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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A line of questioning on Thursday morning has led to the potential for mistrial in the trial of two young Clearlake Oaks men for the shooting last summer that killed a child and wounded five others.
Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, and Paul William Braden, 22, are on trial for the June 18, 2011, shooting in Clearlake that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, wounded the child’s mother and her boyfriend, and three other family members and friends.
The trial, in which testimony began in late February, came to a halt during the morning session as District Attorney Don Anderson was questioning Sgt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.
Anderson asked Celli to relate a statement Lopez had reportedly made to Celli claiming innocence but alleging that Braden was at the scene, incriminating his codefendant.
Braden's attorney, Doug Rhoades, objected, and Lopez's attorney, Stephen Carter, joined the objection.
Visiting Yolo County Judge Doris Shockley sustained the objections.
Shockley then excused the jury for the morning.
The attorneys, along with Braden and Lopez, returned after lunch for a hearing on what happens next.
The questioning appeared to violate pretrial agreements between the defense and prosecution, as well as case law evolving from People v. Aranda, a 1965 case that has given rise to protections for codefendants, and the 1968 case Bruton v. United States.
Based on case law, if two or more defendants are being charged and tried jointly in a case, statements by a codefendant to investigators or witnesses which place blame on the other codefendant are not allowed to be presented in court.
If such statements are presented, they must be redacted to remove prejudice to the codefendant. However, if there is no way to do that, then mistrial is the only other alternative.
As a result of the afternoon hearing, Rhoades and Carter are to submit their mistrial motions by Monday, April 30, with Anderson's response due Tuesday, May 1. Shockley scheduled a hearing on the mistrial motions for 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 2.
Shockley then called in the two juries, told them, “You may not be surprised” to hear issues have come up as they have done so in the past, and offering no other details excused them for the remainder of the week, ordering them to return at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 2.
The attorneys in the case said they will be prepared to offer comment after the proceedings next week.
This is the second time that the possibility of mistrial has arisen in the proceedings.
On April 5, Carter had moved for mistrial, alleging that Anderson had abused him while making an objection.
The defense and prosecution later reached agreement to having an admonishment read to the jury ordering jurors to ignore extraneous comments by the attorneys during questioning.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A well-known Kelseyville photographer has captured top honors in a statewide competition for his photograph of two birds of prey vying for a fish.
Lyle Madeson was chosen as the grand prize winner in the year-long California Watchable Wildlife and Outdoor California Photo Contest.
Each month from March, 2011 through February, 2012, entries were judged on creativity, technical excellence, composition, overall impact and artistic merit by judges Bob Garrison, chair emeritus, California Watchable Wildlife Steering Committee; David Rosen, wildlife photographer; and Troy Swauger, editor of Outdoor California.
The Grand Prize Award was selected from the 12 monthly first place winners and presented by Chuck Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Game in a ceremony at the California State Capitol on Monday, April 23.
Bonham selected Madeson’s image of an osprey and red-tailed hawk hooked onto the same fish in midair.
“What I especially like about this photograph is how it represents action, which is a real attribute of wildlife,” Bonham said in presenting the grand prize. “It also seemed reflective of the nature of wildlife, in that with all of the tribulations facing wildlife in our great state, our fish and animal resources are often caught in the middle of a rock and a hard place, or in this case, one raptor’s talon and another raptor’s talon.”
Madeson took the winning photograph at Clear Lake State Park.
“This photo was captured while photographing ospreys and eagles fishing for Clear Lake hitch that are heading for their spawning grounds on Kelsey Creek,” he said. “After photographing the catch of the fish, the osprey flew directly at me, and in half second, a red-tailed hawk made the second catch!”
Madeson’s Grand Prize Award, valued at $500, included a check for $200, Nikon binocular donated by Out of this World in Mendocino, and a membership and State Parks pass donated by California State Parks Foundation.
A People’s Choice Award also was selected by visitors to California Watchable Wildlife’s Facebook page.
Cathy Cooper of Fairfield was chosen for her photograph of a green heron with a small fish, taken at Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.
