News

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault, human trafficking and related crimes.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday a Lakeport man was sentenced to prison for human trafficking as the result of a plea agreement he reached in October with the District Attorney’s Office, a deal that two of his victims objected to as far too lenient and asked the judge to reject.

Sam Lindsey Massette, 37, was sentenced to the upper term of 20 years for two counts of human trafficking for the purposes of prostitution and two counts of pimping women in prostitution, and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Judge Michael Lunas, who handed down the sentence, explained in court that, with credits and time served, Massette is expected to serve about nine years in prison.

In victim impact statements read in court, two of Massette’s victims objected to the plea agreement.

“I spit on this plea deal. My justice has been stolen,” wrote a young woman who also stated that the District Attorney’s Office had made her promises in the case that were broken.

Judge Lunas concluded he had little latitude in the matter and that it ultimately was up to the district attorney to decide how to prosecute a case.

Massette and his wife, 28-year-old Krystina Marie Pickersgill, were arrested on June 5 on allegations of selling teenage girls into prostitution in the Bay Area, as Lake County News has reported.

Investigation into the allegations began two months before the arrests after a young woman who had been one of the couple’s victims approached District Attorney Don Anderson following a production in Lakeport of the play “Jane Doe in Wonderland,” a play written for young adults that explains how victims are lured into human trafficking.

Following the couple’s arrests, more victims came forward and were added to the case, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Altogether, Massette and Pickersgill were charged with 10 counts the included human trafficking, pimping and pandering for their crimes against five young women, identified as Jane Does one through five in court records.

However, it was explained in court on Tuesday that the plea agreement involved four charges for only four of the victims.

The charging documents said Massette and Pickersgill posted Internet ads to solicit sex with the victims, transported them to San Francisco, kept them in hotel rooms where the prostitution activities were conducted and received the money individuals paid to have sex with the victims.

Massette also was alleged to have had a prior serious felony conviction for vehicular manslaughter as a result of an incident in San Francisco in February 2002 during which he ran over and killed 16-year-old Nicholas Artola in a Safeway parking lot during a gang fight.

In October, Pickersgill reached an agreement with Anderson in which she pleaded guilty to one count of human trafficking and will receive three years of probation, credit for the four months she served in the Lake County Jail after her arrest and strict mental health treatment. She faces up to 12 years in prison if she does not complete the terms of her probation.

Anderson said he believed that when Pickersgill met Massette she was on medication for mental health issues. He said Massette took her off of the medication and coerced her into prostitution. While Anderson believed Pickersgill initially was a victim, he said she later became “a willing participant.”

Pickersgill’s plea agreement resulted in a backlash of public opinion for Anderson, with community members calling it too lenient.

Anderson said Tuesday that Pickersgill is expected to be sentenced next week.

Victims describe crimes, criticize plea agreement

Leniency would again be a concern during Massette’s Tuesday afternoon sentencing, which ran about a half hour in Lunas’ courtroom. In addition to Anderson, the hearing was attended by his successor, District Attorney-elect Susan Krones.

A District Attorney’s Office staffer read three victim impact statements which explained in stark detail what the young women suffered, their response to Massette’s sentencing and fears of retaliation.

The first statement was from a young woman who was 16 when she first met Massette. She described a problematic home life. “Sam was aware of the hard time I was having,” she said, explaining that he used it to groom her for his plans.

He gave her drugs and alcohol and, after only two weeks of knowing her, he offered her a job in San Francisco. When she went with him to San Francisco, she said he took her to a friend's house, told her to take off her clothes and began taking pornographic pictures of her.

What followed was four months of Massette selling her as a prostitute on the weekends. She said both Massette and a friend also had sex with her.

Throughout this time, the young woman said Massette kept her high on methamphetamine and alcohol. She would be an addict for several years as a result. She said she felt dirty.

She asked for the court to give Massette the maximum punishment so he can’t get out of prison and commit the same crimes again.

The second letter came from a young woman who called herself “the last Jane Doe.”

