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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A local businessman and member of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has been ordered to stand trial in a case charging him with the attempted rape of a former girlfriend last summer.
At the end of a Thursday morning preliminary hearing that lasted less than an hour, Judge Andrew Blum ordered Richard Alvin Hamilton, 60, to be held to answer in the case.
According to court documents, Hamilton is charged with attempted rape, rape by force, assault with the intent to commit rape, sexual battery and false imprisonment for attempting to rape an ex-girlfriend at her Lakeport home.
The alleged victim did not go to police until October, and following an investigation led by Lakeport Police Det. Dale Stoebe, Hamilton was arrested on Oct. 22, as Lake County News has reported.
The only testimony given on Thursday came from Stoebe, who was called to the stand by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg.
Stoebe recounted meeting in October with the woman who told him that Hamilton had attacked her. During his testimony, in response to questioning from Borg, Stoebe would say that in his experience investigating sexual assaults, it's not unusual for victims to delay reporting an assault to police.
Hamilton and the woman had dated for about 10 months, with the dating relationship ending about four to five months before the incident for which Hamilton is charged, Stoebe said.
Stoebe said the two had reconnected on July 7, 2015, had a consensual sexual encounter with the woman telling Hamilton in the following days that she was in another relationship and couldn't continue being involved with him beyond being friends.
Four days later, they met at a farmer's market in Kelseyville and later went back to her home, where they drank wine together out on the deck and talked, Stoebe said.
Stoebe said the woman told him that she had gone back into the home and sat down on the couch, at which time she said Hamilton came in and jumped on her. She said he forced her down, held her hands above her head and started pushing up her shirt and bra and trying to remove her shorts while removing his own pants.
Hamilton wouldn't stop despite the woman telling him to, Stoebe said. The attack only stopped once the woman was able to get her knees up to her chest and kick Hamilton off of her, at which time he fixed his clothing and left.
In the months that followed, leading up to his October arrest, Hamilton – who owns a local sign company and sells real estate – left his business cards on the woman's car four different times, specifically, while it was at her residence, at her boyfriend's and twice while she was at work, Stoebe said.
“She was scared by that,” and felt she was being stalked, said Stoebe.
Hamilton's attorney, David Markham, asked Stoebe about a series of Facebook messages of a sexual nature that the woman and Hamilton exchanged on or about July 7, 2015.
The messages suggested that the woman had not been unhappy about that particular sexual encounter that occurred days before the incident that precipitated the case.
Markham's line of questioning also went into whether the alleged victim in the case had described having consensual “rough sex” with Hamilton. Stoebe acknowledged she did.
At one point, the woman and Hamilton met in Library Park, a meeting observed by Stoebe. The woman also was wearing a recording device.
During that meeting, Hamilton told the woman he didn't know she was serious when she told him to stop. The woman emphasized that she had told him no repeatedly, which Stoebe said made Hamilton mad.
During the conversation she also referred to painful bruises – on her wrists and inner thighs – she received when Hamilton held her down, Stoebe said.
Stoebe said Hamilton stated during the conversation that it would never happen again, and he claimed he had never acted out of anger against a woman before.
Following Stoebe's testimony, the prosecution and defense gave their arguments.
Markham said Hamilton would have needed to have intent to commit rape during the incident last July 11. “I don't think that's been shown here, even by a strong suspicion standard.”
He suggested that rough sex and being tied up had been normal for the couple, and raised the issues of the consensual sex and the Facebook messages in the days before the incident.
Markham acknowledged that it was not reasonable for Hamilton not to stop when she told him to do so. But when she kicked him off, he stopped.
“I think his intent on that date was to have sex with her,” not to rape her, Markham said.
Markham also said he did not see any credible threat from Hamilton for leaving the business cards for the woman, arguing he didn't see a basis for the stalking charge.
While he said there was “no question” that sexual battery occurred, Markham said there was insufficient evidence on the other charges.
