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MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – Law enforcement officials are continuing to search for a Fort Bragg man who is the chief suspect in the weekend shooting that claimed the life of a Fort Bragg councilman.
Aaron James Bassler, 35, a transient from Fort Bragg, was identified as the alleged shooter in the death of Jere Melo, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported.
Melo, 69, a former Fort Bragg mayor and current councilman, was found shot to death on private timber company property he helped manage located four miles east of Fort Bragg and adjacent to the Noyo River and the Skunk Trail railroad, according to reports from the sheriff's office, and statements from the city of Fort Bragg and the League of California Cities.
A Monday report from Liz Evangelatos of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said that an autopsy ruled Melo's cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.
Evangelatos said the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and other city and state law enforcement agencies continue to conduct searches in attempt to locate suspect Bassler.
Sheriff's officials urged Fort Bragg area residents to be cautious, as Bassler was last seen armed and is considered dangerous.
According to a Fort Bragg Advocate-News report, Bassler had reportedly been hit with a Taser and arrested for driving under the influence in February after he drove his pickup at high speeds through the city before crashing on school grounds.
A Saturday report from Mendocino County Sheriff's Sgt. Greg Stefani said that Melo had been on the timber property with another person – who has not been identified by law enforcement – when Bassler allegedly was seen shooting at them.
The witness who was with Melo fled the area and contacted law enforcement with a cell phone, resulting in a search of the area by a SWAT team, Stefani said. Melo's body reportedly was found the following day.
Melo, who worked as a security contractor for Campbell Timber Management, was investigating a marijuana grow operation when he was shot to death Saturday, according to a statement from the city of Fort Bragg.
In a statement posted on the city of Fort Bragg's Web site, officials said they were in shock over the murder of Melo, who was described as a “close friend and colleague.”
“Jere was the best of us. No one gave more of himself to our community,” Fort Bragg Mayor Dave Turner said in the written statement. “The shock of his death is too fresh to begin to realize all the
ways we will miss him.”
Turner added, “Words cannot express our sadness.”
Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata) also expressed his deep sorrow “over the senseless loss of this wonderful man.”
Chesbro said, “Jere was always generous with his time and his energy. He found a way to be a bridge between the Fort Bragg of the past and the Fort Bragg of the future. There are no words to describe the hole this will leave in the community. I extend my heartfelt sympathy to Jere’s wife, Madeline, and their two children.”
League of California Cities Executive Director Chris McKenzie said, “Jere Melo was a shining
example of a public servant. His tireless dedication to Fort Bragg and all the cities of California was
unmatched and will be irreplaceable. The League is devastated by the loss of Jere and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Madeleine, and his extended family and friends.”
“California cities have lost a great leader. Jere Melo exemplified how one person has the power to
make a great difference in his community. Many of us entered into public service to improve our
communities and Jere was an inspiration to all,” said League President and Modesto Mayor Jim
Ridenour.
Melo was raised in Mt. Shasta City, later attending the University of California at Davis and Berkeley, receiving a bachelor of science in forestry in February 1964, according to a biography provided by the city of Fort Bragg.
He received a commission in the U.S. Army upon graduation from Berkeley and served in South Korea and in NORAD on the continent.
Melo moved to the Fort Bragg area in 1966 when he accepted a position as a forester with Union Lumber Co. Upon his employment with Union Lumber, the Army assigned him as company commander to the local Army Reserve unit, and he served six years in the reserves.
He served on the Fort Bragg Planning Commission for four years before he was elected to the Fort Bragg City Council in 1996, serving as mayor from 2000 to 2004.
Melo also served on the board of the Mendocino Local Agency Formation Commission and the Fort Bragg Fire Protection Authority, as well as on the League of California Cities board from 2003 to 2008.
He was chair of the League’s Coastal Cities Issues Group and president of the League’s Redwood Empire Division in 2000. He also served as chair of the League’s Environmental Quality Policy Committee in 2002 and as vice chair in 2001.
Melo and hiw wife, Madeleine, were active in the Episcopal Church, Mendocino Coast Sports Foundation and the Fort Bragg-Otsuchi (Japan) Exchange Association, among other groups.
A wanted poster said Bassler was last seen wearing dark clothing.
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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David Criswell, 57, died an hour after the collision, which occurred at the intersection of Park Drive and Soda Bay Road at 10:35 a.m. Monday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said 47-year-old Patrick Donley of Walnut Creek was driving his 1996 Honda Accord southbound on Park Drive, and when he went into the intersection at Soda Bay Road he was struck by
Criswell, who was riding a 1998 Honda Shadow motorcycle.
The collision caused Criswell to be ejected from the motorcycle, according to Reynolds' report.
REACH air ambulance transported Criswell to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where Reynolds said Criswell died at approximately 11:41 a.m.
Donley and his passenger were not injured, Reynolds said.
Reynolds said alcohol use is not suspected as a contributing factor to the collision.
Officer Mark Crutcher is leading the investigation into the crash, Reynolds said.
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The neurotropathogenic strain of equine herpes virus was confirmed in a 15-year-old Oldenburg mare in Sonoma County on Aug. 23, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
CDFA said the mare subsequently as isolated, quarantined and undergoing treatment at a veterinary hospital.
Horses at the same premises where the mare initially was located had their temperatures monitored twice daily, and on Aug. 24 two horses with the neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1 were confirmed there, the state said.
The two affected horses showed fever as the only clinical sign, state officials said.
