How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The district attorney said this week that he will not seek the death penalty for the man who killed his own father and a friend, shot a woman and a California Highway Patrol officer, and shot at several others in an October shooting rampage.
Alan Leroy Ashmore, 61, of Clearlake Oaks is facing 21 felony counts, a misdemeanor and two dozen special allegations for the shootings, gas station robbery and setting two wildland fires that occurred on the morning of Oct. 23.
Among the special allegations is one for multiple homicides, which District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News in a previous interview makes Ashmore eligible for the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.
However, this week, Anderson told Lake County News, “We will not be pursuing the death penalty.”
Anderson said of Ashmore, “He’s an old man,” who has very little criminal background before the shootings.
Ashmore is charged with killing his 85-year-old father, Douglas Ashmore, and his longtime friend, 64-year-old Richard Eugene Braden, as well as shooting Cantra Hoeck in the foot.
CHP Officer Steven Patrick arrived at the scene and met with witnesses who told him about the shootings, Anderson said.
Patrick drove on and saw Ashmore’s SUV at the intersection of Anchor Village and Keys Boulevard. Anderson said Patrick got out of his car, and that’s when Ashmore shot at him with a shotgun.
Anderson said the shotgun slug ricocheted off the CHP car’s door frame and hit Patrick’s bulletproof vest in the abdominal region.
Despite being injured by the slug’s impact, Patrick got back in his car and joined the pursuit that ultimately captured Ashmore. Patrick’s commander, Lt. Hector Paredes, has called Patrick’s actions heroic.
During the time he was at large, Ashmore shot at a number of other individuals, robbed a gas station and led authorities on a chase in which he lit two wildland fires before surrendering at a roadblock on High Valley Road.
In November Ashmore entered a not guilty plea in the case.
He was back in court on Jan. 30, at which point Anderson said his preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 22.
Anderson said the last of the sheriff’s office investigative reports have come in on the case, and they’re about an inch and a half thick.
He said the charges against Ashmore so far remain the same, but Anderson said his staff will be doing “heavy review” of the case as they prepare for the preliminary hearing and trial.
Anderson said he had considered taking the case to a criminal grand jury, but has so far decided not to pursue that avenue, at least not yet.
“We’re not going to do the grand jury as long as the prelim goes within a reasonable amount of time,” Anderson said.
Andrea Sullivan is Ashmore’s attorney.
“We’re ready to go,” she said in looking ahead at the preliminary hearing.
“There’s a lot of witness statements and a lot of reports,” she said, with a total of about a dozen witnesses and multiple crime scenes to take into consideration.
“From the defense point of view, the preliminary hearing is probably one of the easier parts so it, because we’re not obligated to put any testimony on,” Sullivan explained.
Another development in the case is that Patrick returned to work on Jan. 23, exactly three months after he was injured in the shooting.
“He’s back working the road and he’s OK,” said fellow CHP Officer Joe Wind, one of the agency’s public information officers.
Wind said the pool car that Patrick was driving had to have its door replaced due to the damage from the shotgun slug that ultimately hit Patrick.
“He’s very, very lucky,” Wind said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall is set to hear the latest on several community projects, including an updated Dollar General store application and a proposal to improve safety on a portion of Highway 175, and will meet candidates for its board.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.
Meetings are open to the community, and offer the opportunity for additional public input on items not included on the agenda.
On Thursday, under discussion items, MATH will get an update on a $12.5 million Caltrans project to improve safety on a 2.5-mile portion of Highway 175 from Putah Creek to Dry Creek.
Lake County Community Development Director Bob Massarelli will give the group the latest on a resort and residential project on the Guenoc property, the planning department backlog and road repair in Anderson Springs.
There also will be a discussion of Texas-based Cross Development’s pursuit of a use permit modification to reduce the size of the planned Dollar General store at 20900 Highway 29 from 9,100 square feet to 7,225 square feet.
A portion of the meeting will be dedicated to meeting the new MATH Board candidates, who include Joe Sullivan, Courtney VanLeuven, Margaret Greenly and Fairlight Ahlgren.
The MATH Board includes Chair Claude Brown, Vice Chair Linda Diehl-Darms, and members Lisa Kaplan and Gregg Van Oss.
Secretary Fletcher Thornton has stepped down since the January meeting.
MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
Meetings are subject to videotaping.
For more information emailThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.
Meetings are open to the community, and offer the opportunity for additional public input on items not included on the agenda.