“Half a year is all it took for Sam Massette to turn my life upside down,” she said, describing how Massette shared with her his desire to create a prostitution empire. He had violent tendencies and what she called a bipolar character.

Massette, who worked as a counselor – and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology he earned from Marymount California University in 2016 – “used his profession to get inside the minds and heart of his victims, including me,” she said.

She called Massette a “monster” who has never shown compassion or mercy. “He deserves nothing. Prison is too good for him.”

The young woman also said the punishment didn’t fit the crime. “How could this sentence ever been seen as just or fair?” she asked, noting he had even victimized his own wife.

“Sam Massette made me feel like an object,” she said, explaining that when he looked at women he only saw price tags on their heads.

Had he not been caught, he would have continued his crimes, she said, adding, “This parasite deserves no mercy, no compassion and no respect.”

The third letter was from a young woman who said she was 17 when Massette and another man transported her to a cheap hotel in San Francisco, where she was subjected to one night of prostitution before she told them her self respect was not for sale.

She said she didn't know if she would be killed for refusing. “Luckily, I was unharmed.”

Over the years, she said she told people about Massette but nothing was done. However, after his June arrest, she reached out to a District Attorney’s Office investigation about her experiences and those of another young woman. She said Massette targeted children.

She voiced betrayal and anger at the plea agreement. “I was given promises in return for my cooperation,” she said. “Those promises have been broken.”

She said the prosecution has physical evidence, four victims willing to testify and yet still only offered a deal with a total 20-year term. Most disgusting to her was that she said the plea was not presented to the victims.

The young woman recounted watching a 15-year-old child cry and beg Massette not to force her to have sex with more men due to pain. Massette, in response, laughed and told the girl, “You can be done when the phone stops ringing.”

She said she spit on the deal, that her justice had been stolen. “This is not justice for a repeat offender. This is not justice for a man who killed someone and joked about it,” she said in reference to the 2002 San Francisco vehicular manslaughter case in which Massette was convicted.

The woman said Massette is a career criminal who talked openly about his criminal lifestyle, and had sports cars and mink coats.

“Please do everything in your power to give justice to the victims,” she wrote.

Judge moves forward with sentencing despite concerns of victims

Massette, who has remained in custody since his June arrest, sat facing Judge Lunas from the courtroom’s jury box while wearing a black and white jumpsuit. He was seated alongside his attorney, Tom Quinn.

Following the reading of the victim impact statements, Quinn told the court that Massette did have remorse. Quinn cited a letter Massette had submitted to the court, and added that the victims had been in contact with Massette more than 10 years ago.

Anderson countered that Massette has been on a continuing course of conduct over the past 10 years.

Lunas said he had reviewed the case. “I take issue with the representation that Mr. Massette shows remorse.”

The judge cited Massette’s own words in the letter that was included in the probation report, in which Massette claimed no one forced anyone to work with him and his wife.

“That, to the court's mind, does not recognize accountability or remorse,” and certainly not any sympathy for the harm left in Massette’s and Pickersgill’s trail, Lunas said.

In that letter, a copy of which was obtained by Lake County News, Massette said that he had fallen on hard times and that his wife, who was working as a “webcam model” and a hairdresser, was supporting him.

Yet, in the next paragraph, he wrote that no one was forced to work with his wife, but that “they were attracted to us and the life style,” and made the choice to work with them.

He said human trafficking “is something far more involved and sinister,” and that he and his wife were not a criminal organization or gang. “I feel hurt and sorry, as well as my wife Krystina about any hurt, distress, we/I had caused for anyone that was overwhelmed, or misunderstood what we were doing.” He claimed they went to great lengths to tell the women what they were doing.

“We are a loving couple unlike what has been said in the papers,” he said, adding later, “The human trafficking charges were far over blown.”

Lunas said the issue for the court was whether the plea agreement be accepted, which it had been by another judge.

That led to the question before him, specifically – whether to follow through. “There are certainly reasons not to,” Judge Lunas acknowledged, citing the harm the victims had suffered and how Massette had targeted vulnerable girls.

