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Jason Michael Frick, 37, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possessing a destructive device and to being a felon in possession of a firearm, also a felony, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Frick also admitted two prior Humboldt County “strike” convictions – one for residential burglary and the second for robbery.
Overall, Frick has been convicted of seven strikes: two in Tehama County, three in Humboldt County – including the two mentioned above – and two in Del Norte County.
As a result of his guilty pleas and admissions, Frick may face a prison sentence of up to 50 years to life, depending on the outcome of defense motions to be decided by Superior Court Judge Richard Henderson on Oct. 21, the District Attorney's Office reported.
District Attorney David Eyster prosecuted the case. Frick’s defense attorney was Public Defender Linda Thompson.
The Humboldt County Superior Court had issued a warrant for Frick’s arrest after Frick had failed to appear in court on felony charges alleged to have occurred in October 2010, charges that included stalking, corporal injury on a cohabitant, first degree burglary, and possession of controlled substances, according to the District Attorney's Office. The Humboldt County matter remains on hold pending the October sentencing here in Mendocino County.
On Feb. 22 of this year local law enforcement became aware that Frick may be hiding out in the Willits area. The SWAT team and other local law enforcement resources were mobilized and it was confirmed that Frick was inside a Birch Street residence.
An 11-hour stand-off thereafter ensued, with Frick eventually surrendering just after 2 a.m. on Feb. 23, officials reported.
During the early stages of the stand-off, Frick told negotiators that he had a bomb and would not come out without defending himself.
Frick also fired a shotgun into the ceiling of the residence during the stand-off, later telling negotiators that he had done so because he believed somebody had placed a laser on him.
A bomb squad was dispatched from Humboldt County and the destructive device was made safe.
That pipe bomb was found to contain nails and BB’s mixed in with explosive matter, according to the District Attorney's Office's report.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Lake Family Resource Center has vacated its Clearlake facility after venting geothermal gases led to concerns about potential health hazards.
Gloria Flaherty, the center's executive director, said they are moving out of the 2,400-square-foot building, located at 14264 Austin Road, at the suggestion of local health officials.
She said the center was notified that they were probably going to have to move out on on Thursday, Aug. 18. “And we did move out that afternoon.”
Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait said county health agencies recommended that Lake Family Resource limit use of the Clearlake building due to indoor air quality concerns related to the geothermal gas.
Tait said the issue is a longstanding problem that local health officials have been evaluating, adding that it is “complex and represents new ground in the health arena in many ways.”
“Strict guidelines for long-term air quality are lacking, so we've arrived at this recommendation after a lot of research, air quality measurements and deliberation,” Tait told Lake County News.
She said Lake County Public Health has been working with agencies including Lake County Air Quality Management District, Lake County Fire and its own Environmental Health division, the Environmental Protection Agency.
Lake County Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski said Environmental Health did not do an enforcement on the building, just offered the recommendation not to use it.
“We advised them that there’s a possibility of hazardous conditions,” he said.
The facility wasn't staffed every day, said Flaherty, explaining that staff stopped in there to do paperwork. The space also had been used for therapy, workshops and parenting classes the nonprofit offers.
“It has always smelled but it's been worse the last couple of years,” Flaherty said, adding that they didn't want to take any chances due to the situation.
Tait said the venting “comes with living in volcano territory.” Local agencies were trying to determine if there are some guidelines needed to advise residents of precautions to take when living in areas where this activity is more noticeable.
She suggested that Lake Family Resource Center could mitigate the building's problem with some engineering, but Flaherty wasn't sure if the problem could be resolved, noting that a former owner tried putting in a ventilation system.
Ruminski said the venting is a “neighborhood phenomenon,” adding the area is a mixture of residential and commercial.
The venting gases appears to become more common during the rainy season than the dry season, said Ruminski. He said the venting is related to atmospheric pressure and groundwater levels, becoming more prevalent when the ground is saturated by water.
Wet conditions led to a natural hydrogen sulfide leak leak in February 2010 on an empty lot on Division Avenue in Clearlake, not far from the Lake Family Resource Center building. That incident required several agencies to respond and put equipment in place to diminish the strong sulfur smell, as Lake County News has reported.
When such venting occurs, there is a mixture of gases involved, said Ruminski, with carbon dioxide and methane as the major constituents. Hydrogen sulfide is found at a smaller concentration.
In a confined space or interior, if too high of a concentration of carbon dioxide builds up the oxygen concentration is lowered. “Then you can get an oxygen deficient atmosphere,” he said.
Ruminski said nobody really knows what levels of those gases are safe to be exposed to on a long-term basis.
He said there are other concerns as well.
“There’s a risk of fire and explosion if there's a buildup of the methane,” Ruminski explained. “There's a couple different hazards to worry about with these gases.”