Borg noted that the only reason Hamilton stopped trying to force himself on the woman was because she physically kicked him off.
“Circumstances here are very clear. He intended to have sex with her whether she consented or not,” Borg said.
He said Hamilton then followed the woman around, leaving his cards on her car. That, said Borg, was Hamilton telling the woman he was keeping an eye on her, which Borg argued was enough to establish a credible threat.
Blum, in his deliberations, asked if Hamilton didn't intend leaving his business cards on the woman's car to be a threat, “What possible reason would he have to leave cards on her car?”
Markham replied they were friends. Blum said he has a lot of friends, but he doesn't leave business cards.
Blum continued that while Hamilton may not have had the intent to rape, “It's also quite possible that he did.”
Referencing Stoebe's testimony about Hamilton pulling the woman's clothes off, Blum – in more rhetorical fashion than a direct question to Hamilton – asked, “What part of no don't you understand?”
Blum concluded there was sufficient cause to believe Hamilton guilty of the charges and ordered him to stand trial.
And while the business cards had no additional message written on them, Blum said it was reasonable that the woman would be placed in fear. “I would be.”
Blum ordered Hamilton to return to court on July 18 for arraignment in the case.
This will not be the first time Hamilton has stood trial for rape.
He went on trial twice in 2002 in Sacramento County for the alleged rape of a woman there in 2001. Both proceedings ended in mistrials, with the prosecution subsequently dropping the case, based on court records.
Despite the recent allegations against Hamilton, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce has allowed him to remain on its board of directors.
Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton told Lake County News that Hamilton is innocent until proven guilty.
In recent months, he has continued to represent the chamber – and the county of Lake – at out-of-county tourism-related events.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – At its regular meeting on Tuesday the Clearlake Planning Commission approved an expansion for a daycare and new signage rules, and got an update on a proposed development project that is still in the works.
The first item on the hourlong meeting's agenda was the request from Cherry McCracken of Rumsey Rascals daycare for a minor use permit to expand her facility, located on Rumsey Road.
Commissioner Russ Cremer, who is a neighbor of McCracken's, recused himself from the discussion.
McCracken plans to expand Rumsey Rascals from a small in-home family daycare facility with a maximum of eight children to a large in-home family daycare facility with a 14-child capacity.
A neighbor raised an issue of parking on the roadway, which she said is already small and not well maintained.
Overall the commission appeared to have minor concerns about the project and approved it 4-0 before Cremer rejoined the meeting.
The commission then turned to the business of necessary upgrades to the city's signage rules as the result of a US Supreme Court ruling handed down in June 2015 regarding an Arizona town's signage regulations.
Attorney Crystal Hodgson of the firm Jones and Mayer, sitting in for the city's usual attorney Ryan Jones, explained that as a result of the case Reed vs. The Town of Gilbert, some changes to the city of Clearlake's existing sign code were required.
“Before that case, most federal courts ruled that cities could have a limited number of content-based regulations where they regulated signs based on what the signs contained. That was a little bit of an undecided legal issue,” Hodgson said.
In the Reed case, Hodgson said the Supreme Court decided that if you have to look at a sign and read its content in order to decide how to regulate it, it's content-based and is unconstitutional unless it can meet a high standard of scrutiny. She added that standard is difficult to meet.
Hodgson said she helped Assistant Planner Julie Burrow go through the city's sign and election codes to identify areas that needed to be changed.
One area of the election code has regulations pertaining only to political signs, and because it's content-based it's no longer permissible, Hodgson said.
Instead, Hodgson recommended removing that section from the election code and adding another in the signage code to allow for temporary, noncommercial signs in all zoning districts.
“Those provisions would allow for political and ideological signs,” Hodgson said.
They also allow for temporary signs with any message in residential neighborhoods, including for one-time events like yard sales or neighborhood parties, she said.
Other changes included allowing properties growing agriculture additional signage, clarifications for calculating sign area and limiting the size of window signs.
