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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A vehicle stop by a sheriff's K9 unit led to an arrest, along with the seizure of 8.5 pounds of concentrated marijuana and $26,940 last week.
Shawn Pasha Barkman, 44, of Cobb was arrested as a result of the stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's office.
Just after 11:30 a.m. last Thursday, Nov. 14, a K9 unit on patrol in the Middletown area observed a silver Infinity traveling southbound on Highway 29 at a high rate of speed. Brooks said the deputy also noticed the vehicle exhibited multiple vehicle code violations.
He said the deputy followed the vehicle and paced it traveling at 70 miles per hour for approximately two miles. The posted speed limit within those two miles varied from 45 to 55 miles per hour.
The deputy conducted an enforcement stop in the 22000 block of Highway 29 in Middletown and contacted the driver of the vehicle, identified as Barkman, Brooks said.
While speaking to Barkman, the deputy smelled the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. He also noticed Barkman appeared to be extremely nervous, according to Brooks.
The deputy deployed his canine to conduct a sniff around the vehicle, Brooks said. As the canine approached the trunk of the vehicle, she produced a positive alert indicating there was the odor of a controlled substance present.
The deputy had Barkman exit the vehicle and advised him of the canine alerting to his vehicle. He also advised him he would be searching the vehicle, Brooks said.
Brooks said the deputy opened the trunk and located a large green plastic container. He told Barkman he believed there was marijuana in the container and Barkman replied it contained concentrated cannabis and hashish.
The deputy opened the container and located 65 clear plastic bags containing concentrated cannabis and hashish. Brooks said the deputy also located $6,692 inside an envelope within the container.
The deputy noticed each of the bags was marked for sales, Brooks said. Barkman said he was selling the concentrated marijuana to dispensaries for whatever they give him. Later all of the bags were combined and determined to have a gross weight of 8.5 pounds.
Barkman was arrested for the possession of marijuana for sale, the transportation of marijuana and the possession of concentrated cannabis. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.
The K9 deputy contacted narcotics detectives and provided them with the details of his enforcement stop and arrest. Brooks said narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for Barkman’s residence which was located in the 11000 block of Gifford Springs Road in Cobb.
Later that same day, the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force served the warrant at the residence. During the search detectives located and seized an additional 4.5 pounds of processed marijuana, 21.4 grams of hashish and $20,248, Brooks reported.
A total of 4.5 pounds of processed marijuana and 8.5 pounds of concentrated cannabis were seized as evidence in this case. The $26,940 in US currency also was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service on Thursday issued an urgent wind advisory and a hazardous weather outlook for Lake County and other portions of Northern California, while thousands of county residents at one point found themselves temporarily without power due to weather conditions.
Gusting winds around Lake County on Thursday are believed to have contributed to a series of power outages – ranging from Upper Lake to Hidden Valley Lake – that were reported beginning in the late afternoon and continuing into the early evening.
Firefighters in Lakeport, Kelseyville, Clearlake Oaks and Upper Lake were dispatched on reports of downed power and phone lines, and damaged utility equipment, based on radio reports.
At one point early Thursday evening, the power was out for a total of 5,000 customers across Lake County as the result of 25 separate outages, according to Pacific Gas and Electric spokesperson Jana Morris.
Morris said a majority of those outages were weather-related, with one outage due to an object on the power lines.
One of the outages impacted 4,800 customers in the Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake areas. Most of those customers had power restored between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Morris said.
She said about 400 people across Lake County were still without power as of 6:30 p.m., with 107 of them in the area covered by the Lucerne substation.
Morris didn't have an estimated time for power restoration to those affected by the continuing outages.
In a wind advisory issued on Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service warned of strong north to east winds that are expected to continue throughout the region into Friday night.
The strongest winds are expected on Thursday night, according to forecasters.
The advisory, in effect until 4 a.m. Saturday, anticipates winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour.
Lighter winds are forecast through the weekend, at which point showers also are expected to clear, the agency said.
