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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested early Tuesday morning after he struggled with Clearlake Police officers and was found in possession of weapons, including a concealed handgun, and methamphetamine.

Officers arrested 21-year-old David Allen Haugens, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

Just after 3:15 a.m. Tuesday Officer Michael Perreault observed a suspicious white van parked at the Flyers gas station, located at 15010 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, occupied by two males and a female, Joseph said.

He said the vehicle had exempt license plates and “Union City Police” on the rear door of the vehicle. The vehicle came back registered to Konocti Unified School District with expired registration several years old.

Perreault also recognized the person seated in the driver’s seat of the vehicle as 25-year-old Clearlake resident Sean Damico. Joseph said Perreault knew that Damico had an active misdemeanor warrant for his arrest.

Perreault and Officer Mauricio Barreto contacted the three occupants of the vehicle. The female, who was seated in the right front passenger seat, was found to be on active California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Parole for burglary. The rear passenger was identified as Haugens, Joseph said.

Joseph said Damico and Haugens were both removed from the vehicle. While Perreault was dealing with Damico and his warrant, Barreto was speaking with Haugens.

Barreto conducted a pat search for weapons on Haugens and upon doing so, immediately felt a concealed firearm inside Haugens’ right front jacket pocket. As Barreto attempted to seize the firearm, Haugens attempted to flee on foot and began reaching towards the area where the weapon was concealed, Joseph said.

Fearing that the suspect was going to flee or arm himself with the firearm, Barreto took Haugens to the ground and threw several strikes to Haugens’ face. Joseph said Perreault came to Barreto’s aid and the two officers were able to take Haugens into custody.

Joseph said the officers found a loaded .22-caliber revolver inside Haugens’ jacket pocket. An additional search of Haugens’ clothing upon arrest yielded approximately 2.3 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

A search of the vehicle was conducted and an illegal billy club and large fixed blade knife were discovered inside and located where Haugens had been sitting. Haugens admitted to possessing the knife and billy club, Joseph said.

Joseph said Haugens was discovered to be under the influence of a central nervous system stimulant, most likely methamphetamine, and was additionally charged.

Damico was arrested for his misdemeanor warrant and released on citation at the scene. The female subject in the van was searched as a condition of her parole, but was not charged. She was subsequently released, Joseph said.

Both Haugens and Barreto suffered injuries as a result of the confrontation, were treated at Adventist Health Clear Lake and subsequently released, Joseph said.

After obtaining medical treatment, Joseph said Haugens was transported to the Lake County Jail for booking.

Joseph said Haugens was changed with felony violations including possessing a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm, being under the influence of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm, obstructing/resisting officer, carrying dirk or dagger, possession of a billy club and armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony, and a single misdemeanor violation of possession of a controlled substance.

Jail records showed that Haugens’ bail was set at $65,000. He remained in custody early Wednesday, and is scheduled to be arraigned in Lake County Superior Court later in the day.

The case will be referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for filing, Joseph said.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – An Upper Lake woman was arrested in Willits last week after a deputy sheriff found her to be in possession of tear gas and drugs.

Dakota Quayle, 28, was arrested on Thursday night, according to a report from Capt. Greg Van Patten.

At 10 p.m. Nov. 30 a deputy was patrolling the area of the Sherwood Valley Casino located at 100 Kawi Place in Willits when the deputy contacted a subject standing near the entrance of the parking lot, Van Patten said.

Van Patten said the subject was identified as Quayle, who was found to be on probation in Lake County for charges of possession of a controlled substance and recent use of a controlled substance.

During the investigation, the deputy noticed that Quayle was exhibiting signs and symptoms of recently using a controlled substance. After an evaluation, Van Patten said the deputy determined Quayle was under the influence of a controlled substance and placed her under arrest.

During a search of Quayle's person and property incident to arrest, Van Patten said the deputy located drug paraphernalia, tear gas (or pepper spray) and a usable amount of a controlled substance. From further examining the tear gas weapon, the Deputy noticed that part of the label had been removed where the serial number would be located.

Quayle was additionally charged with unlawful possession of a tear gas weapon, possession of an altered/changed tear gas weapon, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, Van Patten said.

Van Patten said Quayle was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake reported that it completed its Ridgeview guardrail project last week.

The project was an installation of guardrail along Old Highway 53 and Ridgeview Avenue, officials said.

There have been several incidents of motorists driving off the road at this location, and the city reported that residents had requested a guardrail be installed to help protect the homes
in that area.

Midstate Barrier was the lowest responsible bidder on the project, with a bid of $25,250, the city reported.

“We’ve been looking forward to getting this project done for quite a while,” said City Manager Greg Folsom. “This project increases the safety along this section of Old Highway 53 significantly and we were pleased with how quickly the contractor was able to complete the project.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has taken a Clearlake man into custody for a series of vehicle burglaries that occurred in October.

Jeremy James Evans, 33, was arrested last week, according to a report from Lt. Corey Paulich.