Lunas said it would be problematic for him to second guess the District Attorney’s Office in evaluating strengths and weaknesses of a case, noting that it’s the district attorney’s job to set aside emotion and feelings and make a determination on how to try a case. “I have a reason to believe that has occurred in this case.”

While he understood the call for additional punishment for Massette, Lunas said he didn’t believe the court had that ability at this point, and trying to take that action would start the proceedings anew, which he wasn’t willing to do.

Lunas pointed out that the court at one point would have possibly had some discretion in making the counts run consecutive rather than concurrent, which could have added another 10 years to Massette’s sentence.

Quinn pointed out that Massette and Pickersgill had given up a few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of assets, among them them, several vehicles – including two newer Jaguars – and $14,000 in cash.

Anderson countered that two vehicles were returned to the bank and the others seized were not worth as much as originally thought.

Lunas then passed sentence, denying Massette probation and ordering him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Massette also was ordered to pay a $6,000 restitution fine and several hundred dollars in court-related fines and fees.

At the same time, the remaining six counts in the complaint against Massette were dismissed by Lunas.

After the sentencing had concluded, Anderson told Lake County News he had met with some of the victims to tell them about the plea agreement.

While all of the charges against Massette could have resulted in a life sentence had he been convicted, Anderson said he didn’t think he could have won that case at trial.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday, District Attorney Don Anderson and members of his staff went before the Board of Supervisors to respond to allegations raised at a meeting last month about his use of county resources, including his vehicle and credit card, for personal uses.

The board had initially asked Anderson to respond to allegations raised by Supervisor Rob Brown at the meeting on Nov. 20, as Lake County News has reported.

Anderson said Tuesday that he had been in San Diego in the days before the Nov. 20 meeting and had gotten back on the afternoon of Nov. 19. He also said he had another appointment he didn’t want to change. He had told Lake County News last week that he didn’t return until the afternoon of Nov. 20.

Due to not being able to answer the questions raised by Brown, the board had voted on Nov. 20 to subject Anderson’s spending on training and travel to preapproval by County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson until Dec. 4 when he had another chance to appear. Had he not gone before the board on Tuesday, the spending limit could have been extended through the end of his term, which ends this month.

By the end of the discussion, the majority of the board didn’t support continuing the spending limits on Anderson.

Anderson’s successor, District Attorney-elect Susan Krones, was in the audience for the discussion.

For his Tuesday appearance before the board, Anderson provided a 117-page report for the board with spending details that his staff had compiled. He was accompanied to the meeting by his administrative coordinator Doris Lankford and Chief Investigator Bruce Smith. The introduction and summary of the report is below.

Anderson presents responses

In response to various allegations made at the last meeting Anderson said he hadn’t used his county credit card to gas up his daughters’ vehicles – that he would use his own credit card to do so while he was at gas stations using his county credit card for his county issued vehicles.

Anderson said that 2,087 gallons of gas have been used since his county car was bought in 2016, with mileage totaling 71,000 miles at an average 25 miles per gallon.

He said he’s taken on private cases for friends over the years. Anderson said state law allows him to do private cases, but he can’t do criminal cases, cases that go against county or eminent domain.

In eight years he said he’s only taken 28 days off for personal time and when he’s done private cases he’s combined trips out of county with county-related work, like a meeting with district attorneys in other counties in Napa County earlier this year regarding the Sulphur fire.

He acknowledged mixing “business with pleasure” when using the county car.

Regarding allegations about drinking and then driving his county vehicle, Anderson said, “That’s bull****.”

He said he saw Brown at Angel’s restaurant in Finley while he was there having dinner, and he accused Brown of having called the California Highway Patrol on him, which Brown later denied in the meeting. Anderson said he called CHP himself and an officer responded, giving him – at his request – a field sobriety test to provide he wasn’t inebriated.

Anderson also denied speaking with criminal defendants about their cases and said he had gone to a conference in San Diego last month to meet with four instructors with a company which is offering to provide free training on search warrants and police officer testimony in Lake County, as Anderson had told Lake County News last week.

Anderson said at one time he and Brown had been friendly and could talk. For one reason or another, “That’s gone south.”

