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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges for an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant last month.
Giovanni Madrigal-Rincon, 19, was in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon, at which time his defense attorney, Ed Savin, entered not guilty pleas to all counts and denied all special allegations.
Prosecutor Art Grothe said Madrigal-Rincon is facing 11 counts and three special allegations for the armed robbery, which occurred on March 27 at the Clearlake Jack in the Box restaurant on Dam Road.
Madrigal-Rincon is charged with two counts of kidnapping for the purpose of robbery, three counts of robbery, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of assault with a firearm, one count of resisting or delaying a peace officer, and three special allegations for being armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, personal use of a firearm and having been released on his own recognizance.
The Clearlake Police Department’s report on the incident said that officers responded to the Jack in the Box just before 2 a.m. March 27 after a lone masked gunman took three employees at gunpoint, forcing one of them to take him to a safe in the building.
The robber took an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing in a silver four-door vehicle, police said.
At around 7 a.m., police located Madrigal-Rincon at a hotel in the city, taking him into custody after a short foot pursuit. At that time, police said he was wearing the same clothes and was in possession of a shotgun that resembled the one used in the robbery.
Police said at the time of Madrigal-Rincon’s arrest, the bulk of the money stolen was not located.
On Tuesday Judge Stephen Hedstrom set Madrigal-Rincon’s preliminary hearing for April 16.
At that time, there also will be coordination and a hearing of another pending case against Madrigal-Rincon, who is charged with discharge of firearm in grossly negligent manner and giving false information to officer in an incident that occurred on Sept. 8, 2016. That case is scheduled for trial on May 16, Grothe said.
Jail records show that Madrigal-Rincon is being held on $2.2 million bail.
On Tuesday, Savin said he wanted a bail study and review, which Hedstrom declined to do at that point, noting it will be up for review in the future.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
COBB, Calif. – A 3.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Cobb area early Saturday morning.
The quake was reported at 12:37 a.m. Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.
The survey said the quake was centered two miles west southwest of Cobb, three miles northeast of The Geysers geothermal steamfield and fives miles northwest of Anderson Springs, just inside the Lake County border.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of half a mile.
As of 3 a.m., the survey had received 15 shake reports, several of them coming from Kelseyville, Middletown and Lower Lake. Reports also came in from Calistoga, Saint Helena, Winters and Grass Valley.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The quake was reported at 12:37 a.m. Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.
The survey said the quake was centered two miles west southwest of Cobb, three miles northeast of The Geysers geothermal steamfield and fives miles northwest of Anderson Springs, just inside the Lake County border.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of half a mile.
As of 3 a.m., the survey had received 15 shake reports, several of them coming from Kelseyville, Middletown and Lower Lake. Reports also came in from Calistoga, Saint Helena, Winters and Grass Valley.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Sunday marks the six-month anniversary of the beginning of the most destructive wildfires in California history burned and destroyed thousands of homes, and officials said there are signs of rebuilding and progress.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said there are cleared lots and frames of new homes in the areas like Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the October North Bay fires.
A large part of facilitating recovery started with the removal of debris, lots of debris. In the first phase of the debris removal efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency and California Department of Toxic Substances Control collected household hazardous waste throughout seven Northern California counties.
Through coordination with California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and in close partnership with FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. EPA, Cal EPA and CalRecycle, all major work for the removal of fire and ash debris has now been completed in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma and Yuba counties.
So far, nearly 1.7 million tons of debris, across all seven counties, has been removed, FEMA reported.
Since the Oct. 10 disaster declaration, nearly 4,500 households have been approved for FEMA individual assistance, for a total of more than $15.7 million.
Of this amount, more than $9.6 million has been approved for housing assistance that can assist with home repairs or replacement, rental assistance to be used to find another place to live temporarily while repairs are being made to their home and more than $6.1 million for other needs assistance.
Other needs assistance is a grant to pay for other uninsured or underinsured expenses such as disaster-related medical, dental or funeral costs or personal property losses.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is another partner agency that plays an integral role in disaster recovery. The SBA provided assistance to businesses of all sizes, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters in the form of low-interest disaster loans. The SBA has approved nearly 1,200 loans for homeowners, renters and businesses for more than $151 million.
