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CHICO – Authorities are looking for a suspect who allegedly walked into a Chico bank Tuesday morning and demanded money before fleeing on a bicycle.

The incident occurred at 10:18 a.m. at the Wells Fargo Bank on 954 East Ave., according to Sgt. Rob Merrifield of the Chico Police Department's Special Operations Section.

Merrifield sad Chico Police responded to the alleged bank robbery, and when they arrived at the bank employees reported that a male suspect approached one of the tellers and presented a note demanding money and suggesting that he had a weapon.

The teller complied with the demand and the suspect then fled the business on a mountain bike. Merrifield said the suspect was last seen fleeing the area eastbound on East Avenue.

Responding officers were unable to locate the suspect, Merrifield said.

The suspect is described as a white male adult, approximately 40 to 49 years old, 6 feet 4 inches tall, wearing an apparent wig underneath a dark bicycle helmet and sunglasses, according to the police report.

Merrifield said the suspect had a full beard, which may have been false, and was wearing a blue jacket and blue pants.

Anyone with information about the crime or who may have seen the suspect fleeing the area is encouraged to contact the Chico Police Department at 530-897-5820.

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KELSEYVILLE – Sheriff's deputies arrested a Kelseyville man Saturday afternoon he allegedly confronted and shot a trespasser who later couldn't be located.

Nickolas Leone, 47, was arrested on a felony charge of discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Saturday shortly before 1 p.m. deputies responded to a residence on Highway 175 in Kelseyville to investigate a reported shooting. Bauman said a neighboring property owner called 911 and reported that Leone had shot an alleged trespasser.

When deputies arrived at the scene, Leone told them that 32-year-old John Allen Kniss, also of Kelseyville, had been harassing and threatening him over a woman Kniss had reportedly dated for several years, Bauman said. Kniss apparently believed Leone was now having a relationship with the woman.

Leone told deputies that at about noon on Saturday Kniss came driving up his driveway at a high rate of speed and after stopping just short of the gate to Leone’s property, began trying to force his way through the gate, according to Bauman's reported.

Leone retrieved a shotgun and exited his home, telling Kniss to leave. Bauman said Kniss reportedly ignored Leone’s demands and Leone allegedly fired a warning shot in the air.

Kniss continued to force his way through the gate and when he stepped onto the property, Leone shot him in the arm and shoulder from a distance of about 80 to 100 feet. Bauman said Kniss was apparently able to return to his pickup truck and leave.

Deputies were able to locate some blood and other evidence of the shooting at the scene, but after a search for Kniss, including checks with both area hospitals, deputies couldn't find him, Bauman said.

Bauman said Kniss had reportedly told other witnesses to the incident not to call the police before leaving the scene. Kniss was reportedly driving an older blue pickup truck and his condition is unknown.

Without any clear evidence at the scene that Leone’s actions were justifiable, he was arrested, Bauman said.

Bauman said Leone was booked at the Lake County Jail and posted a $10,000 bail later that same evening.

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THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HAS DOWNGRADED THIS QUAKE FROM 3.4 TO 3.2 IN MAGNITUDE.

 

THE GEYSERS – A 3.4-magnitude earthquake occurred Monday evening near The Geysers geothermal steamfield, shaking the Cobb area for several seconds, according to one area resident.

The quake was recorded by the US Geological Survey at 8:03 p.m.

Its epicenter was three miles east of The Geysers, four miles south southwest of Cobb and four miles west northwest of Anderson Springs at a depth of 1.4 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.

Cobb resident Roger Kinney said he was standing on his deck when he felt the earthquake, which he said lasted five to six seconds and felt bigger than the reported magnitude.

The US Geological Survey received shake reports from Healdsburg, Calistoga, Union City, San Ramon, El Cerrito and from faraway Poway, located 826 miles from the epicenter.

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake was reported two miles south southwest of Anderson Springs early Friday morning, as Lake County News has reported.

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MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – A Covelo woman was identified as the victim of a fatal vehicle crash that occurred in the Mendocino National Forest last Friday.

Fern Gertrude Joaquin, 67, was the victim of the crash, according to a report from the Willows California Highway Patrol office.

The collision took place at around 8:30 p.m. on Forest Road N04 west of Forest Highway 7 in the Mendocino National Forest, the CHP reported.

The CHP reported that Fern Joaquin was riding in a 1994 Isuzu driven by 84-year-old Sylvester Joaquin of Covelo, who was traveling eastbound on Forest Road 21N04. Also in the car were 47-year-old Frances Y. Hoaglen and Angie Lynn Joaquin, 36, both of Covelo.

For an unknown reason Sylvester Joaquin lost control of the vehicle and collided with a tree before the vehicle rolled several times across the roadway and down an embankment, becoming wedged against a tree, the CHP reported.

Sylvester Joaquin, Angie Joaquin and Hoaglen all managed to get out of the vehicle, according to the CHP.

Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones said a Butte County man who was monitoring a citizen’s band radio reported there had been a traffic accident in the mountains off of Forest Highway 7 and occupants were trapped inside.

The CHP, Glenn County Sheriff’s Office and Fish & Game responded in an effort to locate the accident scene, and ground ambulances and medical helicopters were dispatched, Jones said.

Joaquin was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to the CHP.

Paramedics transported the three surviving occupants of the car to Enloe Hospital in Chico, where all three were treated for major injuries, the CHP said.

Jones said his office notified the US Forest Service Law Enforcement Branch of the fatality in the forest.

All of the vehicle's occupants were wearing their safety belts, the CHP said.

The CHP is investigating the crash.

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