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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting comments on whether the Northeastern Pacific population of white shark should be listed as a threatened or endangered species pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act.
The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a globally distributed species found primarily in temperate seas. They are large apex predators that can be found in a wide variety of environments from the intertidal zone and the continental shelf to deep offshore areas. The Northeastern Pacific white shark population’s full range extends from Mexico north to the Bering Sea and west to Hawaii.
The Fish and Game Commission received a petition to list white shark as either threatened or endangered pursuant to California Endangered Species Act in August 2012.
The commission’s decision to accept the petition and declare white shark a candidate species took effect March 1.
CDFW is conducting an in-depth status review to provide the Commission with information to aid in its decision whether to list the species. The status review is slated for completion by March 2014.
As part of the status review process, CDFW is soliciting information that will inform CDFW and the Commission on white shark status, including potential habitat destruction or modification, overexploitation, predation, competition, disease or other natural occurrences or human related activities that may affect the status of white shark.
Data and other information may be submitted by mail to this address:
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Marine Region
Attn: White Shark Status Report
4665 Lampson Avenue, Suite C
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Comments may also be sent via email to:
Information on white shark and CDFW’s CESA evaluation can be found at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/whiteshark.asp#cesa .
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The investigation of a report of trespassing and water theft has resulted in one arrest and the seizure of 17,236 marijuana plants.
During the operation 28-year-old Alejandro Carrada-Cholula of Windsor was arrested, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Brooks said that on Wednesday, May 29, a patrol deputy responded to the 20000 block of Nicholas Way in Middletown, where the property owner explained he owns approximately 20 acres and there are two empty buildings on the property.
One of the buildings contained a pump which was attached to the well. Neither of the buildings was used as a residence, Brooks said.
The owner explained he had gone to the property earlier in the day to check on it and discovered a generator was attached to his well pump, Brooks said. The man believed someone was stealing his water and possibly growing marijuana, due to the remote location.
The deputy conducted an investigation and located the generator which was still attached to the water pump. He also noticed what appeared to be fresh tire tracks in the dirt, next to the pump house, Brooks said.
The deputy followed the tracks through the dense brush and located a marijuana grow containing 356 plants in different stages of growth. Brooks said the deputy was unable to locate anyone in the grow, but found evidence that the growers had recently tended to the plants. He was unable to locate any evidence which would assist in identifying the suspect, or suspects, and eradicated the plants.
On Saturday, June 15, a deputy responded to the same address for another report of trespassing, Brooks said.
At that time, the deputy located Carrada-Cholula and took him into custody. Brooks said Carrada admitted being responsible for the marijuana grow that was eradicated on May 29.
Brooks said the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force responded to the area and located another 16,880 marijuana plants in two additional areas, which they eradicated.
During the interview with deputies, Carrada said he paid a male subject $12,000 to use the property for marijuana cultivation and did not know it was owned by someone else, Brooks said.
Carrada also said he knew a law enforcement officer had cut some of his plants down a couple of weeks ago. Brooks said Carrada told detectives that he was selling the processed marijuana for $1,000 a pound.
Carrada was arrested for the cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, with bail set at $15,000. Jail records indicated he posted the required percentage of bail and was released.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lake County Jail inmate walked away from a work detail in Lakeport on Sunday.
Brendan Scott Ferris, 42, of Kelseyville was on a work detail at the Lake County Department of Social Services' office at 926 Forbes St. in Lakeport on Sunday when he was last seen, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
A jail inmate's jumpsuit was found in a grocery cart in some bushes near where Ferris last was seen in Lakeport, according to information Lake County News has received on the case.
Now, Ferris is facing additional legal issues, said Hinchcliff.
“We've charged him with felony escape,” Hinchcliff said.
On Tuesday, Lake County News received reports that Ferris had been picked up in San Francisco. However, messages left with sheriff's command staff were not returned.
Hinchcliff said Ferris was sentenced in December 2012 to three years and eight months in prison for two felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance.
“He should have been doing his time in state prison,” said Hinchcliff, adding that because of the state's correctional realignment law, AB 109, Ferris instead is serving time locally in the county jail.
Social Services Director Carol Huchingson told Lake County News that her department's facilities management staff was working over the weekend on remodeling at the Lakeport office in order to minimize disruption to the worksite during the week.
She said two of the facilities maintenance workers were trained and certified by the sheriff's office to use inmate labor for such projects, and they have used inmate labor in the past
On Sunday, the two employees went to the jail and picked up five inmates each to help with the work, Huchingson said.
After working most of the day, it was determined at around 4 p.m. that one of the two employees would return to the jail with five inmates while the other employee stayed at the worksite and continued working with the remaining five, Huchingson said.
A head count of the 10 inmates was confirmed before the first employee left with five inmates. But within minutes of the first employee leaving, the second employee, who had remained on site, could only account for four inmates, she said.
“He called for the missing inmate but was unable to locate him,” said Huchingson. “We believe he may have slipped out a rear door of the building.”
Shes said the incident was reported immediately to the sheriff's office.
Ferris is the latest of several inmate escapes reported over the past 14 months.
Since April 2012, the sheriff's office has acknowledged three escapes of minimum security and inmate trustees, all of whom later were taken into custody.
In addition, a fourth escape occurred late last month but the man was quickly recaptured with the help of county Supervisor Rob Brown, who located the escapee not far from the jail on Hill Road, as Lake County News has reported.
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LUCERNE, Calif. – A talented local educator has been named to a leadership position for Lake County's first four-year college campus.
Marymount California University President Michael Brophy announced the appointment of Michelle Scully as the executive director of the University’s Lakeside Campus located in Lucerne.