The windy conditions are the result of strong high pressure building in the Pacific Northwest, combined with a deep low pressure system off of the Southern California coast, the National Weather Service reported.
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LUCERNE, Calif. – Sheriff's deputies have arrested two Mendocino County residents for their alleged part in a shooting that occurred early on Thursday morning in Lucerne.
Samantha Lee Rilla, 35, and Stephen Anthony Thomas, 36, both of Redwood Valley, were taken into custody not long after the incident, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Brook said that at 12:38 a.m. Thursday deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 3600 block of Country Club Drive in Lucerne for a report of a shooting. Initial radio reports indicated the shooting occurred at Country Club Mobile Home Park.
While responding to the residence, Central Dispatch provided a description of the suspect vehicle. The suspects were reported to have left in a white pickup, traveling westbound on Highway 20 towards Ukiah, Brooks said.
Deputies located a white Dodge pickup matching the description near the intersection of Bartlett Springs Road and Highway 20 in Lucerne. Brooks said they conducted an enforcement stop of the vehicle on Highway 20, just west of Bartlett Springs Road.
Deputies contacted the driver, who was identified as Rilla, and her passenger, identified as Thomas. Brooks said both Rilla and Thomas were detained as additional deputies continued to the shooting location.
When deputies arrived at the residence they contacted the victim, who was bleeding from the left side of his head, Brooks said.
The victim reported that a male and a female – later identified as Thomas and Rilla, respectively – had shown up to his residence and started an argument. Brooks said Rilla told the victim that his girlfriend had planned to rob Thomas. The argument occurred at the top of the victim's stairs in the driveway.
The victim told Rilla and Thomas they needed to leave his residence. Thomas continued to yell at the victim’s girlfriend, who was standing in the doorway, Brooks said.
The victim punched Thomas in the face, knocking him backwards to the bottom of the stairs. The argument intensified and Thomas drew a handgun from the right side of his waistband. Brooks said Thomas then struck the victim twice in the head with the grip portion of the firearm, causing the laceration to the victim's head.
The argument continued and Thomas fired the handgun near the victim’s feet, striking his pants. Brooks said the bullet continued through the door and into the side of the residence. The victim said Rilla and Thomas then took off running to their nearby pickup and drove away.
The victim was able to provide detailed descriptions of Thomas, Rilla and the vehicle they were driving. He also was able to describe the handgun as having a silver-colored barrel and a black handle, Brooks said.
A deputy examined the victim’s injuries and found he was bleeding from the left side of his face and had bruising near his eye. Brooks said the deputy also noticed both pant legs had tears in them, which was consistent with the travel of a bullet across the material.
Northshore Fire Protection District personnel arrived on scene and provided medical attention to the victim and transported him to the hospital for additional medical treatment, Brooks said.
Deputies located a shell casing on the ground, close to the stairs, which was seized as evidence. Brooks said they also noticed a hole in the door and a hole in the side of the residence, which were in line with each other. The holes and entry points were consistent with a gunshot.
A witness identified Thomas as being the subject who fired the gun at the victim. The witness also identified Rilla as being the female who was with Thomas and initiated the argument, according to Brooks.
A search was conducted of the vehicle Rilla was driving. Deputies located a firearm and ammunition inside the vehicle, which was accessible to both Thomas and Rilla. After further investigation, Brooks said deputies discovered they are both convicted felons.
Thomas was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition. Rilla was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit a crime, being an accessory, felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition, Brooks said.
They were both transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. Their booking sheets showed that bail for each was set at $100,000, and both remained in custody on Thursday afternoon.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A local woman with roots in the Philippines is launching a fundraising effort to help the country in the wake of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan earlier this month.
Maria Montero Bowers of Lakeport is setting up collection canisters around Lake County and also has created a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/philippinetyphoonrelieflakecountyca , to help bring awareness to the country's plight.
The super typhoon hit the Philippines' southern and central provinces, including the Visayas islands, on Nov. 8. It's reported to be one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on earth, according to the National Aeronautic and Space Administration.
