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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested after a police officer found him in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine during a traffic stop.

Ivan Magallon Escalera, 24, was arrested on Friday, Feb. 22, for a number of drug charges, according to Sgt. Elvis Cook of the Clearlake Police Department.

At 10:40 p.m. that day Officer Mauricio Barreto conducted a traffic stop in the 5600 block of Old Highway 53, pulling over a vehicle driven by Escalera, Cook said.

Cook said that during the incident, Officer Barreto located a significant quantity of methamphetamine in Escalera's vehicle, which was later determined to be approximately 30.3 grams.

Escalera also was in possession of a replica firearm that was modified to look real, Cook said.

Escalera was arrested for possession of methamphetamine for sales, transportation of methamphetamine for sales, false compartment in a vehicle, altering a imitation firearm and a probation violation, according to Cook.

Escalera was later booked into the Lake County Jail. He remained in custody on Friday on a no-bail hold.

Two immediate questions that trust beneficiaries want answered are what do I receive, and when do I receive it.

For answers we look first to the trust.

Trusts typically provide that most, if not all, of the trust estate – i.e., all the trust assets – shall be divided into separate shares for each of the beneficiaries.

The shares may be equal or unequal. Other distributions may involve monetary bequests and specific gifts of real and/or personal property.

For example a trust may say, “Upon my death, the trust estate shall be divided into equal shares: one share for each surviving child of mine and one share for each deceased child of mine with issue who survive me.”

Applied to a deceased settlor with two surviving children and one deceased child who leaves three surviving children, the trust estate is divided into three equal shares; the three grandchildren share their deceased parent’s share.

Next, when is each share to be distributed?

If the Trust says that distributions “shall be made upon the settlor’s death” then the trustee must distribute the shares in the normal course of the trust administration – the word “shall” means “must.”

Distribution of the trust estate only occurs after the trustee has paid – or has kept a reserve to pay – all trust administration expenses and all the decedent’s reasonably foreseeable legal debts and taxes, both owed and anticipated.

The trustee must wait until such foreseeable expenses, debts and taxes are ascertained to avoid personal liability due to premature or excessive distributions.

Distributions do not always occur after the settlor’s death. Sometimes a trust provides that some or all distributions shall not occur until a certain time, requirement, or a condition, is satisfied.

For example, the trust may say that distributions shall occur in stages, such as, one-half once the beneficiary reaches 30 years of age, and the balance when the beneficiary reaches 40 years of age.

Sometimes the trust gives the trustee discretion to withhold distribution of either part or all of a beneficiary’s share.

For example, the frust may provide that if compelling circumstances exist that would justify withholding the beneficiary’s inheritance – e.g., the beneficiary has judgement debts, a pending divorce, or suffers from drug addiction – then the trustee may withhold the beneficiary’s inheritance while such circumstances exist.

During the withholding period the trust may allows the trustee utilize the withheld assets to make certain payments on the beneficiary’s behalf, like paying for drug rehabilitation.

Next, how is the distribution made? Trust instruments may provide that assets must be sold, must be distributed in-kind, or may either be sold or distributed in-kind as the Trustee sees fit.

Recently, in the Trolan v. Trolan appellate court decision, California’s Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, held that where the trust allows the trustee discretion on whether to liquidate or to distribute assets in-kind, the trustee’s decision must be respected by the court.

With in-kind distributions a beneficiary may either receive an undivided partial ownership or an exclusive ownership of an asset. Unless beneficiaries receive the same percentage each distributed asset – a pro rata distribution – as their percentage share in the trust estate the trustee will have to value assets for distribution purposes.

For example, consider a trust estate with a residence worth $300,000, stocks worth $200,000 and $100,000 on deposit to be divided equally between two children.

If non pro rata distributions are allowed, usually the case, the trustee may distribute the residence to one child and the other assets to the other child; each receives $300,000 in value.

The foregoing simplified example ignores the income tax effect of distributing assets on a non-pro rata basis.

When the trust does not answer these, or other, trust administration questions the trustee, or beneficiary, often petitions the court for instructions, and significant legal expenses are incurred. Having a well drafted trust that addresses the important issue helps to prevent going to court.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com.

Astronomers using the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, along with older data from the Voyager 2 probe, have revealed more about the origin of Neptune’s smallest moon.

The moon, which was discovered in 2013 and has now received the official name Hippocamp, is believed to be a fragment of its larger neighbour Proteus.

