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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A man identified as one of two people responsible for a July armed robbery at a Clearlake bank has been arrested in Michigan.
Samuel Campbell, 25, formerly of New York, was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Flint, Mich., on Oct. 20, according to a report from Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.
On the morning of July 8 the Bank of the West, located at 15050 Olympic Drive in Clearlake, was robbed at gunpoint by two suspects, one a male and the other a female, as Lake County News has reported.
Celli said Clearlake Police officers and detectives responded to the reported robbery, working diligently to collect evidence and statements to aide in the identification of the suspects.
Through the course of the investigation, evidence was collected that ultimately led to the identification of the male subject as Campbell, Celli said.
Clearlake Police investigators requested the assistance of the FBI. Through the efforts of Clearlake Police Officer Joseph Myers and the FBI, the investigation led to Flint, Mich., Celli said.
Celli said that a federal arrest warrant was obtained for Campbell through the assistance of the FBI and the United States Attorney General’s Office.
Last Tuesday, the FBI located and arrested Campbell in Flint. Celli said Campbell is currently in custody in Michigan, awaiting extradition to California.
Campbell refused to provide a statement to the arresting officers, Celli said.
The investigation is still under way to positively identify the female subject who took part in the robbery. Celli said a person of interest has been developed.
The Clearlake Police Department thanked the FBI for its assistance in locating and capturing Campbell.
Any person with information on this case is urged to contact Officer Joseph Myers at 707-994-8251, Extension 505.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Forecasters are predicting chances of rain Tuesday and Wednesday in Lake County and throughout much of interior Northern California.
The National Weather Service said a weakening weather system will bring scattered showers, the possibility of a thunderstorm and light snow in higher elevations in the 8,000 to 9,000 foot range on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In some parts of Northern California, north winds with gusts of up to 40 miles per hour are expected Thursday and Friday, although heavier winds are not so far included in Lake County's specific forecast.
In fire areas – such as those where the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires have left well over 100,000 burned acres in Lake County – the concern is for rain followed by wind that may impact burn scars, forecasters said.
Lake County's specific forecast calls for a 50-percent chance of showers beginning after 11 p.m. Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday morning, with precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch.
On Wednesday, chances of rain range up to 70 percent countywide during the day, with rainfall totals estimated at between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible, based on the forecast. Chances of rain for Wednesday night are in the 20-percent range.
Winds of up to 21 miles per hour also are forecast for the county over those two days.
Conditions are then expected to clear for the rest of the week, with slight chances of showers returning on Sunday and Monday, the National Weather Service said.
During the week, nighttime temperatures are expected to range into the low 50s, with daytime highs in the low 80s, according to the forecast.
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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Lower Lake man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol following a solo-vehicle crash early Sunday morning that left him with serious injuries.
Kyle Pearce, 28, was arrested following the crash, which occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday on Highway 29 south of Diener Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.
CHP Office Joe Wind said Pearce was driving southbound on Highway 29 in a 2004 Jeep Liberty when his vehicle rolled.
Radio reports from the scene had indicated that after the crash the vehicle caught fire and the driver was trapped but successfully extricated.
The vehicle fire was reported to have resulted in a quarter-acre of the nearby hillside burning before firefighters put it out, according to reports from the scene.
Wind said Pearce, who was wearing his seat belt, suffered major injuries.
Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, and Wind said Pearce was placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence before he was transported to the hospital.
Pearce was taken via REACH air ambulance to Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center for treatment, Wind said.
Wind said CHP Officer Shawn Bertram is investigating the crash.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Authorities in Glenn County have arrested two men for their part in an illegal marijuana grow in the Mendocino National Forest.
Jose Herrera Ortiz, 29, of Michoacan, Mexico, and Fernando Herrera Esquivel, 24, of Bakersfield were taken into custody last week, according to a report from the Glenn Interagency Narcotics Task Force, or GLINTF.
On Oct. 23 GLINTF, along with the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Forest Service officers and California Department of Fish and Wildlife K-9 officers conducted a raid of a marijuana cultivation site that had been located in the forest.
During the raid, Herrera Ortiz and Herrera Esquivel were taken into custody as they attempted to flee the site, officials reported.
Law enforcement officers located two loaded handguns, along with 352 marijuana plants that were eradicated and disposed of, officials said.
Approximately 43 pounds of processed marijuana was located in the cultivation site. The marijuana plants that were seized weighed a total of 563 pounds, according to the report.
Officials said the street value of the marijuana was $395,000.
Both men were booked into the Glenn County Jail for marijuana cultivation, criminal conspiracy will destruction of public land, diverting water and littering, and a special allegation of being armed with a firearm, with bail for each et at $126,000, authorities said.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund is offering a grant program to businesses located in the areas affected by this summer's fires in Lake County.
The goal of this grant program is to assist in fire recovery with an emphasis on getting store front, agriculture and home businesses back into operation or preventing them from closing due to losses suffered as a result of the fires.
Losses can be economic or physical and grants of up to $2,000 will be made based upon need.
“Businesses are the heart of a community and we believe that it’s important to support them in the rebuilding process while helping them get back on their feet during these unprecedented times,” said Andy Peterson, chair of the Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund.
To complete a grant application online, or to print an application, visit www.larca5130.org .
Completed applications should be mailed to LARCA Business Grant Program, P. O. Box 2921, Clearlake, CA 95422.
Questions can be emailed to
For more information on the Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund or to make donations, go to www.larca5130.org .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Property owners who need to clean up structures burned in the Rocky and Jerusalem Fires have until this Friday, Oct. 30, to file a right of entry permit or a private cleanup application.
The deadline was set by Lake County Environmental Health, CalRecycle and the California Office of Emergency Services.
It is based on the need for property owners to abate debris remaining from structures and related items destroyed by the fires in a timely manner.
Many property owners in the two fire areas have already submitted right of entry permits that will allow the CalRecycle/OES teams to remove the debris from their properties.
Some property owners have chosen to submit private cleanup applications to clean the properties themselves or have a licensed contractor clean the property.
Property owners who fail to submit an right of entry or a private cleanup application by Friday, Oct. 30, will be referred to the Lake County Planning and Community Development Department for future action.
This deadline applies to the Rocky and Jerusalem Fires only.
More information and right of entry forms can be found at www.lakecountyrecovers.com .