The Philippine government's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council's latest report on the typhoon's impacts stated that there are approximately 4,011 dead, 18,567 injured and 1,602 missing.
The council said that about 2.15 million families – or just over 10 million people – have been affected in 44 of the country's 81 provinces.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that Haiyan has displaced 4.4 million people, and estimated a higher number of impacted individuals – 13.25 million.
Bowers – who is working with the American Red Cross – so far has donation canisters set up at six locations: in Clearlake, at Cactus Grill, 3900 Bayliss Ave., Main Street Bar and Grill, 14084 Lakeshore Drive, and Notts Liquors, 14772 Lakeshore Drive; in Lakeport, Jimmy's Deli N Taqueria, 540 Lakeport Blvd., and Taqueria La Mexicana, 1303 S. Main St.; and in Clearlake Oaks at Happy Garden, 3440 Highway 20.
“They're going to be out for two weeks before the first collection,” she said, adding that she wants to continue collecting funds through January, and also hopes to host a charity dinner.
She hasn't set a goal, but added, “The more I can collect the better.”
Bowers said the money is being used to purchase and distribute relief items like food, blankets, hygiene kits and mosquito nets, with the Red Cross hoping to provide cash grants when the economy begins to function normally. The organization also is helping families find lost members.
She said 12 Red Cross disaster specialists have been deployed to the country.
“There's a severe need and it's immediate,” she said.
Officials with the American Red Cross of Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties said a full tally of the region's donations to help the Philippines isn't expected until the end of this week.
However, “The community has been very generous,” said Ashley Fehrmann, regional chief development officer for the California Northwest Region, who Bowers is working with on the local fundraiser.
Kristie Fry, regional communications officer with the local Red Cross chapter, said community members can donate in a variety of ways, including texting “typhoon” to 90999, which designates a $10 gift, or by going to the Web site at http://www.redcross.org/ca/santa-rosa .
Facebook also has partnered with the Red Cross to collect donations, she said.
Bowers, who was born in the Philippines, came to the United States with her family as a child in 1989. She has lived in Lake County ever since, attending local schools and becoming a US citizen in 2009.
She estimated there are between 20 and 25 Filipino families who make their home in Lake County.
Her family members who remain in the Philippines are OK because they live in the north, which wasn't impacted by the typhoon. She said family friends who live in the country's central area have reported damage to homes.
Bowers said she's been lucky to be a child of two nations – the Philippines and the United States.
“I love them both,” she said, adding, “Right now, the Philippines needs help.”
For more information, contact Bowers through her Facebook page or at
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The California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday announced an initial allocation of five percent of requested deliveries to State Water Project (SWP) contractors in calendar year 2014.
The initial allocation is a conservative estimate of what DWR expects it can deliver as a percentage of the total amount requested by the public water agencies that contract for SWP deliveries.
“We hope things improve with this winter's storms,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin, “but there is no guarantee that 2014 won't be our third consecutive dry year. Today's allocation is a stark reminder that California's fickle weather demands that we make year-round conservation a way of life.”
It is still early in the water year; DWR will update the allocation as the winter progresses based on mountain snowpack accumulation. On average, half of California's annual precipitation occurs in December through February, and three-quarters occurs from November through March.
Initial water delivery estimates are conservative because they are made before the wettest period of the year. The lowest previous initial SWP allocation, also five percent, was for calendar year 2010.
Made on the heels of the 2007-09 drought, the 2010 allocation was eventually increased to 50 percent of the slightly more than four million acre-feet of water requested by the 29 public agencies that receive SWP water. Winter storms increased the second-lowest initial allocation of 10 percent for calendar year 1993 to 100 percent of requested deliveries.
Storage levels in the state's major reservoirs largely dictate the initial SWP allocation.
Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project's principal reservoir, is at 41 percent of capacity (66 percent of its historical average for the date). Lake Shasta north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project's largest reservoir, is at 37 percent of capacity (61 percent of average).