About 640 eligible Northern California households also participated in the Transitional Sheltering Assistance, or TSA, program to stay in a hotel/motel temporarily at no cost to the survivor, because their primary residence was not safe or able to be occupied, and they could not find a viable rental option.
Currently, roughly 230 families are being housed in a FEMA-provided housing option such as an RV (travel trailers and fifth wheels), manufactured housing units or direct lease of apartments.
In this disaster, as in most, the vast majority of survivors have found their own housing solution. For the relatively small number of people who were unable to do so, a direct housing resource was a potential option for eligible survivors.
These resources are throughout multiple locations in Northern California, including Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Mendocino County, Berry Creek Rancheria RV Park in Butte County and Clear Lake Resort in Lake County as well as individual apartments and private land throughout the seven counties approved for direct housing.
More than 20 families in Mendocino County will move later this month to an RV facility at Lake Mendocino that FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked together to expand and upgrade for interim use by survivors.
Reimbursements to state and local agencies have also been awarded, under the FEMA Public Assistance program. The Public Assistance program is intended to benefit everyone — neighborhoods, cities, counties and states.
Public Assistance dollars help clean up communities affected by disaster- related debris, repair or replace infrastructure damaged by the disaster such as roads and bridges and reimburse for emergency protective measures such as overtime costs for first responders or evacuation and sheltering activities.
So far, more than $271.8 million in public assistance grants has been obligated for eligible disaster–related costs, and the coming months will see millions in additional federal and state assistance to cities, counties, utility districts and other PA recipients.
Significant recovery progress has been made over the last six months, but preparing for future disasters remains essential. Increased flood risks that follow fires will persist for several years, and survivors can increase their financial protection by buying insurance now.
For more information on flood risks after fire, visit the California Department of Water Resources for more information.
For more additional updates on California recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4344, Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion9 and www.WildfireRecovery.org.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said there are cleared lots and frames of new homes in the areas like Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the October North Bay fires.
A large part of facilitating recovery started with the removal of debris, lots of debris. In the first phase of the debris removal efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency and California Department of Toxic Substances Control collected household hazardous waste throughout seven Northern California counties.
Through coordination with California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and in close partnership with FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. EPA, Cal EPA and CalRecycle, all major work for the removal of fire and ash debris has now been completed in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma and Yuba counties.
So far, nearly 1.7 million tons of debris, across all seven counties, has been removed, FEMA reported.
Since the Oct. 10 disaster declaration, nearly 4,500 households have been approved for FEMA individual assistance, for a total of more than $15.7 million.
Of this amount, more than $9.6 million has been approved for housing assistance that can assist with home repairs or replacement, rental assistance to be used to find another place to live temporarily while repairs are being made to their home and more than $6.1 million for other needs assistance.
Other needs assistance is a grant to pay for other uninsured or underinsured expenses such as disaster-related medical, dental or funeral costs or personal property losses.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is another partner agency that plays an integral role in disaster recovery. The SBA provided assistance to businesses of all sizes, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters in the form of low-interest disaster loans. The SBA has approved nearly 1,200 loans for homeowners, renters and businesses for more than $151 million.
About 640 eligible Northern California households also participated in the Transitional Sheltering Assistance, or TSA, program to stay in a hotel/motel temporarily at no cost to the survivor, because their primary residence was not safe or able to be occupied, and they could not find a viable rental option.
Currently, roughly 230 families are being housed in a FEMA-provided housing option such as an RV (travel trailers and fifth wheels), manufactured housing units or direct lease of apartments.
In this disaster, as in most, the vast majority of survivors have found their own housing solution. For the relatively small number of people who were unable to do so, a direct housing resource was a potential option for eligible survivors.
These resources are throughout multiple locations in Northern California, including Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Mendocino County, Berry Creek Rancheria RV Park in Butte County and Clear Lake Resort in Lake County as well as individual apartments and private land throughout the seven counties approved for direct housing.
More than 20 families in Mendocino County will move later this month to an RV facility at Lake Mendocino that FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked together to expand and upgrade for interim use by survivors.
Reimbursements to state and local agencies have also been awarded, under the FEMA Public Assistance program. The Public Assistance program is intended to benefit everyone — neighborhoods, cities, counties and states.