Paulich said that on Oct. 22 two separate victims made reports to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, reporting their vehicles had been broken into while they were hiking in the Anderson Marsh area in Lower Lake.

The victims had cash and credit cards stolen from their vehicles. Paulich said they provided information that the credit cards had been used at Walmart and Cheaper Cigarettes in Clearlake.

The deputy handling the investigation went to Cheaper Cigarettes and was able to obtain a photo of the suspect and suspect vehicle description, Paulich said.

On Oct. 29, another victim reported his vehicle had been broken into the previous day while he was hiking in the area of the Redbud Trail Complex near Highway 20 and the Cache Creek Bridge, according to Paulich.

Paulich said the victim had cash and credit cards stolen from his vehicle. The victim was able to provide information that his credit card had been used on Oct, 28 at Mendo Mill and Walmart in Clearlake. The deputy handling the investigation was able to obtain a photo of the suspect from Mendo Mill.

On Nov. 22, the victim received information that the suspect was Jeremy Evans. Paulich said the deputy was able to confirm that Evans appeared to be the suspect from Mendo Mill.

On Nov. 29, a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic enforcement stop on a 2008 Ford Escape. Paulich said the deputy contacted the driver of the vehicle who identified himself as Evans.

The vehicle Evans was driving matched the suspect vehicle description from Cheaper Cigarettes, Paulich said.

During the traffic stop, deputies were able to determine Evans was on searchable probation out of Alameda County, according to Paulich’s report.

Paulich said deputies went to Evans’ residence, located in the 4200 block on Snook Avenue in the city of Clearlake, and conducted a probation search.

During the search, Paulich said deputies located clothing that Evans had been wearing when he fraudulently used the stolen credit cards from the auto burglaries. The deputies also located several items that had been purchased with the stolen credit cards.

Evans was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail where he was booked into custody for burglary, use of an access card without consent, grand theft, acquiring access card without card holder’s consent and vandalism, Paulich said.

Evans, whose booking sheet lists his occupation as vineyard employee, remains in custody on $15,000 bail.

He is tentatively scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on Tuesday.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol joins the American Occupational Therapy Association, or AOTA, in recognizing Dec. 4 to 8, as Older Driver Safety Awareness Week.

According to the AOTA, with increasing age come changes in physical, mental and sensory abilities that can challenge a person’s continued ability to drive safely.

Family and friends have a major role in identifying changes in driving behavior and beginning discussions about older driver safety.

It is important to start these conversations early and discuss any needed changes in driving habits before it becomes a problem, allowing older drivers to be actively involved in the planning.

“Most drivers want to continue driving for as long as possible and maintain their independence,” CHP Acting Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “Family and friends play an important, but often difficult, role in discussing how long it is safe to continue driving.”

Data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows drivers age 65 and older made up approximately 15 percent of the licensed drivers in California in 2016.

Last year, more than 5,100 fatal collisions were recorded in California. Preliminary data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System indicates drivers age 65 and older were involved in 10.7 percent of the fatal collisions and 8.3 percent of the injury collisions in California in 2016.

As part of its efforts to help California’s seniors drive safely for as long as they can, the CHP offers a free, two-hour “Age Well, Drive Smart” course.

Through this program, seniors can sharpen their driving skills, refresh their knowledge of the rules of the road, and learn how to adjust to normal age-related physical and mental changes.

Information about the free classes is available at www.chp.ca.gov or by calling the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office in Kelseyville at 707-279-0103.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Survivors of the October 2017 wildfires have one week left to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance and to apply for a low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The deadline for both is Dec. 11 for those with losses.

Residents of Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sonoma and Yuba counties who suffered damage may be eligible for federal grants, which do not have to be repaid.

Grants can help cover disaster-related expenses, including rent, essential home repairs and other disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

Applicants can apply for disaster assistance by going online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by using the FEMA app on a smartphone or by calling 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Applicants who use 711 or Video Relay Service can call 800-621-3362. The toll-free numbers are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

In-person registration assistance is available at the Local Assistance Center in Napa County or at one of the disaster recovery centers, or DRCs, in Mendocino, Napa or Sonoma counties.

To find the closest center, go online at www.fema.gov/drc or text 43362 with the message DRC and the resident’s ZIP code. Standard message and data rates apply.

If an applicant’s contact information changes, let FEMA know as the agency may need to get in touch.

Business owners and nonprofits located in the designated counties may qualify for up to $2 million in low-interest SBA disaster loans both for physical and economic damage. Homeowners may qualify for up to $200,000 for home damage. Homeowners and renters can apply for up to $40,000 to replace personal property. Call 800-659-2955 or visit www.sba.gov/disaster for more information.

Registrants who are contacted by SBA should complete and return the application even if they don’t want a loan.

Application information can be considered to determine eligibility for other disaster assistance, such as reimbursement for personal property, medical, storage and vehicles.

Those who receive a letter from FEMA saying they are not eligible for disaster assistance should contact FEMA with questions or if they need assistance to appeal the decision.