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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A suspect wanted in connection to a December assault case that left a male juvenile seriously injured has been taken into custody.
Joshua Ray McLeod, 33, was arrested shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to Lt. Jason Ferguson of the Lakeport Police Department.
Ferguson said Lakeport Police officers, with the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, took McLeod into custody in the 3000 block of Hendricks Road.
McLeod was arrested on a felony warrant charging assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, willful harm or injury to a child and battery causing serious bodily injury, Ferguson said.
Ferguson said McLeod's arrest stemmed from the assault of a male juvenile from Lakeport that occurred shortly before 11:30 p.m. Dec. 27 in the 600 Block of Armstrong Street.
During the course of the investigation, Lakeport Police officers learned that the male juvenile was assaulted, without provocation, by a white male adult while walking along the street with two friends, Ferguson said.
The juvenile victim initially was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital and then transferred to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where it was determined he suffered serious bodily injury from the assault, according to Ferguson.
Through followup investigations, Ferguson said officers were able to identify McLeod as the suspect in the assault and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
McLeod was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Hill Road Jail where his bail was set at $90,000, Ferguson said.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Middletown man was flown to a regional trauma center on Tuesday afternoon after his Corvette crashed into a hillside.
David Clark, 49, suffered a possible fractured arm in the crash, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
At 4:20 p.m. Tuesday Clark was driving his 1985 Corvette northbound on Highway 29 north of Spruce Grove Road South at an unknown high rate of speed, Reynolds reported.
Clark was passing a 2010 Ford Escape driven by Christina Peterson, 30, of Clearlake, when he attempted to negotiate a right curve and lost control, according to the CHP report.
The CHP said Clark's Corvette slid across the northbound No. 2 lane before striking an asphalt curb and uphill embankment.
Debris from the impact struck Peterson’s vehicle, causing minor damage to it, said Reynolds.
Clark was flown by REACH to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital due to his injuries, Reynolds said.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A fire burning on Mt. Konocti since Tuesday morning has been contained, fire officials said Wednesday morning.
Cal Fire reported that the Becks fire had been contained at 296 acres as of 10:15 a.m. Wednesday.
The fire had first been reported at around 11 a.m. Tuesday in the 7900 block of Highway 29, east of Kelseyville.
It had started as a control burn at a vineyard, but escaped and headed up through steep terrain on the mountainside, according to the state and county firefighters that worked on.
Cal Fire patroled the fire through the night following a large early Tuesday evening flare up.
The fire had made it onto county park land, with county officials reporting some damage of a bathroom facility at Mt. Konocti County Park.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A wildland fire that firefighters had spent the better part of Tuesday trying to control had an evening flare up thanks to nighttime winds.
The Becks fire was first reported late Tuesday morning in the area of 7900 S. Highway 29 near Kelseyville, when a control burn on a vineyard escaped, as Lake County News has reported.
The fire headed up Mt. Konocti, necessitating a closure of Konocti Road and causing some facility damage in the boundaries of Mt. Konocti County Park, specifically to a new restroom facility, according to county officials.
Firefighters from around Lake County, with assistance from teams from Mendocino County and Cal Fire, worked on the fire, which was climbing through steep terrain.
By evening, Cal Fire reported that the fire was at 300 acres and 50 percent containment, an estimate that held through the night.
All local fire resources were released from the fire after 5 p.m., with Cal Fire remaining on scene, according to radio traffic.
Over the next hour, evening winds reported in the Kelseyville area appeared to have caused the fire to do a run up the mountain, with a number of witnesses reporting to Lake County News that they watched the fire's spectacular evening flare up. Witnesses also reported what appeared to be a spot fire that had broken out.
At around 6:30 p.m., radio reports indicated the fire was making an active run on the back side of the containment lines, and was flaring up in an orchard area on top of the mountain.
As the evening progressed, the fire situation improved and the blaze settled back down, with two Cal Fire engines able to manage the nighttime patrols of the mountain, radio reports indicated.
Firefighters were patrolling the area of the Fowler ranch, located on the mountain top next to the park, where some of the flare ups had been. Reports from the scene indicated firefighters also were patrolling up to Wright Peak.
Cal Fire said the fire is expected to be contained on Wednesday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – More than 100 Lake County wines captured top awards – including three Best of Class honors and three Double Gold awards – at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the Lake County Winery Association (LCWA) announced this week.
Vigilance Winery & Vineyards won Best of Class with its 2010 Red Hills Lake County Petite Sirah.
Additionally, Best of Class was awarded to Sol Rouge for its 2009 Lake County Cabernet Franc and to Writer’s Block (Steele Wines) for its 2010 Lake County Syrah.
Shed Horn Cellars received Double Gold for its 2009 Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon, Lavender Blue won Double Gold for its 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and Chacewater Wine was honored with Double Gold for its 2010 Red Hills Lake County Malbec.
The annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is touted as the “largest competition of American wines in the world.”
The 2013 results were posted following five days of tasting and evaluating more than 5,500 entries, according to the event’s Web site.
