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NORTH COAST, Calif. – For the second time this month, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has taken an arson suspect into custody.
The agency said that Jordan Waugh, 23, of Oakland was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of having set a fire off Calistoga Road.
Just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies and the sheriff’s helicopter “Henry-1” were summoned to assist Cal Fire crews who were working to extinguish a brush fire in the Plum Ranch area, the agency reported.
Cal Fire personnel requested the sheriff’s deputies and Henry-1 because they believed the fire was started by an arsonist who was still on scene, the sheriff’s office said.
Firefighters who deployed from Cal Fire Copter 104 and engine personnel were on the ground when they encountered a potential arson suspect seated in the area of the fire, officials reported.
The male suspect, identified as Waugh, was sitting in the immediate area of the fire and refused to communicate with the fire crews, the sheriff’s office reported. As more firefighting aircraft arrived in the area, the suspect stood up and partially disrobed as he walked away from the converging firefighters.
The fire crews followed Waugh and radioed his description and direction of travel to the Henry-1 flight crew members, who located Waugh shortly after arriving on scene, officials said.
Due to the rugged terrain, Pilot Paul Bradley conducted a "toe in" or partial landing to allow Henri Boustany, the deputy/tactical flight officer, to safely exit the aircraft. The agency said that Boustany, once out of the aircraft, encountered Waugh – who was somewhat despondent but cooperative – and took him into custody.
After evaluating the safest exit out of the rugged terrain, it was determined that Waugh would be evacuated with the flight crew, via long line, to waiting sheriff’s deputies, officials reported.
Waugh was safely secured into a traverse stretcher, so his feet and arms were restrained and Boustany and Paramedic Don Ricci accompanied the suspect on the end of long line. The sheriff’s office said Bradley then flew the restrained suspect and flight crew to awaiting sheriff’s deputies.
Officials said Waugh was transported by sheriff’s deputies from the scene to the Sonoma County Jail where he was booked for arson, with the potential to cause great bodily harm, which is a felony. His bail was set at $125,000.
On Sept. 1, sheriff’s deputies arrested James Novak, 28, of Cloverdale on suspicion of setting a number of fires around Sonoma County, including one that burned near Healdsburg, as Lake County News has reported.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Santa Rosa man accused of assaulting two men last summer as part of hate crime motivated by his membership in a white supremacist gang pleaded to charges in the case on Wednesday.
Salvatore Ezio Bordessa, 33, pleaded no contest to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and admitted to personally inflicting great bodily injury on one victim, along with hate crime and gang allegations, according to Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch.
Bordessa additionally pleaded to a misdemeanor charge of preventing a witness from reporting a crime, according to Ravitch.
“This resolution underscores the fact that this kind of violence is intolerable. Gang members who commit violent hate crimes will continue to be aggressively prosecuted,” Ravitch said.
Bordessa’s co-defendant in the case, 27-year-old Aaron Joseph Welch of Clearlake, was sentenced in April to 15 years in state prison after having reached a plea agreement on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, with enhancements being admitted, as Lake County News has reported.
The charges resulted from an assault that took place near the McDonald’s on Santa Rosa Avenue in South Santa Rosa on Aug. 26, 2012.
At 2 a.m. that day Bordessa and Welch – members of the white supremacist criminal street gang, the Barbarian Brotherhood – both wielded knives and assaulted two male victims, both of whom were black, according to prosecutors.
Welch stabbed one of the victims in the arm and leg, which required stitches to close each wound, officials said.
During the assault the defendants yelled racial slurs and “BBH,” which Ravitch’s office said are the common initials of the Barbarian Brotherhood.
The pleas are part of a negotiated disposition requiring Bordessa to serve a seven-year prison term, Ravitch reported.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 5 before the Honorable Gary Medvigy. Once sentenced, Bordessa must serve 85 percent of his term before being eligible for parole, according to prosecutors.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jason Riehl, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Denise Urton.
Sgt. John Cregan and Detective Kyle Philp of the Santa Rosa Police Department headed the investigation.
Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez on Wednesday announced their strong support for AB 10 by Assemblymember Luis Alejo (D-Salinas), which will raise the minimum wage in California from $8 per hour to $10 per hour.
“The minimum wage has not kept pace with rising costs,” said Gov. Brown. “This legislation is overdue and will help families that are struggling in this harsh economy.”
“For millions of California’s hard working minimum wage employees, a few extra dollars a week can make a huge difference to help them provide for their families,” said Steinberg. “They deserve a modest boost and after six years, an increase in California’s minimum wage is the right thing to do.”
“The real winner here is the economy. A $10 hour minimum wage boosts earnings by $4,000 a year and will put $2.6 billion dollars back into the hands of workers,” said Speaker Pérez. “This is money that will be spent at grocery stores, on school supplies and invested in education, and that ultimately strengthens the recovery and ensures California’s job market continues growing faster than the rest of the nation.”