On Thursday, under discussion items, MATH will get an update on a $12.5 million Caltrans project to improve safety on a 2.5-mile portion of Highway 175 from Putah Creek to Dry Creek.
Lake County Community Development Director Bob Massarelli will give the group the latest on a resort and residential project on the Guenoc property, the planning department backlog and road repair in Anderson Springs.
There also will be a discussion of Texas-based Cross Development’s pursuit of a use permit modification to reduce the size of the planned Dollar General store at 20900 Highway 29 from 9,100 square feet to 7,225 square feet.
A portion of the meeting will be dedicated to meeting the new MATH Board candidates, who include Joe Sullivan, Courtney VanLeuven, Margaret Greenly and Fairlight Ahlgren.
The MATH Board includes Chair Claude Brown, Vice Chair Linda Diehl-Darms, and members Lisa Kaplan and Gregg Van Oss.
Secretary Fletcher Thornton has stepped down since the January meeting.
MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
Meetings are subject to videotaping.
For more information email
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week will discuss possible improvements to the city’s ball fields, hold the first reading of an amendment to the city’s commercial cannabis ordinance and discuss use of funds for code enforcement.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
It will follow a special 5 p.m. meeting in the chambers for the council to consider the midyear budget update.
During Thursday’s regular meeting, the council will present a proclamation declaring February as Black History Month.
Under business, the council will discuss possible improvements to the baseball fields and potential expansion of a use agreement with South Shore Little League regarding Haverty Field and the Redbud Field ballfields.
The council also is set to consider awarding a contract for design services for the Highlands Park Improvement Project to Melton Design Group for an amount not to exceed $94,420.
Two public hearings also are on the Thursday agenda.
The first is for the purpose of considering approval of a resolution approving committing Community Development Block Grant Program income funds for code enforcement and an updated program income reuse agreement.
In the second hearing, the council will hold the first reading of a commercial cannabis ordinance amending the existing ordinance, which contained some confusing language and resulted in an urgency ordinance to prevent cannabis businesses on the west side of Highway 53.
Items on the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers and consideration of continuation of a declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9 and ratified by the council on Oct. 12 in response to the Sulphur fire.
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 meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
It will follow a special 5 p.m. meeting in the chambers for the council to consider the midyear budget update.
During Thursday’s regular meeting, the council will present a proclamation declaring February as Black History Month.
Under business, the council will discuss possible improvements to the baseball fields and potential expansion of a use agreement with South Shore Little League regarding Haverty Field and the Redbud Field ballfields.
The council also is set to consider awarding a contract for design services for the Highlands Park Improvement Project to Melton Design Group for an amount not to exceed $94,420.
Two public hearings also are on the Thursday agenda.
The first is for the purpose of considering approval of a resolution approving committing Community Development Block Grant Program income funds for code enforcement and an updated program income reuse agreement.
In the second hearing, the council will hold the first reading of a commercial cannabis ordinance amending the existing ordinance, which contained some confusing language and resulted in an urgency ordinance to prevent cannabis businesses on the west side of Highway 53.
Items on the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers and consideration of continuation of a declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9 and ratified by the council on Oct. 12 in response to the Sulphur fire.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is alerting the community to a new scam attempting to steal money from people under the guise of parking ticket collection.
The agency said it was notified by a citizen on Monday who had received an email advising that they received a parking ticket with links to download the ticket or pay it online.
The email was listed as from “City Police Department” but it was not a police email address.
“This is a scam, we do not send out email related to parking ticket billing,” the department said in its advisory.
If you receive one of these emails, as shown below, do not open any links but immediately delete it.
The agency said it was notified by a citizen on Monday who had received an email advising that they received a parking ticket with links to download the ticket or pay it online.
The email was listed as from “City Police Department” but it was not a police email address.
“This is a scam, we do not send out email related to parking ticket billing,” the department said in its advisory.
If you receive one of these emails, as shown below, do not open any links but immediately delete it.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s district attorney and his staff are continuing their investigation into a fatal shooting involving a sheriff’s deputy that occurred in Nice on Monday.
The man who was killed was not identified by authorities on Monday pending the notification of his family.
District Attorney Don Anderson said the man who died is a suspected gang member who has had previous contact with law enforcement. “We are familiar with him.”
The man had stolen several vehicles and guns, and used a semiautomatic handgun to shoot at area residents before a deputy shot and killed him with an AR-15 rifle, Anderson said.
As for the reasons behind the man’s actions, “We have no whys at all,” Anderson said Monday evening.