Brown responds to Anderson’s explanations

Brown agreed the men had been friendly at one time and said it hadn’t been meant to get this far, but the situation had resulted from the failure to respond to Public Records Act requests.

He said he has an obligation to bring things forward when they are reported to the county counsel and the department. Over the years, he said he’d had 12 occasions where he had raised issues similar to this, and they didn’t all end this way.

Brown said he submitted a Public Records Act request to County Counsel Anita Grant on June 4. Grant in turn explained that he had submitted it to her and to the auditor-controller, and that she then went to Anderson’s staff to ask questions and get information.

While Anderson’s report said Brown’s efforts started when his son Steven Brown started running for district attorney earlier this year, Brown said he actually had started looking into the spending in May of 2017. He said he had tried to be careful to not do anything around the election in order to not make it political.

Brown denied Anderson’s accusation about contact his ex-wife for dirt on him, explaining that they exchanged Facebook messages at the time of the Tubbs fire, when Brown had contacted her to see how she was doing.

He also said he wasn’t mad about Anderson not firing a deputy district attorney who had made derogatory comments about his daughter-in-law. Brown had reported the issue to Anderson, along with a vandalism that individual had been involved with, and raised issue with that deputy district attorney possibly doing a favor for a friend who wasn’t prosecuted after being arrested by the CHP for felony evasion.

Brown wasn’t impressed with Anderson’s report or explanations, noting Anderson had investigated himself and found nothing. “So that’s the comfort we have in that.”

He presented a slide show showing Anderson’s vehicle parked at various bars and restaurants on specific dates to back up his assertions about Anderson drinking and driving. Brown also showed court documents and letters to the editor relating to Anderson’s doing private casework.

Brown then showed a Public Records Act request Anderson himself had filed with the county to get records of any communications between Brown and District Attorney’s Office employees, which he called “chilling” because he said it’s about retaliation. He said he would not comply with any such records request to give up employees trying to do the right thing.

Board members don’t agree to further action

Board Chair Jim Steele asked Anderson if he keeps regular office hours. Anderson said yes and no, that he tries to be there from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and he often works late and on weekends. He added that there’s actually no requirement that he ever actually show up for work.

Steele followed up by asking if Anderson had ever had a DUI or been pulled over for one. Anderson said no.

Huchingson said during the discussion that county policy is clear that county vehicles can’t be used for any private business.

Ultimately, the board as a whole didn’t support taking any further action. Both Tina Scott and Moke Simon said the board was the wrong venue to explore the concerns.

Brown made a motion to continue preapproving Anderson’s spending through the end of his term, which died for lack of a second.

Anderson said he wished there could be communications to avoid such a situation. Brown said he had asked the questions and been refused answers, which Anderson denied.

Steele said it was his decision to bring the matter forward in an effort to be transparent. Anderson said Steele did everything right, and that they needed to respond to the allegations.

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.

120418 Anderson Report to the BOS by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday Lakeport Police officers arrested a Lakeport woman for drunk driving, later finding out her blood alcohol level was five times the legal limit.

Angela Fife, 44, who has several previous DUIs on her record, was taken into custody early Tuesday evening, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said that at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday an off-duty Lakeport Police officer was driving a personal vehicle on Lakeshore Boulevard in the 2000 block when the officer saw a silver Chevrolet Impala driving south on Lakeshore Boulevard and noticed it was weaving and in the bicycle lane and on the roadway shoulder.

Rasmussen said the officer then saw the vehicle go into the opposite lane head on toward another vehicle.

Not being able to stop the Impala, the officer called in the vehicle and requested assistance for a drunk driver stop. While waiting for other LPD officers, Rasmussen said the off-duty officer continued to follow the Impala and make observations.

Rasmussen said the Impala continued to travel dangerously and in the area of South Main Street and Lupoyoma Avenue it went through a crosswalk with a pedestrian trying to cross.

On-duty officers were responding in an emergency manner in order to get into position to stop the Impala and were able to stop it in the 300 Block of Lakeport Boulevard, Rasmussen said.

