestic partner returned home, there was an answering machine message from Siple stating she was walking home. The woman then drove to Clam Beach and spoke to the campground host who saw and spoke with Siple at 2:30 p.m., wherein Siple was asking for directions to the Hammond Trail. The campground host supposedly last saw Siple walking south on the Clam Beach Frontage Road.

As of 5:30 p.m. there was still no sign of Siple, who does not possess a cell phone. When her domestic partner called the HCSO, she said it was out of character for Siple to stay out after dark and not make contact, and also mentioned medical issues of concern.

The missing woman is described as a 5’2″ Caucasian female with brown hair, brown eyes and wearing a full white jumpsuit. Her two small dogs were described as a 35-pound sheep dog named Sadie and a smaller dog with big ears named Odie.

The HCSO asks any member of the public with information on the whereabouts of Juliann Siple to call (707) 445-7251.

Gabe Talamantes caught up in undercover sting at south Broadway motel

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Eureka’s Problem Oriented Policing unit scored yet another drug bust thanks to the work of undercover cops.

Eureka Police Department personnel converged yesterday evening at a south Broadway motel after an officer who concealed his identity arranged a drug sale over the phone. EPD had been tipped off that a male subject named “Gabe” was selling cocaine, and the undercover agent agreed to buy an “eight ball” or one-eighth ounce quantity of cocaine.

Gabriel Talamantes, 33, arrived at the unnamed motel at about 5:50 p.m. yesterday, according to a press statement by EPD sergeant Steve Watson. He had arranged to meet the undercover cop to sell cocaine to him, and when investigators opened the door, they took Talamantes into custody without incident.

Upon conducting a search, EPD personnel say they located a sealed plastic baggie containing the 8-ball of cocaine in Talamantes’ pants pocket. Inside a plastic Pelican case the suspect was carrying, investigators found a digital gram scale and two more sealed baggies of cocaine, totaling one ounce or 25.7 grams of gross weight.

Gabriel Talamantes

Talamantes was booked at Humboldt County jail for transportation and possession of cocaine for sale, and for violation of the conditions of probation, meaning he is ineligible for bail.

Members of the public with information concerning drug sales in Eureka are asked to call the POP unit at (707) 441-4373 or the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at (707) 444-8095.

Accused suspect also had guns, scale and other materials at home

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

One more alleged meth dealer is apparently off the street after the Problem Oriented Policing unit swung into action on the south side of Eureka yesterday.

At about 4:24 p.m. yesterday, a Eureka Police Department POP investigator conducted a routine traffic stop on a white Chevrolet at the intersection of E and Hodgson Street, obstensably for vehicle code infractions. The driver, 27-year-old Fidel Alberto Contreras (also known as Fidel Munguia) was on probation for a previous controlled substances conviction, and thus was subject to immediate search. The search uncovered a secret compartment, within which were seven small Ziploc baggies containing 22 grams of crystal methamphetamine individually packaged for sale, according to a press statement by sergeant Steve Watson.

Fidel Contreras

Contreras was arrested on the scene, and in his pockets, the cops found $1,767 in cash, which was suspected to originate from illegal drug sales. Also in his pockets were three cell phones. All this led to an EPD investigation of Contreras’ residence on the 3200 block of D Street, where detectives found a loaded .380 chrome semi-automatic pistol with two boxes of ammunition — items which are illegal for someone on probation to possess. Police also found a digital gram scale and empty drug sales packaging materials, along with evidence of an indoor marijuana growing operation, including two rooms with beds, soil and grow lights, but no plants.

The suspect was booked on charges of possession and transportation of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and violation of the conditions of probation, and at this hour Contreras is still in Humboldt County jail.

Members of the public with information concerning drug sales or criminal activity in Eureka are asked to call the POP unit at (707) 441-4373.

Zach Scott allegedly tore through yard before abandoning moving vehicle

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

An at-large parolee is in jail today after an early morning chase led Eureka Police Department personnel through a southside residential neighborhood.

At about 2:30 a.m. this morning, an EPD patrolman on Highway 101 observed a white 1993 Isuzu Rodeo sports utility vehicle exit a gas station on West Harris Street. When the cop bean following the SUV to obtain its license plate number, the driver made several turns and, according to lieutenant Steve Watson, began driving evasively to avoid him.

After heading north on California Street from the gas station, the driver turned west on West Henderson Street and then made a quick southbound swerve onto Union Street. The cop observed the SUV slide through the intersection of Union and West Russ Street, striking the curb and travelling over it on West Russ and into the yard of a residence on the 400 block. The vehicle kept driving westbound through the yard and back on West Russ Street.