The award winners and first place photos are on display outside the Governor’s Office at the California State Capitol from April 23 through April 27, including Kelseyville resident Deanna Madeson’s image of grebes, which won first place in December 2011.
The contest was conducted by California Watchable Wildlife in cooperation with Outdoor California, a bimonthly publication of the California Department of Fish and Game, drawing almost 900 entries from 200 photographers.
The three monthly winning images were published in each issue of Outdoor California from May 2011 through March 2012.
Photographers were given just two simple rules: Images must be taken at a California Watchable Wildlife viewing site or be of any native California species.
The 12 monthly first place winners were: March 2011, Lyle Madeson, Kelseyville; April 2011, Mike Warner, El Sobrante; May 2011, Jessica Weinberg, Palo Alto; June 2011, Thomas Roach, Lincoln; July 2011, Jay Gaskill, Groveland; August 2011, Thomas Roach, Lincoln; September 2011, Carole Haskell, Lincoln; October 2011, Matt Knoth, San Francisco; November 2011, Tory Kallman, San Francisco; December 2011, Deanna Madeson, Kelseyville; January 2012, Tim Torell, Sunvalley, Nevada; February 2012, Cathy Cooper, Fairfield.
Albums of all monthly winners and entries are available at www.facebook.com/CaWatchableWildlife .
California attracts more wildlife viewers and associated expenditures than any other state in the nation.
California Watchable Wildlife’s interactive Web site provides maps and details about the statewide network of wildlife viewing sites, which are marked with the iconic brown binocular signs.
Sites have been evaluated for their wildlife viewing values, quality and diversity of habitats and visitor amenities to ensure that the state’s wildlife values are protected from overuse and that each site offers the highest quality viewing experience to visitors.
For 20 years, California Watchable Wildlife has celebrated the state's wildlife and diverse habitats by acknowledging and elevating the value of wildlife viewing to benefit individuals, families, communities, and industries while fostering awareness and support for conservation and protection of wildlife and habitats.
State and Federal agency partners include California Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Game, California Department of Transportation, California State Parks, Nature Conservancy of California, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA Forest Service.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County has once again received top rankings in an assessment of air quality in thousands of counties nationwide.
The American Lung Association on Wednesday released its annual State of the Air 2012 Report, which grades state and local area air quality on an A through F scale by comparing local ozone and small particulate concentrations with the federal air quality standards.
Lake County received an “A” grade for ozone, a “B” grade for short term particulate pollution and
is ranked the eighth cleanest county in the nation for annual particulate average concentrations – tying with Maui County in Hawaii for the ranking.
Of California's counties, Lake was the only one in the 2012 State of the Air report to place in the top 10 cleanest counties in the country for small-particulate levels. Shasta and San Benito counties were the only other counties in California to make the top 25.
The counties that ranked in the top 10 for year-round particle pollution levels included Santa Fe County, New Mexico, No. 1; Elbert County, Colo., and Laramie County, Wyo., tying for No. 2; Hancock County, Maine, and Essex County, New York, and Jackson County, South Dakota, tying for No. 4; Billings County, North Dakota, No. 5; Maui County, Hawaii, and Lake County, Calif., No. 8; and Teton County, Wyo, No. 10.
Santa Fe, N.M., ranked as the cleanest city in the nation.
Lake's overall rankings in the report have fluctuated over the past several years. In 2011, the county was ranked No. 6 nationwide, No. 10 in 2010 and in 2009 was No. 3.
The 2012 report's findings are based on three years of data, from 2008 to 2010.
As such, the impacts of the 2008 wildfires contributed to the dip in the county's rankings, according to the Lake County Air Quality Management District.
In the summer of 2008, thousands of lightning strikes lit fires around Northern California. Winds blew smoke from the lightning fires in Mendocino County into Lake County's air basin. The county's air also was impacted by the Soda Complex lightning fires in the Mendocino National Forest.
At the same time, the 14,500-acre Walker Fire broke out near Clearlake Oaks, with that fire's cause attributed to a vehicle hitting a rock.
Even with the wildfire impacts, Wednesday's report showed that Lake is one of only nine of California's 58 counties that did not have any days of ozone air pollution levels in the unhealthful range. Small particulate only exceeded the allowable limits during the 2008 wildfires.