Besides a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, other clinical signs the CDFA identified include nasal discharge, lack of coordination, hindquarter weakness and a diminished tail bone, lethargy, urine dribbling, and the horse lying down more than normal.
According to a CDFA brochure on the disease, it spreads from horse-to-horse contact, short distance aerosol transmission – 30 feet or less – and hands, equipment, tack and feed that have been contaminated.
EHV-1 and equine herpes myeloencephalopathy – which is most often caused by the neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1 – cannot be transmitted to humans, CDFA said.
There currently is no US Department of Agriculture-licensed vaccine to protect horses against EHV-1's neurological strain.
The Sonoma County property where all of the horses had been housed was under quarantine, with 13 other horses at the site being monitored, CDFA said. The state's epidemiologic investigation findings indicated there was minimal risk of the disease spreading from the closed premises.
CDFA said the horses affected in Sonoma County were determined to have no direct link to the May outbreak of EHV-1 in cutting horses which resulted in 22 positive cases in California. The following month California declared the EHV-1 outbreak contained.
The May outbreak in California was traced to the National Cutting Horse Association Western National Championship in Ogden, Utah, according to a CDFA report.
Of the 400 competitors at the Utah event, approximately 54 California horses competed, with one of those animals later being euthanized at a Kern County event after showing severe neurological signs, CDFA reported. That horse's final diagnosis was equine herpes myeloencephalopathy.
The 22 California horses – from 12 counties and 14 locations – confirmed to have the disease were diagnosed with EHV-1's neuropathogenic strain, CDFA said.
Of the total cases, eight had neurological signs, 13 had fever only and one horse showed only respiratory signs. The state reported that two of the horses died from the virus.
Juliana Vidich, secretary of the Lake County Horse Council, said the May outbreak caused some local horse-related events to be canceled or delayed, including a gymkhana and a horse expo.
Likewise, an appearance by the Clear Lake Junior Horsemen that had been planned for the May 20 Lake County Sesquicentennial celebration in downtown Lakeport was canceled out of concerns of exposing the horses to the virus, officials reported.
Vidich said she hasn't yet seen such a response to this latest series of cases in neighboring Sonoma County.
“This may the same effect. I hope not,” she said, adding that it's a little early to tell.
Vidich said she will need to consider the possible implications that the new cases might have on a horse event she's planning in October.
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The fire was dispatched at 10:48 p.m. Sunday off of Highway 20 at the end of Orchard Shores Drive, according to radio traffic.
Cal Fire and Northshore Fire initially responded to the scene, where flames could be seen from the highway, according to reports from the scene.
Radio traffic indicated children had been in the area with fireworks shortly before the blaze broke out.
Firefighters arriving on the scene reported that a quarter-acre of vegetation had burned, and that the fire had a slow rate of spread. One structure initially was threatened but was not harmed.
Northshore Fire took the lead on the fire, with all but two engines ordered canceled.
The fire was contained just after 11 p.m., with a few units staying on for clean up for 30 minutes before it was announced that the incident was terminated.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake Oaks man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly was found with a loaded handgun, ammunition and drugs.
Picayo James Brown, 30, was arrested late Saturday night, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Hobbs.
At 11 p.m. Saturday Clearlake Police Officer Travis Lenz was out on patrol and had parked his patrol vehicle to watch pedestrian and vehicular traffic at an intersection in Clearlake. Hobbs said Lenz had his windows down so that he could hear people that may be yelling or vehicles that may be driving recklessly.
While at the intersection Lenz heard several gunshots coming from the area of Green Street and Olympic Drive, Hobbs said.
Lenz immediately drove to the area and located a vehicle on Green Street traveling towards Olympic Drive. Hobbs said Lenz conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle a short time later for moving and mechanical violations.
Brown, the vehicle's sole occupant, was determined to be on active searchable felony probation, Hobbs said.
During probation search of the vehicle Lenz located a concealed loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun and crystal methamphetamine, according to Hobbs.
Hobbs said officers responded back to the area of where the gunshots had originally been heard and were not able to locate any victims or property that had been damaged by gunshots.
Brown was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a controlled substance while armed, committing a felony while armed, possession of a controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle and altering the serial number on a firearm, Hobbs said.
Brown was later booked into the Lake County Jail, with bail set at $30,000. Jail records indicated he later posted bail and was released.
The Clearlake Police Department asks that anyone with information regarding the gunshots in the area of Green Street and Olympic Drive on Aug. 27 at 11 p.m. to contact Officer Travis Lenz at 707-994-8251.
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The Beacon fire, which was first reported shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, burned approximately 715 acres by the time it was contained Sunday evening, according to Cal Fire.
The fire, located in the Cement Hill Road area east of Interstate 80 in the city of Fairfield, threatened 40 homes at its height, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Suzie Blankenship.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Blankenship said.
Fire resources from Fairfield, Cal Fire and more than 15 other agencies responded to fight the blaze. Blankenship said that, at the height of the effort, resources combating the fire included four air tankers, two helicopters, 50 fire engines, three bull dozers and two hand crews. Four water tenders also were on scene Sunday.
Blankenship said the fire quickly spread out of the city and unified command was established between Cal Fire, Suisun Fire District and Fairfield.
Firefighters stopped the forward spread of the fire just after midnight Sunday, according to Blankenship.
Although the fire burned in close proximity to homes, firefighters were able to steer the fire’s spread away from the subdivisions. There were no reports of damage to any structures, Blankenship said.
She said firefighters spent Sunday patroling and mopping up the Beacon fire area, which included rolling hills, grassland, brush and oak woodland.
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