The SUV accelerated through a stop sign at West Russ and Albee Street, at which point the patrolman activated his overhead emergency lights and attempted to stop the suspect for reckless driving, as the Isuzu was travelling at an estimated 40 to 50 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood. The suspect just kept on driving through the intersection with South Spring Street, where he turned south; he continued to ignore the cop’s siren and blew through the stop sign at Spring and West Harris Street and headed south on Elizabeth Street.

Just after the intersection of Elizabeth and West Everding Street, the driver braked suddenly in the middle of the roadway, after which he and his passenger jumped from the vehicle was it was still moving. The male driver fled west on foot through the yard of a nearby residence, while the female passenger fell to her knees in the same yard. The unmanned SUV kept rolling and went over a curb and onto the raised concrete porch of a residence on the 3200 block of Elizabeth Street, where it damaged three ceramic flower pots and two plastic flower pots on or near the porch.

Zachary Scott

Upon questioning by EPD, the passenger identified the driver as “Zach” and upon a records search crosschecked with the Isuzu’s license plate, the cops came up with a prior police contact where a Zachary Scott had been associated with the vehicle. The 31-year-old man was noted to be on active parole from state prison through the Californa Department of Corrections.

By this point, an EPD K-9 team arrived on scene to track down the suspect, and canine unit “Jimmy” alerted to a nearby residence, where Scott was taken into custody at about 3 a.m. According to the unnamed resident, Scott had entered the home through a window, although the suspect claimed to be an acquaintance of the resident. After CHP responded to take a traffic collision report, the SUV was towed from the scene, and the uninjured passenger was released without charges.

Scott remains in Humboldt County jail on charges of felony evading, resisting arrest, hit and run, driving on an expired license and violation of his parole.

Lance Henry of Fortuna allegedly became violently resistant to cops

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

It’s a new year, but the same old tensions persist between the Eureka Police Department and some elements within Occupy Eureka.

Five arrests just today have reignited what law enforcement and local elected officials see as a public safety hazard at the county seat; Occupy Eureka ringleaders, on the other hand, see this as a continuing campaign to silence their protest, and have called a Monday press conference to expose an “unlawful government conspiracy.”

At about 1:42 a.m. this morning, an EPD patrolman traveling eastbound on Fifth Street was passing the Humboldt County Courthouse when he noticed the American flag and California Republic flag being lowered on the flagpole located at the front lawn near the corner of Fifth and I Street. The flagpole is also behind the chain link fence and “No Trespassing” signs erected by the County over a month ago to keep the Occupy Eureka protestors from re-establishing their encampment — an unpermitted campsite which county staff alleges to have done significant damage to the front lawn which requires restoration.

When the cop parked his patrol car and walked up to the six-foot fence to investigate, he saw on the other side a suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Lance Henry of Fortuna, standing at the base of the flagpole holding both flags, still attached to the line on the flagpole. According to a press statement by sergeant Adam Laird, the officer asked Henry what he was doing, and was told that he was putting up his own flag. After the unnamed public servant told Henry to put the flags back up, Henry refused and allegedly said “you think you can control me.”

Lance Henry

After that, according to the EPD narrative, Henry removed the flags from the line and put them on the ground, and then Henry affixed a homemade cardboard sign to the line while stepping on the American flag. As other EPD personnel arrived on scene, two of them entered the fenced off area and walked towards Henry’s location — which didn’t come unexpectedly, as several individuals from the area of the Occupy Eureka protest site began yelling warnings to Henry that the cops were approaching.

Upon contacting Henry and attempting to arrest him for trespassing, the suspect allegedly became violently resistant towards the cops, and after a short struggle in which a third EPD officer became involved, they were able to take Henry into custody. He was booked on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest using violence, and due to his violent resistance in accordance with EPD policy, Henry was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital for medical clearance before being incarcerated in county jail.

Accounts differ between the EPD and members of Occupy Eureka on what Henry’s connection was to their protest; the proprietor of Occupy Eureka’s Facebook page (who refuses to be identified) calls the suspect “a man that no one present seemed to recognize” and that his sign read “Yaweh,” a term with no apparent connection to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Occupy Eureka participate Sarah Jones-Jurado later alleged on Facebook that “someone was tazed for flying a peace flag.”

Law enforcement’s version of events claim that Henry, when interviewed after his arrest, said he was “moved” to join Occupy Eureka, and that these protestors provided him with cardboard and a marker to make his sign upon his arrival. Henry also allegedly claimed, when asked why he violently resisted arrest, that law enforcement didn’t have “any authority” over him.