Ruminski recalled that about 20 years ago in the same area a similar situation arose during the winter in a home. The home had so many problems that it eventually was foreclosed on and later demolished.
Because of the county’s geothermal resources, Clearlake isn’t the only area where such venting is found, Ruminski said.
He said there is an effort to get more resources focused on monitoring the venting issues. Last March the US Environmental Protection Agency did some field reconnaissance to study the issue.
There has not been any damage to the nonprofit's equipment, and Flaherty said Lake Family Resource Center will continue to maintain the building's exterior.
“We will probably use it for storage or something,” she said.
Flaherty said the challenge now is to find a building for workshops and classes.
“We own that building outright so now we're going to have to start paying rent,” she said.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A man convicted of the October 1989 murder of a Cobb resident has been denied parole.
The Board of Parole Hearings denied parole for Kenneth Warren Perkins, 67, following a hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 30, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Hinchcliff attended the lifer hearing at California State Prison Solano in Vacaville to argue against Perkins’ release.
A jury found Perkins guilty of second-degree murder for the shooting death of Edward Maher, according to a report from the District Attorney's Office.
Lake County Superior Court Judge Robert L. Crone Jr. sentenced Perkins to 17 years to life on April 30, 1990. Perkins originally was prosecuted by then-Deputy District Attorney Richard C. Martin, who is now one of Lake County’s Superior Court judges.
Perkins’ minimum eligible parole date was December 31, 2000, Hinchcliff said.
According to investigation reports, the 40-year-old Maher was temporarily living in a shack in the woods near the intersection of Golf Road and Highway 175 on Cobb.
One of Maher’s sons and some friends were visiting him on Oct. 18, 1989, when Perkins showed up with a shotgun. After they left about 7 p.m. , as they were heading out of the woods toward home, they heard a gunshot.
The next morning Perkins called the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and reported he had accidentally shot Maher after Maher attacked him and grabbed the gun, causing the gun to accidentally discharge.
However, investigators determined from evidence at the scene that Perkins had shot Maher in the neck from a distance of about 6 feet while Maher was sitting down tying or untying his boots.
Edward Maher left behind a wife and two sons. According to Maher’s family, Perkins had recently worked for Edward Maher doing construction and Perkins had recently been fired by Maher for some misconduct, and Perkins was angry at Maher for firing him.
According to reports Perkins had a serious alcohol problem for most of his life, and had been drinking at the time of the shooting. Perkins had several criminal convictions for burglary, theft, battery and DUI prior to the shooting.
Hinchcliff said prison records indicated that Perkins has remained disciplinary free while in prison, but has failed to take classes or get professional help to address personal issues that led to the shooting, and his participation in necessary substance abuse classes has been very sporadic.
Perkins has also continued to claim the shooting was accidental, Hinchcliff said.
At the two and a half hour hearing Tuesday, Hinchcliff asked the Board of Prison Hearings to deny Perkins’ parole on the ground that he still presented an unreasonable risk of danger to the public if
released, and failed to exhibit remorse or accept responsibility for his conduct.
Maher’s widow and one of his sons also attended the hearing and asked the parole commissioners to deny parole, Hinchcliff said.
The Board of Parole Hearings denied parole, agreeing that Perkins still presents an unreasonable risk to the public if released, according to Hinchcliff.
Hinchcliff said the Board of Parole Hearings' denial was for five years. Perkins next parole hearing will be in 2016.
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MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – As law enforcement continues to search forestland near Fort Bragg for a suspect in the shooting of a city councilman, Cal Fire has closed the Jackson Demonstration State Forest to the public.
Cal Fire Mendocino Unit Chief Christopher P. Rowney said Tuesday that the Jackson Demonstration State Forest was closed at Camp One campgrounds, the permitted public firewood area also was closed and the public was urged to keep out of the entire Jackson Demonstration State Forest area north of Highway 20 until further notice.
The action was taken to ensure public safety as the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and allied agencies – including Cal Fire – are continuing to search the area for 35-year-old Aaron James Bassler of Fort Bragg.
Bassler is the suspect in the murder of Jere Melo, a well-respected member of the Fort Bragg City Council.
Melo, 69, was shot dead while on private timber company land he helped manage near Fort Bragg on Saturday, Aug. 27, as Lake County News has reported.
Bassler – who was last seen wearing dark clothing – is armed and dangerous, according to sheriff's officials.
He is described as a white male, 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with any information about Bassler and his location is asked to call authorities at 707-463-4086 or 707-961-2479.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Applications are now being accepted for the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Warden Academy at Butte College in Oroville.
The academy will begin in January 2013 and is scheduled to graduate in September 2013.
The application deadline is Nov. 4, 2011.
The deadline for current peace officers to apply for a shortened lateral academy is Sept. 16, 2011, for an academy scheduled to begin in September 2012.