“Lake County wines and wineries truly stood out among the more than 5,500 entries at the SF Chronicle’s annual event,” said Monica Rosenthal, executive director of the Lake County Winery Association. “Our association members’ vintners can proudly say they are among the best when honored with multiple Best of Class, Double Gold, and Gold medals by the San Francisco competition’s professional judges.”
Lake county’s lead varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, showed well in this years sf chronicle wine competition.
However, numerous Lake County varietals garnered gold, silver and bronze medals including Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah, Malbec, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Zinfandel and Tempranillo.
The Lake County wineries and varietals awarded gold medals were Cross Springs (2009 Cabernet Sauvignon), Dalliance (2010 Red Wine), Gregory Graham Wines (2009 Riesling), Guenoc (2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, and 2011 Petite Sirah), Shannon Ridge (2009 Petite Sirah), Shed Horn Cellars (2009 Napa Valley Petite Verdot and 2010 Zinfandel), Stymie (2009 Syrah), Shooting Star (2010 Barbera and 2010 Merlot), Steele Wines (2010 Cabernet Franc) and Vigilance (2011 Sauvignon Blanc).
Guenoc, Shed Horn Cellars, Gregory Graham and Cache Creek Vineyards all received silver medals for their 2011 Lake County chardonnay. Several Lake County wineries garnered gold and silver for their Lake County petite sirah in addition to the Best of Class awarded to Vigilance Winery & Vineyards.
Red Lava Vineyards and Six Sigma Ranch & Winery each took silver medals for their Lake County Tempranillo wines, 2010 and 2009 vintages.
Many Lake County wineries were multiple winners, the competition results show. These included Cache Creek Vineyards (two silvers), Chacewater Wine (two silver, two bronze and a double gold), Cross Springs (two silver and a gold), Gregory Graham (two gold, three silver and three bronze), Guenoc (three gold, four silver and two bronze), and Rosa d’Oro (two silver and a bronze).
Shannon Ridge took six silver and four bronze medals in addition to its gold medal. Additional Lake County multi-medal winners were Shed Horn Cellars (three silver and two golf in addition to its double gold), Six Sigma (two silver), Sol Rouge (two silver and its Best of Class), Writers Block (two silver, three bronze in addition to its Best of Class), Shooting Star (two silver, two bronze, and its two gold), Steele Wines (six silver, five bronze, and its gold), Vigilance (two bronze, a silver, and its gold and Best of Class), and Wildhurst Vineyards (two silver and three bronze).
“We congratulate our Lake County Winery Association members who had such a fine showing at the competition,” said Rosenthal.
She pointed out that many wineries that use Lake County grapes to produce their wines outside of Lake County were also winners at the competition.
Bell Winery’s 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, a gold medal winner, was produced from Lake County grapes, as was the gold medal winning 2008 Enkidu Lake County Petite Sirah.
Approximately 20 silver and bronze awards were given to varietals by out-of-county wineries using Lake County winegrapes.
Winning entries in each category of the San Francisco Chronicle competition can be found on the Web site, www.winejudging.com .
In addition, tickets for the public tasting portion of the event may be purchased online. The public’s opportunity to taste entries from the competition is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 16, from 2 p.m. To 5 p.m., at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Tickets are $70 per person in advance and $85 per person at the door.
For more information about the Lake County Winery Association, visit the association’s Web site, www.lakecountywineries.org or contact Monica Rosenthal at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Distracted driving is a serious safety concern for all drivers throughout California, especially teen drivers.
Eighty percent of vehicle crashes involve some kind of driver distraction. Talking on the cell phone or texting is the main source of driver distraction.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is urging teenage drivers to stop texting, put away cell phones, and focus on driving.
In an effort save lives, CHP along with Impact Teen Drivers will be conducting a year-long teen distracted driving traffic safety campaign through September 2013.
“The California Office of Traffic Safety grant is an exciting opportunity for Impact Teen Drivers and the CHP to continue to be at the forefront of decreasing the number of collisions and deaths associated with distracted teen drivers,” said Kelly Browning, executive director of Impact Teen Drivers. “It will take a strong combination of education and enforcement to have a fundamental and sustained behavior shift toward driving distraction free.”
California drivers age 20 years or older were involved in nearly 22,000 collisions from Oct. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010, in which a distraction was documented as a factor in the cause of the crash.
As new drivers, teens are at an even greater risk of being involved in collisions due to distracted driving because of the peer pressures to stay immediately connected to their friends via text and cell phone.
Teenage distracted driving is one of the leading contributors to collisions and near collisions.
“The CHP is urging teen drivers to focus on driving. Eliminate the urge to text or call by putting away the distractions,” said Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Through education, enforcement, and the continued partnership between the CHP and Impact Teen Drivers, we can change this dangerous behavior.”
The 12-month, grant-funded Teen Distracted Drivers Education and Enforcement II campaign consists of an education component, as well as distracted driver enforcement operations to be conducted throughout the state.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.