All these events transpired shortly after four arrests took place for illegal camping at the Occupy Eureka protest site. EPD had visited the county courthouse at 12:46 a.m. on Friday to respond to numerous complaints of camping on county property, and the cops say they found nine subjects camping underneath the courthouse steps. According to Laird, several of the subjects stated that they were misled by undisclosed persons associated with Occupy Eureka that it was lawful to camp at the courthouse. All of these individuals were issued citations for unlawfully camping in public, and were advised that they were subject to arrest if they attempted to lodge themselves on the courthouse property.

EPD followed through on the threat, and at 12:53 a.m. on Saturday morning, law enforcement converged on the courthouse to arrest four campers who allegedly were “unlawfully lodging” at the courthouse. Laird identified the arrested as 23-year-old Daniel Mattheis of Arcata, 47-year-old James Turner of Eureka, 25-year-old Leroy Abernathy of Bremerton, Washington and 39-year-old Loyd Smith of La Crescenta.

Occupy Eureka claims the four were arrested for “being in sleeping bags” and that EPD told one occupier that they were going to start arresting people again because the camping tickets “aren’t working.”

Kim "Verbena Lea" Starr

Even though it was denied in the past that Kim Starr (who goes by the pen name ‘Verbena Lea’) was a spokesperson for Occupy Eureka, a press conference has been set for Monday at 1 p.m. where Starr will speak on behalf of Occupy Eureka. She claims in a statement posted on Facebook that she will confront a “Secret & Outrageous Premise for Police Actions Against Non-Violent Protesters” through documents she claims to have discovered.

Starr/Verbena has at various times accused virtually every local law enforcement agency, the county, the cities of Arcata and Eureka, most local media outlets (including the Sentinel) and even the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of engaging in various conspiracies against her and her various associated groups. In a possibly related devel0pment, Occupy Eureka also claims that several of their posts on Facebook have mysteriously vanished.

Daniel Mattheis

James Turner

Leroy Abernathy

Loyd Smith

Sheriffs net 33 pounds of hash, 124 pounds of pot and seven suspects

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

On their way to serve a warrant on one set of suspects in a remote Southern Humboldt County ranch, local, state and federal law enforcement personnel stumbled their way into a major bust on a completely different property.

In the Tooby Ranch area outside of Garberville at 2:30 p.m. yesterday, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office had been looking to scope out landowner Joshua Sweet when they found a well-developed hash-making factory on a nearby property.

In cooperation with federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and personnel from the California Department of Fish and Game, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force bagged 33 pounds of hash, 124 pounds of drying marijuana bud, trim and shake and 38 growing marijuana plants. The cops also found three rifles and one handgun on scene.

Colin Schilling

Justin Henseth

In the course of their investigation, seven suspects were found at the has factory and arrested for cultivation and possession of marijuana for sales, and for being armed in the commission of a felony. In addition to 29-year-old Justin W. Henseth of Washington State and 22-year-old Colin M. Schilling of Salem, Oregon, five others have had immigration holds placed on them, preventing them from skipping out on bail. These five suspected illegal immigrants include 34-year-old Melicio Gaona-Bran, 23-year-old Alfonso Ozozco-Zepeda, 19-year-old Oscar Vargas-Riveria, 24-year-old Jesus Gaona-Bran and 29-year-old Alejandro Gaona-Bran.

Investigation into this case continues by the HSCO, who can be reached at (707) 445-7251.

Alejandro Gaonabran

Oscar Vargasrivera

Alfonso Orozoco-Zepeda

Melecio Gaonabran

Jesus Gaonabran

Siblings Richard and Ashley Myers now in county jail

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A brother and sister from Orleans are in the clink in downtown Eureka after a brutal stabbing in rural northeastern Humboldt County.

At about 10:30 p.m. last night, personnel from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office assigned to the Hoopa area were dispatch to a reported stabbing near the 37000 block of State Route 96 in Orleans. At a home there they found a 30-year-old man lying in pain on a couch with a severe laceration wound on his lower back, for which he was treated by emergency medical technicians who arrived on scene.

The unnamed victim told deputies that he was visiting the home of a friend when he heard a loud commotion outside and went to investigate. In the area of the Orleans Senior Center, the victim said he heard the noise of people yelling and was walking in that direction when an attacker leapt out of the bushes and lunged at him, striking the victim in the head and knocking him to the ground. As the victim tried to get up and run away, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and when he got back to his friend’s house, he discovered that he had been stabbed in the back.