The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was identified as Fife, who officers determined was in fact intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .40 percent. Rasmussen said that level is five times .08 percent, which is the limit where a person is presumed to be intoxicated while driving in California.

Because of her high blood alcohol content, Fife had to be taken to a local hospital for medical clearance before she could be booked into the jail, Rasmussen said.

After clearance, Fife was transported to the Lake County Jail and booked for driving under the influence, driving with .08 percent or more alcohol in the blood, driving with alcohol in the blood while on probation for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a driver's license suspended for a previous driving under the influence arrest, for having a third driving under the influence arrest within the past 10 years, for driving a vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock device as previously ordered by a court to insure she did not drive while under the influence and for an outstanding warrant from Sonoma County for driving with a license suspended for driving under the influence, according to Rasmussen’s report.

“We appreciate our officers’ work to remove as many intoxicated drivers as we can from our roadways and are glad this driver was not able to hurt or kill someone,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said that during the the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year season his agency tends to see increases in drunk driving.

As such, Rasmussen said the Lakeport Police Department will be increasing its efforts to arrest drunk drivers.

“We ask for the public’s assistance in being alert for drunk drivers and calling 911 to report them when observed,” he said.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – California State Senator Mike McGuire took the oath of office again on Monday in Sacramento, kicking off his second term as the North Coast’s senator as family members, friends and supporters looked on.

“Words alone cannot express our deep appreciation and gratitude. Working for and with the hard working folks of the North Coast has been the honor of my lifetime,” McGuire said. “We’re excited to get back to work protecting our coast from new offshore oil drilling, investing record amounts in our kids and public schools, making sure every Californian has access to health care, creating good jobs and building housing that is affordable to working families and seniors.”

Sen. McGuire was first elected to the State Senate to serve the North Coast, from Marin County to the Oregon border, in 2014. He was re-elected to a second four-year term in November by a margin of more than two to one.

California legislators were sworn into office on Monday during a ceremony at the State Capitol.

Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and First Lady Anne Gust Brown joined the California Museum to award the Spirit of California medal to eight Californians inducted into the 12th class of the California Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening.

The inductees of the California Hall of Fame 12th class are musician Joan Baez, mountaineer and scientist Arlene Blum, journalist Belva Davis, Chef Thomas Keller, former San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, public servant Nancy McFadden, Hollywood icon and environmentalist Robert Redford and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.

“We are honoring people who did their utmost and exceeded the ordinary,” said Gov. Brown at the ceremony. “Whatever you folks have done, don’t stop now, keep going – and I say the same thing about California.”

During the ceremony, Inductees and family members of posthumous inductees received the Spirit of California medal from the governor and first lady.

In addition to the ceremony, inductees will be commemorated with an exhibition of artifacts highlighting their lives and achievements, which opens to the public at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 at the California Museum.

This year’s recipients join 113 inspirational Californians previously inducted for making remarkable achievements across a variety of California industries and areas of influence, including science, philanthropy, sports, business, entertainment, the arts, literature, technology, activism and politics.

For more information on the California Hall of Fame, visit http://www.californiamuseum.org/california-hall-fame.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Rain, a brief midweek sunshine break and then more showers are on tap this week ahead of another cold weather system arriving in the week to come, according to the National Weather Service’s latest forecast for Lake County.

The National Weather Service said chances for light rain – up to half an inch across Lake County – and snow in higher elevations are forecast through Wednesday thanks to a weaker storm system.

A weather model produced by the National Weather Service shows rain falling most heavily in Lake County on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Winds with gusts into the 30s are forecast through Wednesday night. Heavy wind gusts occurred in the county late Monday and into early Tuesday, including on the Northshore.

On Thursday and Friday, mostly sunny conditions are predicted to return to Lake County before a new, weak weather system arrives to bring rain over the region beginning on Saturday and continuing into next week.

The forecast also calls for nighttime temperatures this week ranging between the low 30s and low 40s and daytime temperatures from the low to mid 50s.

On Sunday night, another weather system will move over Northern California and forecasters said it’s looking like it will be another cold one that could bring heavy snow to higher elevations.

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.