Public Assistance dollars help clean up communities affected by disaster- related debris, repair or replace infrastructure damaged by the disaster such as roads and bridges and reimburse for emergency protective measures such as overtime costs for first responders or evacuation and sheltering activities.
So far, more than $271.8 million in public assistance grants has been obligated for eligible disaster–related costs, and the coming months will see millions in additional federal and state assistance to cities, counties, utility districts and other PA recipients.
Significant recovery progress has been made over the last six months, but preparing for future disasters remains essential. Increased flood risks that follow fires will persist for several years, and survivors can increase their financial protection by buying insurance now.
For more information on flood risks after fire, visit the California Department of Water Resources for more information.
For more additional updates on California recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4344, Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion9 and www.WildfireRecovery.org.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Friday a Little River man pleaded guilty to the February killing of the mother of his young child.
Andrew Curtis Crowningshield, 27, changed his plea, entering guilty pleas to the willful, premeditated and deliberate murder of Autumn Renee Smith, 22, of Fort Bragg on Feb. 4, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.
Crowningshield also admitted as true that he intentionally used a 9-millimeter handgun to shoot Smith multiple times, officials reported.
Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Cindee Mayfield accepted the defendant's change of plea this morning, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Officials said Crowningshield and Smith had a young child together, and that their relationship had ended more than a year prior to the shooting.
A District Attorney’s Office report said Crowningshield’s plea change averted a scheduled preliminary hearing in Mendocino County Superior Court.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, which handled the case investigation, said the shooting was reported just after 9 a.m. Feb. 4 in the 6000 block of North Highway 1 in Little River.
It was there that a man reported that he and Smith had been driving southbound on Highway 1 from Fort Bragg when they saw Crowningshield in his vehicle. Crowningshield followed them, and Smith pulled over to talk to him about their 3-year-old son and when she could pick up the child.
The report said Crowningshield shot Smith numerous times, with her friend reporting that he also was shot at before Crowningshield fled in his four-wheel-drive pickup.
Crowningshield was arrested the following morning in Elk Creek in Glenn County, where deputies took him into custody without incident, officials reported.
Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster personally handled the case. As part of the change of plea, Eyster required Crowningshield to stipulate to a state prison sentence of 50 years to life – 25 years to life for the first-degree murder plus a consecutive 25 years to life for his personal and intentional use of the firearm causing death – according to Eyster’s spokesman, Mike Geniella.
The defendant's matter was referred to the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department for a background report, Geniella said.
The 50-to-life sentence will be formally imposed by Judge Mayfield on June 7 at 9 a.m. in Department B in the Ukiah courthouse. Geniella said anybody interested in this case or this defendant is welcome to attend and watch that proceeding.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers have made another arrest this week in their ongoing battle against a rising poaching trend on the North Coast of Northern California with international connections.
CDFW arrested Taehun Kim, 52, and Taeyun Kim, 46, both of Korea, and Liu Fengxia, 37, of China for poaching more than 2,300 Dudleya succulent plants near Trinidad in Humboldt County.
Charges include illegal take of the plants and felony conspiracy, among others, officials said.
Poachers profit financially from the illegal take of Dudleya by stripping plants from sea cliffs and shipping them overseas to other countries, including Korea, China and Japan, where they are prized by some for decorative purposes, CDFW reported.
On April 4, wildlife officers intercepted and seized 1,334 of the plants in boxes on their way to be shipped overseas. An additional 1,000 Dudleya were found in the suspects’ hotel room during the service of the search warrant.
The overseas market value of the plants is between $40 to $50 per plant, resulting in a conservative value estimate of over $90,000.
The removal of Dudleya can result in environmental degradation of habitat and a destabilization of bluffs and cliffs on the coastline. Illegal harvesting is also alarming because California hosts a number of Dudleya species and subspecies that are rare or at risk of extinction.
CDFW enforcement initially identified this trend earlier this year, in part, after determining that a man was shipping Dudleya out of a Mendocino post office to China.
In recent months near Point Arena in Mendocino County, wildlife officers cited three individuals for a series of misdemeanor violations including illegal take and trespassing.
The charges were elevated by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office to felony conspiracy and grand theft, based upon the value of stolen plants.
On Jan. 29, one man was apprehended with approximately 50 succulents, and on March 6, two men were cited after being apprehended with 1,400 succulents.