San Luis Reservoir in Merced County – a vital south-of-Delta supply pool for both the State Water Project and Central Valley Project – holds only 25 percent of capacity (42 percent of average for the date) due both to dry weather and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumping restrictions to protect Delta smelt and salmon.
The final State Water Project allocation this year was 35 percent of the 4.17 million acre-feet requested by agencies that collectively deliver water to more than 25 million Californians and 700,000 acres of farmland in the Santa Clara Valley, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.
In 2012, the final allocation was 65 percent. It was 80 percent in 2011, up dramatically from an initial allocation of 25 percent. The final allocation was 50 percent in 2010, 40 percent in 2009, 35 percent in 2008, and 60 percent in 2007.
The last 100 percent allocation – difficult to achieve even in wet years because of Delta pumping restrictions to protect threatened and endangered fish – was in 2006.
DWR is convening its annual winter outlook science workshop this week to develop an experimental seasonal forecast which will be posted on DWR’s website later in the month. Regardless of whether the experimental forecast suggests wet or dry conditions, DWR will continue to prepare for the possibility that water year 2014 may become a third dry year.
If 2014 is dry, the greatest risks for public health and safety impacts stem from the increased chances for major wildfires and from drinking water shortages in some rural small water systems relying on fractured rock groundwater.
Minimal surface water allocations to some agricultural areas, especially in the San Joaquin Valley, can result in economic impacts to growers and increased land subsidence where groundwater overdraft occurs.
As provided for in Gov. Brown’s May 2013 Executive Order to expedite review and processing of voluntary water transfers, DWR has been working to streamline the process by improving contracting procedures for transfers dependent on SWP facilities, facilitating fast-tracking of transfers with appropriate supporting documentation, and improving coordination with other agencies involved in approving transfers, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and State Water Resources Control Board.
In partnership with the National Integrated Drought Information System program, DWR organized four classes this fall on drought preparedness and water conservation for small water systems. DWR co-sponsored a drought preparedness workshop for urban water agencies with the National Water Resources Institute. Presentations from the workshop are available at http://www.nwri-usa.org/drought.htm .
DWR and California State University Fresno will hold an agricultural drought preparedness workshop in December.
The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a Wednesday hearing on the proposed Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area.
The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act (S.483) – sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer – would permanently protect 350,000 acres of public lands located less than one hundred miles from Sacramento and the Bay Area, including thousands of acres in Lake County.
Supporters say that protecting this region will provide well-managed recreation opportunities and user education while safeguarding the region’s natural beauty, sensitive areas, and wildlife and rare plants.
“This bill will put the Berryessa Snow Mountain region on the map as a destination for families and recreation enthusiasts, and it permanently protects this area for future generations to enjoy,” said Boxer. “Even though the region is one of the most beautiful and diverse, it is also one of the least known regions of California. An NCA designation will raise the area's profile, reaching out to more diverse audiences, allowing people from all walks of life to better appreciate this truly amazing and awe inspiring area.”
“There is something for everyone to appreciate in the Berryessa Snow Mountain region,” said Don Amador of the Blue Ribbon Coalition. “No matter what kinds of recreation you enjoy, be it a quiet trip out in nature, or riding your mountain bikes, horses or OHVs on designated trails, you find it here.”
Amador added, “We want to ensure that these opportunities are available for everyone to enjoy, and as an advocate for responsible OHV riding on legally designated routes, I am excited to see this collaborative legislation move forward. This grassroots bill will enhance opportunities for outdoor recreation, ensure continued access, and help protect this remarkable place for existing and future generations.”
“I am overjoyed that this legislation has taken this big step forward,” says Sara Husby-Good, executive director of the conservation group Tuleyome. “The Berryessa Snow Mountain region is a hidden gem and we appreciate Sen. Boxer’s leadership to permanently protect this region for future generations. Designating the region as a National Conservation Area will provide a safeguard for our natural resources, support our local economies, and benefit those who work, live, and play in the Berryessa Snow Mountain region.”
The hearing paves the way for a vote on the legislation in the full Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.