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Rosetta Forrest, 70, was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital where she was undergoing surgery on Tuesday afternoon, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Crutcher, who was investigating the crash.
CHP reports indicated the crash occurred at around 11:45 a.m. just north of Kelseyville Auto Salvage, which is located in the 7600 block of Highway 29.
Crutcher said Forrest was traveling southbound on Highway 29 at 55 miles per hour in a 2006 Pontiac G6 sedan when, for an unknown reason, she drifted to the right and onto the shoulder, and then went off the roadway.
He said Forrest’s vehicle went down a dirt embankment, with the passenger side glancing off an oak tree.
The car continued on and hit another oak tree head-on, with the car then catching on fire, Crutcher said.
Reports from the scene indicated passersby stopped to help Forrest – who was trapped in the vehicle – by attempting to break out the car’s windows. At the same time, the fire was reported to be spreading under the vehicle.
Crutcher said the Kelseyville Fire Protection District responded and extinguished the fire, which burned a small area.
The CHP reported there was a highway closure that lasted about an hour and a half while the scene was cleared. Highway 29 was reported to be reopened at 12:14 p.m.
Crutcher said drugs and alcohol did not contribute to the crash.
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The National Weather Service said that rain is likely throughout Wednesday and Thursday.
Between a quarter and half an inch of rain is expected on Wednesday, with wind gusts as high as 22 miles per hour expected.
Temperatures overnight are expected to drop into the 30s, the agency predicted, with as much as another inch of rain possible.
The National Weather Service said there is a 60-percent chance of rain on Thanksgiving, with the total expected to be up to a quarter of an inch. Southwest winds up to nine miles per hour during the day also are predicted.
On Thanksgiving night, temperatures are forecast to drop into the high 30s, with a 40-percent chance of showers and west northwest winds at around 9 miles per hours, the National Weather Service reported.
Weather through the rest of the week is expected to be sunny, with some clouds, and daytime temperatures in the 50s and 60s, according to forecasters.
The National Weather Service is predicting a slight chance of rain early next week
Caltrans urges travelers to be prepared for winter storms when traveling, to give themselves extra time to reach destinations during inclement weather, and be equipped with chains, blankets and flashlights, and food and water in case of travel delays.
Current road conditions can be found by calling 800-427-7623 or by visiting www.dot.ca.gov.
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Clearlake Police officers responded to D&M Compassion Center, located at 14491 Olympic Drive, shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph.
Joseph said officers arrived at the scene and discovered that a glass sliding door had been shattered.
Officers made entry into the business, but no suspects were located, Joseph said.
It is believed that the suspect, or suspects, made off with some personal property, however Joseph said no marijuana was stolen.
Evidence at the scene suggests that the goal was to try to steal marijuana secured inside the building, Joseph said.
He said the case is still under investigation.
Joseph added that this is the third burglary of D&M Compassion Center in the last few months.
Anyone who may have information about this burglary is asked to contact the police department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.
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The group OneJustice has organized the hearings, which are co-sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce, the State Bar of California and the Access to Justice Commission.
In July, the Judicial Council of California allocated a $350 million reduction for fiscal year 2011-12, the largest budget cut in state court history, as Lake County News has reported.
The Administrative Office of the Courts said that reduction translates into a 6.8 percent cut in funding for the 58 California trial courts, a 9.7 percent cut in funding for the California Supreme Court and the six Courts of Appeal, and a 12 percent funding reduction for the Judicial Council and its staff organization.
The Lake County Superior Court, which for 2011-12 has a $3.6 million budget, received a $300,000 cut, according to court officials.
The first of the planned hearings around the state took place Nov. 15 in Sacramento at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.
Additional hearings are planned for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Administrative Office of the Courts, 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Dec. 2, Southwestern Law School, 3050 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 7, University of California, Irvine School of Law, 401 East Peltason Drive, Irvine.
For more information visit www.CaliforniaHearings.org.