HCSO personnel continued their investigation and collection of evidence, and in doing so, they zeroed in on a suspect, 20-year-old Richard Myers, who lived nearby at a residence at the end of Asip Lane.  The unnamed victim said he did not know why Myers had attacked him. When deputies arrived at Myers’ residence and knocked on the door, Myers attempted to run out of the back door of the home, according to a press statement by lieutenant George Cavinta.

An HCSO deputy covering the back portion of the home allegedly saw Myers exit the home with a rifle of undetermined make and model. Myers was ordered by the cop to drop to the ground and the suspect complied; he was taken into custody without further resistance, and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, violating his conditions of probation and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Further interviews by law enforcement led to the arrest of the suspect’s 19-year-old sister, Ashley Myers of Orleans, who was charged with being an accessory to the crime. Both are in Humboldt County jail awaiting arraignment.

Details on the condition of the victim are unknown as of press time, although he was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Members of the public with further information regarding this assault are asked to call the HSCO at (707) 445-7251 or their Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Chris Mell led Sheriff’s Deputies on a high speed chase earlier this week

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

With the crucial assistant of a canine, an escaped parolee and his alleged accomplice are spending the night in the clink.

Fortuna resident Christopher Glen Mell, 30, had evaded the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in a vehicle earlier this week, and the convicted felon was also suspected of illegally possessing a firearm.

At about 4:20 p.m. today, a Fortuna Police Department detective received a tip from the Rio Dell Police Department concerning this wanted suspect, suggesting that he was at a home located at 129 Basayo Village in Fortuna.

Uniformed FPD patrol officers, along with FPD Investigation Unit detectives responded to the residence, and immediately noticed movement within a bedroom of the residence, although verbal contact with the occupants could not be established. Just afterwards, a motorist arrived at the apartment complex and told police he had responded there at Mell’s request to transport him.

With the aid of state parole agents, RDPD and HCSO deputies, law enforcement secured a perimeter around the apartment, while FPD called in sergeant Jason Kadle, their K-9 handler, to bring in ‘Zorro’ to find Mell, and after getting permission over the phone from the apartment tenant to enter, officers attempted to contact Mell at the front door.

Still refusing to communicate with the police, the officers made several verbal commands — as did their K-9 dog, whose barked notifications of his “intent to enter” apparently motivated the occupants to announce themselves and surrender, according to a press statement by sergeant Aaron Starcher.

First to be arrested was 25-year-old Fortuna resident Angela King, who was wanted on a felony arrest warrant; soon afterwards, Mell came forward and was taken into custody without further incident. Both were transported to county jail.

“When law enforcement agencies are willing to come together, share information and provide mutual aid the outcome is generally positive for the communities in which we serve,” Starcher stated. “With the assistance of each of these allying agencies we were able to make the city of Fortuna a safer place tonight and do it in a manner that was the safest for our officers. The implementation of the K-9 program at the Fortuna Police Department has once again proven to be an effective resource for our officers with assisting them I the apprehension of potentially dangerous suspects.”

Great Wall of McKinley promised, along with more “uncomfortable” policing

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Arcata will not be a welcoming place to celebrate the birth of the year 2012.

This much was clear from a somewhat vague press release issued from City Hall this afternoon, where the Arcata Police Department will be encouraging a “safe and happy New Year” by cracking down on any display of excessive celebratory cheer in and around the Arcata Plaza.

Among the extraordinary measures, taken without any specific resolution of the City Council, is a gigantic cordon walling off the center of the Plaza, traditionally a point of public gathering, speechifying and protest for decades — especially pre-1990s when a dias of steps surrounded the statue of U.S. President William McKinley, now covered up by planter boxes installed for crowd control purposes. APD chief Tom Chapman promises that entry into the central area of the Plaza will be strictly prohibited and any who approach the statue of McKinley — a President widely condemned for launching an imperialist war which led to the deaths of over 200,000 Filipinos — will be subject to immediate arrest.

“The destruction that occurred on Halloween cannot be tolerated,” Chapman stated, referring to an unruly crowd of Humboldt State University students who vandalized the Plaza area two months ago — an event unlikely to occur when students are away on winter break.

APD promises to step up its presence on the Plaza, and call in other local law enforcement agencies — at great expense to the City — to perform additional patrols and interrogate local residents as to the contents of their bags, purses and backpacks to ensure that no alcohol, glass containers or fireworks are present.

“While some people may be uncomfortable with the increased police presence, the safety of the citizens and officers and the protection of property certainly will require more stringent enforcement,” Chapman stated.

Police promise to arrest anyone discharging fireworks, consuming alcohol or carrying glass containers, emphasizing that all laws will be strictly enforced.