News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Law enforcement officials have arrested three men on charges relating to the kidnapping of a woman that occurred in December, with one of the suspects having been convicted of a 1997 murder.

Charles Vasil Statler, 53, of Santa Rosa, and Clearlake Oaks residents 41-year-old James Daniel Austin and Ricky Lane McCullough, 58, were arrested on Tuesday as a result of a continuing investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.

Brooks said that on Dec. 12 Lake County Sheriff’s patrol deputies contacted a victim who reported that she was kidnapped by three men in the Upper Lake area on Dec. 4.

He said the victim reported her vehicle had been blocked by the men, who were in a separate vehicle. The men exited their vehicle and contacted the victim, telling her not to run. One of the suspects pulled the victim from inside her vehicle and threatened to kill her.

The suspects placed the victim into their vehicle and drove to a remote property in the Upper Lake area, Brooks said. One of the suspects followed in the victim’s vehicle.

Brooks reported that the suspects showed the victim a hole in the ground. They said if she did not tell them what they wanted to know, they were going to put her in the hole. They also placed the woman’s fingers into a pair of pliers and threatened to cut her fingers off.

The three men accused the victim of stealing marijuana worth $150,000, Brooks said.

After approximately two hours of threatening the victim, the suspects put her back into their vehicle and drove her around various areas of Lake County. Brooks said the suspects threatened to gang rape the victim if she did not tell them what they wanted.

After approximately seven hours, the suspects took the victim to her home. Brooks said the men took a large amount of cash from the victim and left her at her home.

Detectives continued the investigation and were able to identify the suspects. Brooks said arrest warrants were obtained for all of the suspects and they were arrested on Tuesday.

Brooks said Statler was arrested at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, where he was currently in custody for an unrelated case as wall as a parole violation stemming from a murder conviction, which occurred in Lake County in 1997.

Court documents showed that Statler killed Raymond Churchill by hitting him in the forehead with a skillet.

Statler was booked on a warrant charging him with kidnapping, carjacking, false imprisonment, robbery, criminal threats, threatening a victim, burglary and conspiracy. Statler’s bail is currently set at $1,000,000, Brooks said.

Brooks said Austin was booked on a warrant charging him with kidnapping, carjacking, false imprisonment, robbery, theft from a person and conspiracy. Austin’s bail is currently set at $300,000.

McCullough was booked on a warrant charging him with kidnapping, carjacking, false imprisonment and conspiracy. McCullough’s bail is currently set at $300,000, Brooks said.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A Middletown man was injured in a Tuesday evening crash on Highway 29 in Napa County.

Matthew Hollibaugh, 24, suffered major injuries when his pickup hit a bridge and overturned near Calistoga, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Napa office.

Hollibaugh was driving his 1989 Toyota pickup northbound on Highway 29 north of Palisades Road at 5:45 p.m. when the wreck occurred, the CHP said.

As Hollibaugh was traveling over a bridge, the CHP said he allowed his vehicle to drift to the right, where it hit the side of the bridge.

The CHP said Hollibaugh made it off the bridge but was unable to regain control of the pickup before it went off the east side of the road.

Hollibaugh crossed a creek and his pickup overturned, with the pickup hitting a stone pillar of a gate to a nearby residence, the CHP said.

As a result of the crash Hollibaugh was trapped in the pickup and had to be extricated by Cal Fire crews, according to the CHP report.

Highway 29 was closed for approximately an hour while Hollibaugh was extricated, the CHP said.

Reports from the scene indicated an air ambulance landed nearby to transport him to a regional trauma center.

The CHP said Hollibaugh was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash, the CHP said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – South Lake County Fire Protection District has received a grant to assist with data gathering and planning.

FM Global, an engineering-driven specialty insurer focused on commercial property protection, awarded the district $2,800, which will be used with pre-fire planning to efficiently collect and track data related to local community buildings.  

The project has been in the works for more than a year. The district reported than the grant is a huge step forward toward the ultimate goal of having an Android-based tablet in all emergency response equipment.  

The data gathered from these devices will assist firefighters in making safe and effective tactical decisions on fires, the district reported.

Because fire continues to be the leading cause of property damage worldwide, during the past 35 years FM Global has contributed millions of dollars in fire prevention grants to fire service organizations around the globe. Locally, the company has awarded grants to a number of California-based organizations.

“At FM Global, we strongly believe the majority of property damage is preventable, not inevitable,” said Michael Spaziani, manager of the fire prevention grant program. “Far too often, inadequate budgets prevent those organizations working to prevent fire from being as proactive as they would like to be.  With additional financial support, grant recipients are actively helping to improve property risk in the communities they serve.”

Through its Fire Prevention Grant Program, FM Global awards grants quarterly to fire departments -- as well as national, state, regional, local and community organizations worldwide – that best demonstrate a need for funding, where dollars can have the most demonstrable impact on preventing fire, or mitigating the damage it can quickly cause.