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Law enforcement is still seeking the suspects, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
Smallcomb said Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at 8:30 a.m. Monday to the 300 block of MacMillan Drive in Hopland on the report of a home invasion robbery.
When deputies arrived they contacted a woman at the residence, who advised that she – along with two other subjects – were inside the residence when two masked suspects forced their way inside, Smallcomb said.
The woman told deputies that the robbers sprayed her in the face with some type of caustic chemical, which Smallcomb said is believed to be some type of pepper spray or mace.
Smallcomb said the suspects then allegedly took approximately $1,500 in cash and approximately 10 pounds of processed marijuana before fleeing the residence.
Deputies checked the neighborhood for any possible suspects but didn’t find anyone, Smallcomb said.
Mendocino County Sheriffs Deputy Butch Gupta is requesting anyone with information regarding this incident to contact him at 707-463-4086.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man formally entered no contest pleas on Monday to charges connected to a June shooting that killed a young child and wounded five others.
Twenty-nine-year-old Kevin Ray Stone pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory to murder and possession of a .22-caliber rifle by a prohibited person before Judge Stephen Hedstrom at the Monday court appearance.
At sentencing – due to take place early next year – Stone will face up to 10 years and four months in prison, and a possible fine of about $64,000, according to statements in court on Monday.
Stone – along with Clearlake Oaks residents Paul William Braden, 21, of and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23 – originally was charged with murder, mayhem, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and several special allegations for the June 18 shooting that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp and also wounded the child’s mother, Desiree Kirby, her boyfriend, Ross Sparks and his brother, Andrew Sparks; and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.
District Attorney Don Anderson said on Monday that, after five months of intense investigation by his investigators and the Clearlake Police Department, the decision was made to allow Stone to enter pleas to the lesser charges.
During an eight-day preliminary hearing that concluded in October, the court heard an interview police conducted with Stone in which he insisted that he had only driven Braden and Stone to the scene of the shooting after they had called him.
Anderson said the decision to accept Stone’s guilty plea – which he noted wasn’t an easy one – was made on Nov. 16 during a meeting in which he discussed the matter with Skyler Rapp’s parents, Clearlake Police and the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim-Witness Division.
After a complete discussion of the case’s facts and applicable law, Anderson said everyone at that Nov. 16 meeting agreed that the plea agreement was “a just resolution” regarding Stone’s involvement in the crime.
Based on the investigation of the shooting, Anderson told the court that on June 18 Braden and Lopez planned an assault on Ross Sparks and his family, and contacted Stone for a ride, telling him that they wanted to do an armed robbery in order to steal drugs from the residence of Curtis Eeds, who lived next door to Sparks and Kirby.
Stone – convicted in July 2010 of assault with a deadly weapon and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm – is alleged to have gotten a .22-caliber rifle from his apartment before driving Braden and Lopez to a location near Eeds’ residence, where they parked, Anderson said.
From there, Stone, along with Braden and Lopez – both armed with shotguns – walked into Eeds’ backyard, Anderson said.
Stone was going to go into the back door of Eeds’ home, but the other two men kept walking to the fence that separated Eeds’ home from Sparks’. Anderson alleged that Braden and Lopez then opened fire into a crowd of people, killing the child and wounding five adults.
Stone, who Anderson said was unaware of Braden and Lopez’s intentions, then left the scene with them and went back to the vehicle that he had borrowed from his girlfriend’s cousin, driving about two blocks before crashing.
The three then allegedly hid the firearms in nearby brush before fleeing in separate directions, Anderson said.
Hedstrom ordered that Stone return at 3 p.m. Feb. 28 for a continuation of the hearing, at which time he will schedule the sentencing. He also ordered that Stone will be held on no bail going forward.
Stone had several other misdemeanor and probation violation cases pending that Anderson said he intended to dismiss in the interest of justice.
Anderson said the investigation into Braden’s and Lopez’s actions on the night of June 18 is continuing.
Braden and Lopez are due for a joint trial – with separate juries – that will begin Jan. 11, 2012, as Lake County News has reported.
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