A team of astronomers, led by Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute, have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study the origin of the smallest known moon orbiting the planet Neptune, discovered in 2013.

“The first thing we realised was that you wouldn’t expect to find such a tiny moon right next to Neptune’s biggest inner moon,” said Mark Showalter.

The tiny moon, with an estimated diameter of only about 34 km, was named Hippocamp and is likely to be a fragment from Proteus, Neptune’s second-largest moon and the outermost of the inner moons.

Hippocamp, formerly known as S/2004 N 1, is named after the sea creatures of the same name from Greek and Roman mythology.

The orbits of Proteus and its tiny neighbour are incredibly close, at only 12 000 km apart. Ordinarily, if two satellites of such different sizes coexisted in such close proximity, either the larger would have kicked the smaller out of orbit or the smaller would crash into the larger one.

Instead, it appears that billions of years ago a comet collision chipped off a chunk of Proteus. Images from the Voyager 2 probe from 1989 show a large impact crater on Proteus, almost large enough to have shattered the moon.

“In 1989, we thought the crater was the end of the story,” said Showalter. “With Hubble, now we know that a little piece of Proteus got left behind and we see it today as Hippocamp.”

Hippocamp is only the most recent result of the turbulent and violent history of Neptune’s satellite system. Proteus itself formed billions of years ago after a cataclysmic event involving Neptune’s satellites.

The planet captured an enormous body from the Kuiper belt, now known to be Neptune’s largest moon, Triton.

The sudden presence of such a massive object in orbit tore apart all the other satellites in orbit at that time. The debris from shattered moons re-coalesced into the second generation of natural satellites that we see today.

Later bombardment by comets led to the birth of Hippocamp, which can therefore be considered a third-generation satellite.

“Based on estimates of comet populations, we know that other moons in the outer Solar System have been hit by comets, smashed apart, and re-accreted multiple times,” noted Jack Lissauer of NASA’s Ames Research Center, California, USA, a coauthor of the new research. “This pair of satellites provides a dramatic illustration that moons are sometimes broken apart by comets.”

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Woodside man died on Thursday evening when his pickup crashed and went into Clear Lake.

David James Killilea, 64, died in the wreck near Clearlake Oaks, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office issued a Friday report on the crash that explained that at approximately 5:28 p.m. Thursday Killilea was driving his 2006 Chevrolet pickup westbound on Highway 20, west of Island Drive, when the pickup veered onto the highway’s north shoulder and up an embankment.

The CHP said the pickup continued out of control and traveled back onto Highway 20, hitting a stone wall on the south side of the roadway.

The pickup broke through the stone wall and overturned into Clear Lake, according to the CHP.

The CHP said Killilea died at the scene.

Reports from the scene stated that passersby had attempted to help pull Killilea from the vehicle.

Killilea, who was wearing a seat belt, was trapped in the upside down vehicle. It took firefighters more than two hours to extricate him, based on radio reports.

The CHP said on Friday that it was unknown if alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.

The cause of this crash is under investigation, the CHP said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council voted on Thursday night to buy several new pieces of equipment to bolster its road repair and building program.

Four of the pieces of equipment – an asphalt recycler, asphalt hot box, asphalt crack sealer and vactor trailer – are expected to total approximately $283,821.40, with the council adding some additional funds to purchase a fifth piece of equipment, an infrared pavement heater.

The funds for the purchases will come from the city’s Measure V one-cent sales tax, which is giving the city about $2 million annually for road work, according to City Manager Greg Folsom. The equipment is anticipated to save the city employee time and money.

The it begins at 1:32:14 in the video above.

Folsom took the proposed purchases to the council. “I’m very excited about it,” he said of the equipment.

Folsom explained that the city uses “cold patch” asphalt repair for patching potholes. The problem is that it only lasts a couple of weeks, less if the weather is bad. As a result, it’s not very cost-effective or a good use of staff time.

Because there isn’t an asphalt factory closer than an hour and a half away, Folsom said city road crews can’t haul in hot asphalt before it gets cold.

A few weeks ago, city staff, as well as council members Dirk Slooten and Russ Cremer, saw a demo of the equipment, Folsom said.

Folsom said the asphalt recycler takes scrap asphalt – such as the 20,000 yards of asphalt grindings the city already has, as well as the scrap asphalt it has a contract to get from future roadwork projects – and adds an emulsifier, puts it in the recycler and creates brand new, hot asphalt.