To learn more about FM Global’s Fire Prevention Grant Program, or to apply for a grant, please visit www.fmglobal.com/grants .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A crash early Tuesday night resulted in major injuries and the temporary closure of Highway 29 in Napa County.

The California Highway Patrol said the crash was first reported just before 5:45 p.m. on Highway 29 at Palisades Road near Calistoga.

Details on the vehicles involved were not immediately available Tuesday night.

The crash resulted in major injuries, the CHP said.

Officials closed down both directions of Highway 29 between Greenwood Avenue and Tubbs Lane in order for an air ambulance to land.

The highway was reported to have reopened by 7:30 p.m.

Additional details about the crash will be posted as they become available.

NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures.

With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record.

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis Tuesday that compares temperatures around the globe in 2012 to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century.

The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago.

The average temperature in 2012 was about 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 Celsius), which is 1.0 F (0.6 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.

The average global temperature has risen about 1.4 degrees F (0.8 C) since 1880, according to the new analysis.

Scientists emphasize that weather patterns always will cause fluctuations in average temperature from year to year, but the continued increase in greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere assures a long-term rise in global temperatures.

Each successive year will not necessarily be warmer than the year before, but on the current course of greenhouse gas increases, scientists expect each successive decade to be warmer than the previous decade.

“One more year of numbers isn’t in itself significant,” GISS climatologist Gavin Schmidt said. “What matters is this decade is warmer than the last decade, and that decade was warmer than the decade before. The planet is warming. The reason it’s warming is because we are pumping increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat and largely controls Earth’s climate. It occurs naturally and also is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels for energy.

Driven by increasing manmade emissions, the level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has been rising consistently for decades.

The carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was about 285 parts per million in 1880, the first year in the GISS temperature record.

By 1960, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory, was about 315 parts per million. Today, that measurement exceeds 390 parts per million.

While the globe experienced relatively warm temperatures in 2012, the continental U.S. endured its warmest year on record by far, according to NOAA, the official keeper of U.S. weather records.

“The U.S. temperatures in the summer of 2012 are an example of a new trend of outlying seasonal extremes that are warmer than the hottest seasonal temperatures of the mid-20th century,” GISS director James E. Hansen said.

“The climate dice are now loaded,” Hansen said. “Some seasons still will be cooler than the long-term average, but the perceptive person should notice that the frequency of unusually warm extremes is increasing. It is the extremes that have the most impact on people and other life on the planet.”

The temperature analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea-surface temperature, and Antarctic research station measurements.

A publicly available computer program is used to calculate the difference between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same place during 1951 to 1980.

This three-decade period functions as a baseline for the analysis. The last year that experienced cooler temperatures than the 1951 to 1980 average was 1976.

The GISS temperature record is one of several global temperature analyses, along with those produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

These three primary records use slightly different methods, but overall, their trends show close agreement.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A popular annual event to benefit worthy social programs is returning in February.

The seventh annual “Wine and Chocolate … and More” will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Mt. Konocti Winery & Event Center, 2550 Big Valley Road, Kelseyville.

“Wine and Chocolate” spotlights Lake County’s award-winning, ultra-premium wines and, at the same time, benefits Lake Family Resource Center.

It includes pairings of local wines not only with incredible chocolates, but also with savory bites from local restaurants and caterers. Local Sommelier Stephanie Green provides the pairing expertise.

The event also includes an auction, workshops on wine and food pairing, and olive oil sensory.

Chacewater Olive Mill’s own Emilio De La Cruz will share his secrets in producing the finest extra virgin olive oil and Stephanie Green will share the secrets of wonderful wine.

This year’s event will include beer tasting, a fire pit and a car show, weather permitting. You will also be able to purchase bottles of the wines you discover at the on-site wine store.

Come join the fun and support Lake Family Resource Center in their efforts to strengthen families in our Lake County communities.

Recent San Francisco Chronicle award winning wineries are participating – it’s a great opportunity to taste these amazing wines in one place.

Kelsey Creek Brewery also will pour its outstanding beer and several local restaurants will tickle your taste buds with their savory offerings.

Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 the day of the event and at the door.

They are currently available at the following locations, with more ticket outlets to come:

• Lake Family Resource Center, Kelseyville offices, 5350 Main St., telephone 707-279-0563 (in person or over the phone);
• Lake County Chamber of Commerce, 875 Lakeport Blvd., telephone 707-263-5092;
• Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, 14106 Olympic Drive, Suite B, telephone 707-994-3600;    
• Saw Shop Gallery & Bistro, 3825 Main St., Kelseyville, telephone 707-278-0129.

Tickets also are available at most Lake County wineries’ tasting rooms or online at www.lakefrc.org .