“Michelle is an amazing talent and an educator with genuine passion for teaching and learning. She is the perfect candidate to build on the positive relationship that has developed between the region’s leaders and the university,” offered Dr. Brophy.
Scully assumes her leadership with the university on July 1.
“I am honored to be a part of the Marymount California University team,” said Scully. “The staff at MCU has worked in partnership with the county of Lake to create educational opportunities for those living in Lake County. Students from Mendocino and Yuba Colleges, as well as residents who want to complete their college education or further their professional development will be attending MCU.”
Scully holds a master’s degree in biology from California State University, Chico. Since 2009 she has been an instructor of biology at Mendocino College.
Scully has lived in Lake County since 1995, when she and her husband moved to join her husband's family in the pear packing/farming business.
She has worked with many community groups including the Lake County California Women for Agriculture, where she served as president; Konocti Christian Academy, where she was one of the founding members of the board of directors; and also has served on the Lake County Chamber of Commerce board.
Her work with the Lake County Hunger Task Force has included a fundraising effort, the Bountiful Gift Box Project. For the past three holiday seasons producers of wine, walnuts, olive oil, pears and apples have donated their locally-grown products to the Gift Box Project and the proceeds from the sales of the boxes are donated to feed the county’s hungry.
Scully also has served as a member of the college's local advisory council. Her colleagues on that council greeted her appointment with enthusiasm.
“There couldn’t be a better choice for the students, the community, and the University,” said businessman Bill Kearney.
“Michelle will do an outstanding job. She is a perfect choice for this very important position,” said Kelly Cox, the county's retired administrative officer, who himself worked tirelessly to bring Marymount to Lake County.
Cox added that Scully's selection demonstrates the university's commitment to the future success of the Lake County campus.
Annette Hopkins, president of the Lake County chapter of the California Women for Agriculture, said Scully's experience, interests and personality make her a “natural” for the job.
“This is fantastically good news for the college and for the community – I can't imagine anyone with better personal and professional qualifications for this demanding job,” said Victoria Brandon, another advisory council member.
Wilda Shock, another advisory council member who has been involved in guiding plans for an educational campus at the historic Lucerne Hotel, called Scully's appointment “inspired.”
“Michelle’s knowledge of Lake County – the communities, the people, the issues – and her passion for quality education makes her selection especially timely. We will all benefit from her involvement as the executive director,” Shock said.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A former police officer and Lake County Sheriff's deputy who was dropped from a federal home invasion robbery case in April is now facing charges in a separate local case for allegedly trafficking in prescription drugs.
Eric Van Mendonca, 43, was arrested by sheriff's deputies at his Middletown home on Monday, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe.
Grothe said Mendonca is facing 16 felony counts for possession for sale, sale and offering to sell hydrocodone on seven separate dates in November and December of 2012, and January and February of this year.
“He had multiple prescriptions and was 'doc shopping,'” said Grothe.
The investigation, conducted by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, found that Mendonca had managed to accumulate thousands of pills using prescriptions that were filled at a number of Lake County pharmacies between March 9, 2009, and this past Feb. 6.
During that time period, Mendonca allegedly accumulated 17,540 prescription narcotic pain pills, according to case documents.
In 2012 alone, he acquired 6,990 pills, an average of 20 per day, Grothe said.
Grothe said that each of the 16 felony charges carries sentences ranging between 16 months and four years if Mendonca is convicted.
The FBI said its Safe Streets and Gang Unit – which includes 19 task forces across California – pursues violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy and firearms violations, and is meant to expand cooperation and communication among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Earlier this year, at the same time as Mendonca was being investigated in the prescription drug case, he and several other men – including Petaluma residents Terry Jacksen and Michael Puckett, and Jack David Pollack of Hidden Valley Lake – were indicted by a federal grand jury.
The charges against the men included robbery affecting interstate commerce, conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, possession of a firearm in furtherance of the robbery, conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, impersonating an officer and making a search or arrest while impersonating an officer, according to case documents.
The US Attorney's Office alleged that the men committed an October 2012 home invasion robbery in Hidden Valley Lake, taking 48 marijuana plants valued at $96,000.
The men were accused of using law enforcement uniforms – allegedly provided by Mendonca, a former Petaluma Police officer and Lake County Sheriff's deputy – in committing the robbery, based on the indictment.
However, in April the US Attorney's Office dismissed the case against Mendonca without prejudice, as Lake County News has reported.
On Monday Mendonca was booked into the Lake County Jail, with bail was set at $275,000. He posted the required percentage of bail and was released the same day, according to jail records.
Grothe said that no court firm court date has yet been set for Mendonca in the new case.
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GLENHAVEN, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol said a crash that occurred earlier this month involving a car and a semi sent four people – three of them children – to area hospitals.
The report, issued on Monday, explained the circumstances of a crash that occurred on Saturday, June 8, on Highway 20 near Glenhaven.
The vehicles involved were a 1995 Saab driven by 25-year-old Emmie Dewan Jett of Clearlake and a Walmart semi truck and trailer, the CHP said.
Jett was traveling in an easterly direction following the semi truck at approximately 45 miles per hour at about 12:30 p.m., according to the report.
Riding in the car with Jett were four male juveniles, three of whom were not restrained in the vehicle, the CHP said.
For an unknown reason, the front of Jett's Saab hit the rear of the semi, causing him to lose control, according to the report.
The CHP said the Saab went across the highway's westbound lane and overturned, coming to rest on its roof in the westbound lane, west of Olsen Road.
Two of the juveniles were flown by air ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center with major injuries, the CHP said, while Jett and one of the juveniles were taken to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for treatment of minor injuries. The fourth juvenile was uninjured.
In its report the CHP said the full names and ages of the juveniles currently were unknown.
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