Authorities said the individual in the January incident pleaded guilty to the illegal take of plants and received a sentence that included three years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 240 hours of community service. The March case is pending.
“We have seen a remarkable amount of concern over this from botanists and the public alike,” said CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of Law Enforcement David Bess. “A public tip started this investigation and ultimately uncovered an international conspiracy to poach Dudleya succulents and ship them overseas for profit. A critical part of the Department’s mission is to protect and manage California’s diverse fish, wildlife and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public.”
Law enforcement personnel from the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and East Bay Regional Parks, in addition to representatives of the California Native Plant Society, or CNPS, U.C. Santa Cruz Botany Department and local citizens, assisted with the investigation.
CDFW personnel have replanted the seized succulents in the areas where taken whenever possible with assistance from CNPS and U.C. Santa Cruz botany experts.
Anyone who believes they are witness to unlawful poaching or pollution activity is encouraged to call CalTIP, CDFW’s confidential secret witness program, at 888-334-2258 or send a text to tip411.
Both methods allow the public to provide wildlife officers with factual information to assist with investigations.
Callers may remain anonymous, if desired, and a reward can result from successful capture and prosecution.
Unlike some other states, particularly Delaware, California does not allow so-called “silent trusts” – trusts that limit the disclosure to trust beneficiaries of the existence, terms, assets, liabilities and administration of an existing trust.
Nevertheless, some trustees subject to California law still fail to notify death beneficiaries and heirs on the death of a settlor, and also fail to report and account to the trust beneficiaries even though required to do so.
Beneficiaries and heirs, therefore, do well to consult an attorney regarding their legal rights, when these rights take effect, and what they can do to enforce them.
While a settlor of a revocable living trust is alive and competent – can amend or revoke his or her trust – the trustee’s duty to report and account is owed to the settlor alone.
The trustee does not have to disclose anything to the death beneficiaries or settlor’s heirs. The settlor’s death or incapacity to amend or revoke the trust, however, makes the living trust irrevocable.
Once irrevocable, the beneficiaries can request a copy of the trust and information about its assets, liabilities and administration to the extent such is relevant to their own beneficial interest in the trust estate.
The trustee must then provide a statutory notice to the deceased settlor’s surviving beneficiaries and all heirs, including disinherited heirs.
The notice tells the recipient that he or she is entitled to request a complete copy of the trust, who and how to contact the trustee, and the time limitation to contest the trust.
A trustee who fails to provide such notice is legally responsible for all damages, attorney fees, and costs caused by the failure unless the trustee has made a diligent effort to comply with the notice requirement.
A beneficiary or heir may then sue the trustee for any breach of trust, and petition for a trust accounting replacement of the trustee.
Furthermore, the trustee must then keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed as to the trust’s ongoing administration.
Sometimes, in order to protect legal rights, a beneficiary may need to pursue legal remedies during the settlor’s lifetime.
In Drake v Pinkham (2013) 217 CA4th 400, a daughter lost her right to contest her disinheritance because she waited until after her mother died.
Even though she had believed that her mother was incompetent while alive she waited until after she had died. The delay prevented the mother’s capacity to amend her trust from being examined.
If some or all of a decedent’s trust estate is held in further trust for the lifetime of a beneficiary this can create tension between the current beneficiary and the future beneficiaries who stand to receive what remains.
Consider the deceased husband who leaves his or her estate in further trust to his surviving wife from a second marriage, for her lifetime benefit.
The trust provides the surviving wife with all the trust income and for the possible invasion of principal if necessary, but only if the surviving spouse has exhausted her own resources.
The deceased husband names his wife as trustee and his own children as the future beneficiaries.
The wife as trustee does not have to account to the children during her lifetime. The children may, however, be concerned that their stepmother is disregarding the terms of the trust and taking more than she is allowed, to the detriment of the children.
What rights have the children?
The children are entitled to a copy of their deceased father’s trust, at his death, and to request information from their stepmother regarding trust administration as relevant to their future beneficial.
If no reports are provided or reports show a likely breach of trust then the children can object to the report and can petition to compel an accounting and for trustee to be replaced.
Trustees are more often motivated to fulfill their duties, get compensated and avoid litigation. If a beneficiary nevertheless confronts the issues discussed above they need a qualified attorney to review their situation, and provide specific legal guidance and representation.
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