The other eight California counties getting “A” grades for ozone levels were Glenn, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou and Sonoma.
California counties receiving “A” grades for low levels of particle pollution – a mix of microscopic bits of ash, soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols – included Humboldt, Mendocino, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou and Sonoma.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart attributed the county's air quality accomplishments to strong local support – from the community at large, cooperation of local
agencies, local fire protection districts, Cal Fire, the local agricultural community and industry – for clean air measures.
That support, in turn, has made it possible for the county to comply with Federal Clean Air Standards and the more rigorous California standards for ozone and other air pollutants for the past 22 years, he said.
No other air district in California can match that record, Gearhart said.
Despite its clean air accomplishments, the American Lung Association report offered a reminder that Lake – like all counties – has special populations who are at particular risk for air pollution.
The report explained that those at greatest risk from air pollution include infants, children, older adults, anyone with lung diseases like asthma, people with heart disease or diabetes, people with low incomes and anyone who works or exercises outdoors.
Among Lake's nearly 65,000 residents, the association reported that there are 907 cases of pediatric asthma, 4,023 cases of adult asthma, 2,359 people with chronic bronchitis, 1,171 residents with emphysema, 19,103 people with cardiovascular disease and 5,491 cases with diabetes.
Children under age 18 number 13,672, there are 11,440 adults over age 65, and approximately 13,438 people live in poverty in Lake County, the report showed.
Overall, the State of the Air 2012 report showed that in America's most polluted cities air quality was at its cleanest since the organization’s annual report began 13 years ago.
“State of the Air shows that we’re making real and steady progress in cutting dangerous pollution from the air we breathe,” said Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association president and chief executive officer. “We owe this to the ongoing protection of the Clean Air Act. But despite these improvements, America’s air quality standards are woefully outdated, and unhealthy levels of air pollution still exist across the nation, putting the health of millions of Americans at stake.”
The report showed that more than 40 percent of people in the United States – or 127 million people – live in areas where air pollution continues to threaten their health.
Nearly four out of 10 people in the U.S. live in counties that received an F for air quality because of unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution, nearly 50 million Americans live in counties with too many unhealthy spikes in particle pollution levels,and nearly six million people live in areas with unhealthy year-round levels of particle pollution.
The study found that major improvements were seen in 18 of the 25 cities most polluted by ozone, including Los Angeles, which had the lowest smog levels since the report was first published in 2000.
A list of the nation’s most polluted cities follow. For more detailed air quality information, visit www.stateoftheair.org .
10 Most Ozone-Polluted
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
Fresno-Madera, Calif.
Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
Merced, Calif.
10 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution
Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
Fresno-Madera, Calif.
Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz.
Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.
Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill.
10 Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution
Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
Fresno-Madera, Calif.
Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
Modesto, Calif.
Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, UT
Logan, UT-ID
Fairbanks, Alaska
Merced, Calif.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Saturday, April 28, the city of Lakeport will be awash in purple, thanks to efforts by volunteers from the American Cancer Society’s annual “Relay For Life,” a community campout against cancer.
Throughout California, towns, schools and businesses will “paint our town purple” to celebrate cancer survivorship and bring attention to the yearly event, which will be held on Saturday, May 19, at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport.
“We’re using the power of purple to bring good news to cancer survivors and mobilize the community,” said Racheal Harmon of Lakeport, one of Relay for Life's local organizers.
“Paint Own Town Purple Day is a time to celebrate the lives of cancer survivors, and to have some fun with the color purple to bring attention to the American Cancer Society’s many programs and services in our community,” Harmon explained.
The American Cancer Society invites everyone to join the fun, simply by calling Event Chair Marshele at 707-262-1722 and asking how you can “Paint Our Town Purple” at your school, in surrounding towns, at the college or in your workplace.
“Relay For Life” is a wonderful event, and the entire community is invited to participate on May 19 and 20. But on April 28, join us in the spirit of celebration and in painting our town purple to call awareness to this important event that works to benefit and recognize cancer patients, their families and their caregivers,” said Harmon.
She added, “The American Cancer Society Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.”