That asphalt is then put in a hot box, which keeps it hot all day. “This hot asphalt is going to make a much better patch. It’s going to last much longer,” possibly for several years, Folsom said.

The asphalt crack sealer is a very high pressure air nozzle that cleans out the cracks in asphalt. A substance which Folsom described as a polymer asphalt is used to seal the cracks in the road.

When cracks develop in roads, moisture gets in and can deteriorate the surface. Folsom said sealing the asphalt helps get more life out of the roads.

The vactor trailer uses high pressure water to clean out inlets, creating mud that it can then be sucked out with a high suction tool. He said it saves employees from having to dig out inlets.

Folsom also asked the council to waive the competitive bidding process, explaining that they couldn’t get three bids for each piece of equipment.

“This is not a commodity. These are specialized types of products,” he said, explaining that staff researched them and found what they believed fit the bill best.

Cremer brought up an infrared pavement heater that had been mentioned at the demo. That wasn’t part of the proposed equipment purchase as initially put forward at the meeting Thursday.

Public Works Superintendent Mike Baker, who put the quotes for the equipment together, said the infrared pavement heater was priced at under $20,000. Cremer said he wanted it added to the purchase.

Slooten asked if the city can lease the equipment. Assistant City Manager Alan Flora said there is a government lease program but staff felt the best way forward was to purchase the equipment. That answer satisfied Slooten.

Flora added that he recalled the infrared unit being priced at about $10,000.

“I think this is going to be a real solution,” said Councilman Phil Harris.

Harris asked about the equipment emissions. Baker said all of the pieces of the equipment are tier four diesel engines, which have the strictest Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards for off-highway diesel engines.

Slooten moved to authorize Folsom signing the purchase order for the equipment, with authorization for up to an additional 10 percent to cover the infrared unit, and waiving of the competitive bidding. Cremer seconded and the council approved the motion unanimously.

“Thank you, council, we’re all very excited about this,” said Folsom, leading a round of applause.

“You’ve got all the tools, all the goodies,” said Slooten.

Baker said the city has a great crew. “We are going to get out there and we are going to take care of business and make you guys proud,” he told the council.

Then, turning to the audience, and referring to the larger Clearlake community, Baker said, “We’re going to be doing this for all of you guys as well.”

Also on Thursday, the council presented a proclamation honoring the Lower Lake High School Cheerleading Team for its win last week at the JAMZ nationwide competition, honored Neickol Cook for her efforts at city cleanup, heard the annual Clear Lake Chamber report and received an update on Adventist Health’s Safe Rx and Leave It Behind Program.

The council also approved assessments totaling $52,327 for five CalRecycle-funded abatements, heard a presentation from the Lake Economic Development Corp. on the Path to Prosperity Economic Strategy and expressed initial support for a $10,000 contribution to the organization in the coming fiscal year.

Following an extended discussion, council members also expressed interest in working with another organization – should one come forward – through a memorandum of understanding for the future use for the homeless of a shower trailer that is being donated to the city by the Lake Area Rotary Club.

The trailer was purchased with funds that were donated to make the city’s senior and community center an evacuation center. The majority of the council members only supported using it for the homeless under strict guidelines to be established under an agreement.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A single-vehicle crash on Thursday evening resulted in a reported fatality and an extended closure of Highway 20.

The wreck involved a pickup that went over the stone wall on Highway 20 west of Island Drive outside of Clearlake Oaks just before 5:30 p.m.

The vehicle was reported to have hit the embankment and lost control before going into Clear Lake, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Firefighters arriving on the scene found the pickup upside down in the water with one person trapped inside and several people trying to help rescue the crash victim. A firefighter was reported to have gone into the vehicle to attempt to locate the occupant.

At 5:40 p.m., Northshore Fire reported that they had located a victim but were having trouble pulling the person from the vehicle, and an air ambulance was requested. CalStar 4 accepted and was set to arrive after 6 p.m.

However, at about 5:50 p.m., the air ambulance was canceled and work to recover the victim continued.

Just before 7:30 p.m., the victim’s body was reported to have been extricated from the pickup, according to radio reports.

Meantime, the crash and the emergency response closed down Highway 20. Traffic was reported to have been backed up for miles in both directions, with drivers trying to find ways around the closure on nearby roads, including Lake Street and Widgeon Way.

The CHP reported that Highway 20 was completely reopened at 10 p.m.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.