The incident began late Monday morning, with sheriff’s deputies responding to the 6000 block of Marin Street on a report of a suspicious male in the area, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich said that 15 minutes later the sheriff’s office received a second report of a male brandishing a firearm in the 4000 block of Nice Road.
A short time later, the man confronted a deputy in the area of Burpee Drive and Lakeview Drive, where Paulich said the fatal shooting occurred.
The fact that a deputy was involved in the shooting activated the county’s critical incident protocol. As a result, the District Attorney’s Office joined the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit in the investigation, Paulich said.
Anderson said there are still many things that aren’t known about the man’s motivations or activities before the shooting.
The crime scene on Monday was reported to cover a large area, according to a statement made to Lake County News by a deputy at the location.
In the lead up to the confrontation with deputies Anderson said the man was suspected to have been involved in a hit and run, had stolen two vehicles that he crashed as well as a pickup, and stole four firearms.
Anderson said the man went to a home on Burpee Drive, broke into it, stole the keys to a pickup and then drove off in the vehicle.
In that last portion of the incident, the man was reported to have shot at a resident in the area with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, Anderson said.
It was when he was cornered in the area of Burpee and Lakeview that Anderson said the man brandished the handgun at deputies, one of whom shot the man fatally with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, Anderson said.
Paulich said the deputy who shot the man was not injured and was placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine in cases in which deputies discharge their firearms.
Late Monday, Anderson said his staffers were removing from storage a patrol SUV that was driven by the late Deputy Rob Rumfelt when he crashed last August in order to make room for the stolen pickup the suspect had been driving, which will be processed for evidence.
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 man who was killed was not identified by authorities on Monday pending the notification of his family.
District Attorney Don Anderson said the man who died is a suspected gang member who has had previous contact with law enforcement. “We are familiar with him.”
The man had stolen several vehicles and guns, and used a semiautomatic handgun to shoot at area residents before a deputy shot and killed him with an AR-15 rifle, Anderson said.
As for the reasons behind the man’s actions, “We have no whys at all,” Anderson said Monday evening.
The incident began late Monday morning, with sheriff’s deputies responding to the 6000 block of Marin Street on a report of a suspicious male in the area, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich said that 15 minutes later the sheriff’s office received a second report of a male brandishing a firearm in the 4000 block of Nice Road.
A short time later, the man confronted a deputy in the area of Burpee Drive and Lakeview Drive, where Paulich said the fatal shooting occurred.
The fact that a deputy was involved in the shooting activated the county’s critical incident protocol. As a result, the District Attorney’s Office joined the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit in the investigation, Paulich said.
Anderson said there are still many things that aren’t known about the man’s motivations or activities before the shooting.
The crime scene on Monday was reported to cover a large area, according to a statement made to Lake County News by a deputy at the location.
In the lead up to the confrontation with deputies Anderson said the man was suspected to have been involved in a hit and run, had stolen two vehicles that he crashed as well as a pickup, and stole four firearms.
Anderson said the man went to a home on Burpee Drive, broke into it, stole the keys to a pickup and then drove off in the vehicle.
In that last portion of the incident, the man was reported to have shot at a resident in the area with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, Anderson said.
It was when he was cornered in the area of Burpee and Lakeview that Anderson said the man brandished the handgun at deputies, one of whom shot the man fatally with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, Anderson said.
Paulich said the deputy who shot the man was not injured and was placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine in cases in which deputies discharge their firearms.
Late Monday, Anderson said his staffers were removing from storage a patrol SUV that was driven by the late Deputy Rob Rumfelt when he crashed last August in order to make room for the stolen pickup the suspect had been driving, which will be processed for evidence.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A portion of Highway 175 over the Hopland Grade will be closed for two days this week while a damaged semi trailer is removed.
The closure will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, according to Caltrans spokesperson Cori Reed.
Reed said the closure area extends from Buckman Drive, four miles east of the Highway 101 junction, to the Lake and Mendocino County line. Motorists are advised to seek an alternate route.
She said the closure will be in effect in order to allow for a damaged semi trailer to be removed from a hillside in that area.
A tractor trailer went off the highway and rolled over in that location on Jan. 29, closing the highway for about eight hours while the semi was removed. The California Highway Patrol reported that the crash resulted in minor injuries for the driver.
The semi’s damaged trailer, however, has been there since the crash. Reed said it must be emptied and then removed from the hillside by the trucking company and the recovery contractors.
Reed said the trailer is loaded with 30,000 pounds of empty glass wine bottles.
Email Elizabeth Larson at