AB 10 will raise California’s minimum wage in two one-dollar increments, from $8 per hour today to $9 per hour, effective July 1, 2014, and from $9 per hour to $10 per hour, effective Jan. 1, 2016.
More than 90 percent of minimum wage workers in California are over the age of 20, and 25 percent of California children – nearly 2.4 million – live in a household with one minimum wage-earning parent.
“AB 10 is about equity. It puts more money directly into the pockets of workers struggling to provide food, clothes, and housing for their families. I’m proud to author this measure on behalf of hard working families in California,” said Assemblymember Alejo.
SACRAMENTO – Dr. Ron Chapman, state health officer and director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), is urging Californians who want protection from the flu to get immunized in order to prevent sickness, hospitalization and health complications resulting from the flu.
“Thousands of serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths can be prevented if Californians receive a flu vaccine as soon as possible,” Chapman said. “We can’t predict exactly when flu will arrive, but getting vaccinated now will help you and your family stay healthy when that time comes.”
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CDPH recommend for anyone 6 months of age and older to get a flu vaccine. The flu vaccine is effective and safe.
This year, there are many types of flu vaccinations that may be offered. The most common vaccine is made from three influenza viruses (two A and a B).
Newly available are “quadrivalent” formulations that contain the same three viruses and an additional B virus which sometimes circulates in the United States.
“Even if you were vaccinated against the flu last year, you will need a new vaccine this year,” said Dr. Chapman. “Check with your health care provider if you have questions about your vaccine options.”
CDC estimates that every year, more than 200,000 in the United States are hospitalized and flu-associated deaths range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.
Influenza, also called the flu, is a respiratory infection caused by a virus. The flu begins with an abrupt onset of fever, muscle aches, sore throat and cough that often make people sick enough to keep them in bed for several days.
Flu can be especially dangerous for young children, seniors, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes or asthma.
In addition to getting vaccinated against flu, Chapman encouraged Californians to stop the spread of influenza and other respiratory illnesses by taking the following additional basic steps:
- Stay home when you are sick to avoid spreading illness to co-workers and friends.
- Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and properly dispose of used tissues.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to get rid of most germs and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Stay healthy by eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water and getting adequate rest and exercise.
Chapman also reminded parents and caregivers to use acetaminophen or ibuprofen instead of aspirin when treating fever and aches in children and teenagers.
Aspirin has been linked to Reye’s syndrome, a rare childhood disease which can lead to coma, brain damage and even death.
For information about low- and no-cost flu vaccines, consumers should contact their local health department.
The Lake County Health Department can be reached at 707-263-1090, http://health.co.lake.ca.us/ .
For more information about the flu, visit CDPH’s Immunization Branch Web site, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/immunize/Pages/default.aspx .
To find a flu clinic, visit the Health Map Vaccine Finder, http://flushot.healthmap.org/ .
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A probation search conducted last week has resulted in the arrest of an Upper Lake man and the seizure of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Ira Jude Donelson, 36, was arrested in the case, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, sheriff’s patrol deputies conducted a probation search of Donelson at his residence, which is located in the 9000 block of Elliott Street in Upper Lake, Brooks said.
As the deputy approached the residence, he could hear people talking inside the detached garage, according to Brooks.
Brooks said the deputy knocked and identified himself at the side door of the garage, which is within close proximity of the front door of the residence. After several seconds, the deputy could hear what sounded like people moving items around inside the garage.
The deputy opened the unlocked door and saw Donelson reaching into a coffee can, which was sitting on a metal shelf. Brooks said Donelson was holding a loaded hypodermic syringe in his left hand and was trying to conceal it prior to the deputy entering the garage.
Donelson admitted the syringe contained methamphetamine. The syringe was seized as evidence and it appeared to contain approximately 24 milliliters of a clear liquid, Brooks said.
When asked if there were any other illegal items in the garage, Donelson provided the deputy with a box he said contained paraphernalia, Brooks said.
Inside the box the deputy located 36 hypodermic syringes and needles, another hypodermic syringe containing approximately 25 milliliters of suspected methamphetamine and a small metal box that contained a white crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine, Brooks reported.
A small amount of the crystalline substance and some liquid from each of the syringes were tested using a narcotic identification kit. Brooks said each test kit flashed blue indicating a presumptive positive for methamphetamine.
Donelson was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, and destroying or concealing evidence. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – “Bandemonium!” – a benefit for the Clear Lake High School concert, jazz and marching bands – returns this year on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The rockin' end of summer fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Natural High School on Main Street in Lakeport.
Events will include a car, truck or boat wash a tri-tip barbecue, a bake sale and live music performed by Clear Lake High School musicians throughout the day.
According to organizers, Clear Lake High School recently lost a major source of funding for its music program, therefore all funds necessary for extracurricular activities involving the concert, jazz, and marching bands must now be raised by the CLHS Band Boosters Club and band members.
For further information regarding the CLHS Music Program, contact Jenny Ingram at 707-262-3010, Extension 7009, or