City Manager Greg Folsom told the commission that, as part of the zoning code updates, city staff will be doing a detailed review of the whole sign ordinance.
The commission moved to approve the updates 5-0.
Also on Tuesday, Folsom gave the commission a brief update on a proposed development agreement between the city and Orosco Development No. 19, LLC for property located at 15885 Dam Road.
He said the property is located on Dam Road just north of the Carl's Jr. restaurant, and is the site where there had been plans at one point to place a Fresh and Easy grocery store.
Fresh and Easy went into bankruptcy and began selling off property, with a developer purchasing several of those properties, including the one on Dam Road, Folsom said.
Folsom said he's been in discussion with the developer for a while, talking about a development agreement.
“We currently do not have what are called development improvement impact fees,” which go toward improving streets and other capital facilities, Folsom explained.
As the city puts its new general plan in place, Folsom said there are plans for also implementing such fees.
“In lieu of that I've been negotiating with the developer to provide a payment to the city that would help us to pay for some street improvements, specifically the Dam Road extension,” which Folsom said will go from the end of Dam Road up to 18th Avenue.
He said they are still negotiating a certain point of the agreement, the final version of which he hopes to have back before the commission at its next meeting later this month.
“We're not ready to go into all the details on it,” Folsom said.
However, since the hearing already had been publicly noticed, Folsom gave the update to the commission, which continued the matter to its July 19 at his request.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – To celebrate Mary Magdalene’s feast day, Saint John’s Episcopal Church will hold a discussion about the woman known as “the apostle to the apostles” on Saturday, July 23.
The discussion will be held from 10 to 11:45 a.m.
The public is invited to explore topics such as what are the differences between New Testament stories about here and those of the Gnostic gospels, what legends have evolved, how her memory may have created tension in early Christianity, and where history and myth might meet.
After the discussion, an optional Order of Noon Day Service to commemorate her feast day will be observed.
The public is invited.
There is no charge and refreshments will be served.
St. John's Episcopal Church is located at 1190 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has undertaken the most comprehensive analysis of veteran suicide rates in the U.S., examining more than 55 million veteran records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation.
The effort extends VA’s knowledge from the previous report issued in 2010, which examined three million veteran records from 20 states were available.
Based on the data from 2010, VA estimated the number of veteran deaths by suicide averaged 22 per day. The current analysis indicates that in 2014, an average of 20 Veterans a day died from suicide.
“One veteran suicide is one too many, and this collaborative effort provides both updated and comprehensive data that allows us to make better informed decisions on how to prevent this national tragedy,” said VA Under Secretary for Health, Dr. David J. Shulkin. “We as a nation must focus on bringing the number of Veteran suicides to zero."
The final report will be publicly released later this month. Key findings of the analysis will include:
– 65 percent of all veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older.
– Veterans accounted for 18 percent of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This is a decrease from 22 percent in 2010.
– Since 2001, U.S. adult civilian suicides increased 23 percent, while veteran suicides increased 32 percent in the same time period. After controlling for age and gender, this makes the risk of suicide 21 percent greater for veterans.
– Since 2001, the rate of suicide among US veterans who use VA services increased by 8.8 percent, while the rate of suicide among veterans who do not use VA services increased by 38.6 percent.
– In the same time period, the rate of suicide among male veterans who use VA services increased 11 percent, while the rate of suicide increased 35 percent among male vterans who do not use VA services.
– In the same time period, the rate of suicide among female veterans who use VA services increased 4.6 percent, while the rate of suicide increased 98 percent among female veterans who do not use VA services.
See the VA's Suicide Prevention Fact Sheet at http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/Suicide_Prevention_FactSheet_New_VA_Stats_070616_1400.pdf .
VA is aggressively undertaking a number of new measures to prevent suicide, including:
– Ensuring same-day access for veterans with urgent mental health needs at over 1,000 points of care by the end of calendar year 2016. In fiscal year 2015, more than 1.6 million veterans received mental health treatment from VA, including at over 150 medical centers, 820 community-based outpatient clinics and 300 Vet Centers that provide readjustment counseling. Veterans also enter VA health care through the Veterans Crisis Line, VA staff on college and university campuses, or other outreach points.