An increase in the number of applications received is expected as a result of the first season of “Wild Justice,” a reality show that premiered on the National Geographic Channel in November 2010.
The popular show chronicles California game wardens’ efforts to combat poachers and polluters.
“'Wild Justice' has given many hopeful candidates a clear picture of the intensive law enforcement nature of a game warden,” said DFG recruiter Lt. Jeff Longwell. “Game wardens are charged with ensuring public safety, investigating illegal sales of wildlife and parts thereof, protecting the state from pollution, enforcing habitat protection laws, fighting illegal drug trafficking, keeping the homeland secure and responding during natural disasters.”
A typical day for a California game warden is as diverse as the state’s fish and wildlife.
Wardens have the opportunity to patrol ocean, desert, mountain and valley environments, as well as California’s urban areas. They frequently work independently and conduct full-scale law enforcement investigations.
Wardens employ everything from all-terrain vehicles to jet skis to snowmobiles while on patrol, and spend much of a typical day making contact with Californians in the great outdoors.
DFG has a dive team and uses K-9 partners as well. Environmental crimes and pollution incidents also fall under the purview of game wardens. Annually, wardens make contact with more than 295,000 people and issue more than 15,000 citations for violations of the law.
Successful lateral academy applicants will enter a 30-week program, followed by at least three, three-week long training assignments where they will work with a seasoned field training officer.
DFG’s academy at Butte College is Peace Officer Standards and Training certified. Cadets are trained to be police officers with specific emphasis on working as wardens.
In California, with 159,000 square miles that offer habitat and wildlife diversity unequaled by any other state, the average warden has a patrol district of more than 600 square miles.
The state has more than 1,100 miles of coastline, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, 4,800 lakes and reservoirs, three desert habitat areas and scores of high mountain peaks.
More information and applications are available at www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/career/.
Applications are now being accepted online and must be postmarked by the due date for each category described above.
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The settlement followed a two-year investigation that state officials said found widespread violations of environmental rules on storage of petroleum in underground tanks owned or operated by Golden Gate Petroleum, based in Martinez.
Dennis O’Keefe, president and sole shareholder of Golden Gate Petroleum and its affiliated companies, is a defendant in the action and is jointly liable for payment of the penalties, the State Water Board reported.
“The case against Golden Gate Petroleum is another in a series of underground storage tank cases brought by the State Water Board against facilities that substantially threaten water quality and public safety,” said Reed Sato, director of the State Water Board’s Office of Enforcement.
“The judgment against GGP compels the defendants to operate and maintain its fuel storage tanks in a manner protective of the environment,” Sato added.
The settlement covers violations at approximately 30 gasoline stations located in 17 counties throughout Northern California.
Parties to the lawsuit include district attorneys' offices in Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Mendocino, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter and Yuba counties.
Court records identified three Golden Gate Petroleum gas stations in Lake County that are covered by the settlement: Lakeport Shell, 2725 S. Main St.; Cobb Texaco, 16340 Highway 175; and Two Jacks, 5200 Main St., Kelseyville.
According to its Web site, Golden Gate Petroleum also owns Westgate Petroleum outside of Kelseyville, but that station was not alleged to have any violations.
A two-year investigation conducted by the State Water Board’s Office of Enforcement and various counties' environmental protection staff revealed that Golden Gate Petroleum had extensive violations, including the failure to install and repair leak detection equipment designed to prevent releases
of petroleum into the environment.
The court action does not resolve any liability or responsibility that Golden Gate Petroleum has to cleanup leaks of petroleum from its tank systems, the State Water Board said.
Under the terms of the settlement, Golden Gate Petroleum will pay $3 million in cash over a period of five years. The remaining $3 million will be suspended conditioned on Golden Gate Petroleum maintaining compliance with underground storage tank requirements.
Court records show that the State Water Board will receive $500,000 and the California Attorney General's Office will get $447,000 in the settlement, with $268,000 going to the Craig Thompson Environmental Protection Prosecution Trust.
Contra Costa and Monterey counties will each receive $410,000 to cover business and professional and health and safety code violations, the highest amount to any of the 17 counties, followed by Solano with $400,000 and Santa Clara with $220,000.
Lake County will receive a total of $35,000, due by June 30, 2014, according to the settlement.
Golden Gate Petroleum also must employ an environmental coordinator to oversee compliance in the future, according to the settlement.
The State Water Board said the settlement amount was based on Golden Gate Petroleum's financial inability of GGP to pay higher penalties.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of major enforcement actions that the California Attorney General’s Office and local prosecutors have jointly brought against violators of California’s Underground Storage Tank laws.
To date, those actions have reportedly resulted in numerous multimillion dollar penalties and extensive corrective action and operational improvements by the violators to prevent unauthorized spills of motor vehicle fuel to the environment.
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