All participants are encouraged to spread hope in the community. Whether you are a homeowner, a restaurateur or a retail business operator/owner, there are plenty of ideas for painting the town purple from Saturday, April 28, through Saturday, May 19.
Here are some suggestions:
- Decorate your home or store windows with a purple display.
- Participate in the contest for the best purple window display.
- Display a purple yard sign in your front yard.
- Decorate your front entrance, your fence or your door with purple balloons.
- Paint your porch light purple or insert a purple bulb.
- Tie purple ribbons around tress in your neighborhood.
- Wear purple clothing.
- Buy and wear our purple wrist bands.
- Turn your town landmarks purple.
- Decorate the exterior of your city hall purple.
- Display a Relay For Life link on your business Web site or personal blog.
To request a Relay for Life logo or purple ribbon to be painted on your business window please call Racheal Harmon at 707-349-9655.
Information about how to form a team or become involved in Relay For Life is available from the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.RelayForLife.org/LakeCountyCa .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Looking for some pint-sized friends to keep you company?
Lake County Animal Care and Control has a number of cats and small dogs that can fit the bill.
Beau and Delilah are two young Chihuahua mixes, raised together since puppyhood.
Beau has tricolor markings, weighs 6 pounds and is 5 months old. Delilah has tan and white markings, weighs 6 pounds and is 7 months old. Both have been altered.
They are small and affectionate, and would make great companions for a single person or a family. Any size home would do.
Shelter staff hopes to adopt them to the same home, as they have spent their young lives together.
For those preferring a feline friend, there is is Tilly, a 10-month-old domestic short hair mix.
The friendly brown tabby would happily give up her cage to settle in at your place.
She is in cat room kennel No. 126, ID No. 32385.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man has been sentenced to more than four years in state prison for soliciting sex with a teenage girl through Facebook messages and texts, and using Facebook to send a lewd message to another girl.
Jason James Russell, 29, was sentenced by Judge Arthur H. Mann on April 16 to the maximum term of four years in state prison for arranging a meeting with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense and going to the arranged meeting place at the arranged time.
Russell will be required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Penal Code Section 290 when he is released from prison, according to the Lake County District Attorney's Office.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg, with Russell represented by Tom Quinn.
The case originated with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
On Jan. 19, a concerned parent contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to report that her 15-year-old daughter had received several sexually explicit and vulgar messages from Russell via the social networking site Facebook as well as text messages to her cell phone, the District Attorney's Office said.
The minor had accepted a friend request from Russell; she and Russell had a mutual friend, but she was not otherwise acquainted with him, the District Attorney's Office reported.
According to the investigation, the teen initially responded to Russell’s messages by informing him that she was 15 years old and telling him to stop contacting her. However, Russell persisted and the minor told her parents.
Sheriff’s Investigator Kellie Joseph obtained the minor’s cell phone and, posing as the minor, contacted Russell and pretended to be interested in getting together with him.
Joseph arranged a meeting with Russell at Austin Park in Clearlake, and Russell was apprehended at the scene. He admitted that he had gone to Austin Park with the intention of having sexual relations with the 15-year-old minor.
Based upon the results of her investigation, Joseph were able to obtain an enhanced bail of $250,000.
Russell was also on a grant of felony Proposition 36 probation for possession of cocaine and the Probation Department filed a petition to revoke his felony probation, according to Borg.
After Russell was arrested, another minor victim came forward. That minor had received a similar vulgar message from Russell on Facebook and had immediately informed her parents. After investigation, a separate case was filed against Russell.
On March 5, Russell pleaded guilty to one count of arranging a meeting with a minor for a lewd purpose in the first case, one count of annoying and molesting a minor in the second case and admitted to violating his probation in the felony drug case.
At the sentencing hearing on Monday, April 16, Judge Mann sentenced Russell to four years, the maximum sentence for the solicitation charge, with a concurrent term of one year for annoying and molesting a minor, and a subordinate term of eight months, consecutive, for his felony probation case, for an aggregate term of four years and eight months, Borg said.
Because two of the charges to which Russell pleaded require registration as a sex offender, he will serve his term in state prison, according to Borg.