– Using predictive modeling to determine which veterans may be at highest risk of suicide, so providers can intervene early. Veterans in the top 0.1 percent of risk, who have a 43-fold increased risk of death from suicide within a month, can be identified before clinical signs of suicide are evident in order to save lives before a crisis occurs.
– Expanding telemental health care by establishing four new regional telemental health hubs across the VA healthcare system.
– Hiring more than 60 new crisis intervention responders for the Veterans Crisis Line. Each responder receives intensive training on a wide variety of topics in crisis intervention, substance use disorders, screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment.
– Building new collaborations between veteran programs in VA and those working in community settings, such as Give an Hour, Psych Armor Institute, University of Michigan’s Peer Advisors for Veterans Education Program and the Cohen Veterans Network.
– Creating stronger inter-agency (e.g. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health) and new public-private partnerships (e.g., Johnson & Johnson Healthcare System, Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, Walgreen’s, and many more) focused on preventing suicide among veterans.
Many of these efforts were catalyzed by VA’s February 2016 Preventing Veteran Suicide – A Call to Action summit, which focused on improving mental health care access for Veterans across the nation and increasing resources for the VA Suicide Prevention Program.
Suicide is an issue that affects all Americans. Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data reported in April 2016 that from 1999 through 2014 (the most recent year with data available from CDC), suicide rates increased 24 % in the general population for both males and females.
VA has implemented comprehensive, broad ranging suicide prevention initiatives, including a toll-free Veterans Crisis Line, placement of Suicide Prevention Coordinators at all VA Medical Centers and large outpatient facilities, and improvements in case management and tracking. Immediate help is available at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or by calling the Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (press 1) or texting 838255.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown branch of the Lake County Library will host a financial literacy seminar “Reverse Mortgages” on Wednesday, July 27.
The seminar will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the library, located at 21256 Washington St.
Lamarr Baxter of All Western Mortgage will be the speaker for this free program. For more details call 707-263-8817.
Baxter will explain how reverse mortgages can help people can maintain their current lifestyle through their entire retirements and prepare for unexpected medical expenses. The public is invited to learn about the benefits of the new reverse mortgage.
Seating is limited and attendees must RSVP. Call 1-855-400-EASY to register. Refreshments will be served.
Baxter is a licensed and knowledgeable real estate professional with thirty years of financial experience who specializes in establishing self-directed retirement plans.
He regularly conducts educational seminars and webinars outlining the benefits and rewards of investing with a self-directed retirement plan.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake Family Resource Center is offering a 65-hour dual domestic violence and sexual assault volunteer and response training to interested community members.
Beginning Saturday, July 30, and continuing through Saturday, Sept. 10, the training will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Lake Family Resource Center said the training will be co-sponsored by Big Valley Rancheria, which will host the training at Konocti Vista Casino’s banquet room, located at 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport.
This training is free and open to the public.
Individuals who successfully complete the training will be considered certified domestic violence/sexual assault counselors and will have the opportunity to volunteer for Lake Family Resource Center’s Domestic Violence Program and Rape Crisis Center.
Volunteer responsibilities can include working at the shelter, answering the community crisis line, supervising children during adult activities, co-facilitating support groups; accompanying domestic violence/sexual assault victims to court or to the hospital.
This is a chance to help someone during their toughest moments. This training is only offered once a year so call today to reserve your spot for this exciting opportunity.
Lake Family Resource Center is determined to raise awareness of the devastation that domestic violence and sexual assault has in our community and will continue to provide education, information, advocacy and support to those who have suffered.
The center provides a multitude of services to build family stability and strength, and supports Lake County residents in achieving stable, self-sufficient, and healthy families and communities.
For more information call 707-279-0563.