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KELSEYVILLE – A SWAT team and state officials were called in Wednesday morning to assist sheriff's investigators with shutting down a methamphetamine lab capable of producing tens of thousands of dollars worth of the drug each week.
Just after 7 a.m. Wednesday the Lake County Narcotic Task Force served a warrant on a property in the 4700 block of Cole Creek Road in Kelseyville, where they suspected a methamphetamine lab was located, said sheriff's Sgt. Andy Davidson. The warrant had been signed on Tuesday by Judge Richard Martin.
Amidst a field scattered with children's toys, deputies found several airline cargo containers. Inside one of them was sleeping 39-year-old Lonnie Ray Scott, with a large one- to one-and-a-half gallon bottle of methamphetamine cooking nearby, said Davidson.
When the SWAT team arrived Scott knocked over the capped bottle of methamphetamine and got up to fight but he was taken by gunpoint out of the container, Davidson said.
Davidson, who oversees methamphetamine-related investigations for the Lake County Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit and also is one of the two leaders for the sheriff's SWAT team, said the SWAT team was called in because Scott has had gun-related issues in the past.
Assisting with the search warrant service was the Major Crimes Unit and the Mendocino County Narcotics Task Force, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
While no processed methamphetamine was found, chemicals, equipment and other evidence of a clandestine lab were seized, Bauman said. Also found was a hypodermic needle filled with what appeared to be blood, Davidson said.
Scott is wanted on a methamphetamine-related warrant in Oklahoma where he has had pursuits with law enforcement. Davidson said Scott also is wanted in Los Angeles on a warrant.
Once the lab was uprighted after being knocked over, the occupants of the home on the property – including three children and Scott's girlfriend and sister – were evacuated, Davidson said.
Bauman said that in addition to Scott his sister, 31-year-old Misty Rose Scott, and his girlfriend, 44-year-old Michelle Lynn Havens, were arrested. All three arrestees were residing at the home.
In addition, three children – two boys, ages 5 and 12, who reportedly belonged to Lonnie Scott and Havens, as well as a 9-year-old girl belonging to Misty Scott – all were taken into protective custody and turned over to Child Protective Services, said Bauman. Davidson said that the children were taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for evaluation.
Lonnie Scott was booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of manufacturing a controlled substance, child endangerment and two outstanding warrants. He is being held on an enhanced bail of $500,000, Bauman said.
Bauman said Misty Scott was booked on felony charges of manufacturing a controlled substance, child endangerment, and misdemeanor possession of narcotics paraphernalia. She is being held on a $40,000 bail.
Havens was booked on a felony charge of child endangerment and misdemeanor charges of possessing narcotics paraphernalia, possession of a hypodermic syringe, being under the influence of a controlled substance and an out-of-county warrant, Bauman said. Havens is held on a $25,000 bail.
Bauman said detectives began investigating the case in April after following up on a lead that Lonnie Scott might be in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine.
He said the month-long investigation included an extensive review by detectives, of logs kept by local pharmacies on the sales of ephedrine based medications, which further implicated Scott as an alleged methamphetamine manufacturer.
At the scene Wednesday were members of a California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement lab team out of San Francisco, which Bauman said was called in to the site by mid-morning to dismantle the lab and mitigate its related hazardous materials.
A San Jose disposal team was due to destroy the lab, Davidson said, and Lake County Environmental Health also was called out to make sure the lab hadn't contaminated the soils.
Because of the chemicals and metals used to make methamphetamine, it's a very toxic and explosive compound, Davidson said. It's believed one of the other storage containers had burned because of a lab-related fire.
Davidson said investigators concluded the Kelseyville lab was capable of producing as much as a half-pound of methamphetamine at a time, over the course of about a day. Half a pound of methamphetamine has a street value of $8,000 he said.
Methamphetamine commonly is purchased in quarter-gram amounts, Davidson said.
“This is a very odd lab for Lake County,” said Davidson, where what's referred to as the “red-P ephedrine reduction method” is more commonly found.
He called the Kelseyville lab a “one pot cooking method.” It's also known as the “Nazi method,” which uses chemicals including anhydrous ammonia.
The “Nazi method” is so-named because the German government reportedly used it to make methamphetamine during World War II, dispensing it to soldiers, sailors and pilots to fuel the war across Europe.
It's been three to four years since the sheriff's office busted a methamphetamine lab, said Davidson.
Methamphetamine production once was extremely prevalent in the county. In 2002, the year Davidson joined the Lake County Narcotic Task Force, he said they busted 13 labs. By 2007, that number had dropped to two.
Law enforcement officials across the country have reported in recent years that methamphetamine production has largely gone south of the Mexican border, where it's controlled by drug cartels that use illegally grown marijuana to purchase the needed chemicals.
Davidson said another factor in forcing production south is that ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, among the main ingredients for methamphetamine manufacture, are increasingly harder to get in the United States.
Several years ago, Lake County put into effect its own limits on pseudoephedrine and its purchase in the form of cold medicines, which now are carefully monitored at the time of sale.
However, with the increasing controls put on the border with Mexico, methamphetamine isn't getting over the border as easily. With the demand not going down, one of the unintended consequences of border control is that methamphetamine labs are starting to pop up again, Davidson said.
He estimated that 99 percent of the methamphetamine used in Lake County comes from outside of its borders.
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The fire was dispatched at 1:20 p.m., with Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown first to arrive on the scene 14 minutes later.
He said the home, a single-family dwelling located at 3495 Spring Valley Road, was being rented by its owner Marty Hudson to Robin Nunnemaker and her family. Nunnemaker's daughter, Mattie, drove up to find the home on fire.
Brown said the home was fully involved by the time firefighters got on scene.
When Brown arrived he said an oxygen tank that had been inside the house exploded and flew past him.
In addition to the Nunnemakers' home, the fire threatened another home as well, Brown said.
In addition to Brown, Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Jamie Crabtree also responded, along with 13 other firefighting personnel from Northshore Fire, Lake County Fire Protection District, Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire.
He said Northshore Fire sent three engines, a water tender and a medic, Lake County fire sent an engine and water tender, Cal Fire sent one engine and an Office of Emergency Services engine based at South Lake County Fire responded.
Inside the house at the time of the fire were four dogs, four cats and seven birds, all of which perished, Brown said.
Brown said fire officials are ruling the incident to have been caused by an accidental electrical issue.
The house, which was a total loss, is estimated to have had a value of $100,000, Brown said, with the home's contents additionally valued at $50,000.
Brown said Robin Nunnemaker had a suitcase packed for a trip, which was all she was left with in the wake of the fire. Friends are giving the family a place to stay in the short-term.
The recent rains offered an important benefit. “If this fire was a year ago at this time, we'd be up there for days because that whole valley would have gone,” Brown said.
Even with the wetter spring, Brown said firefighters are concerned about the summer.
“We've had so much rain that the fuel load has gotten huge,” he said.
Cal Fire remains on minimum staffing right now, and Brown said that agency won't be up to full staffing until July 1.
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The celebration will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the cemetery located on Lake Street in Lower Lake.
Guests will have an opportunity to explore the 25-acre grounds, learn more about its history and obtain information on burials.
Sexton/Manager Eric Pearson said that Lower Lake Cemetery is one of the oldest in California. Reports of its first-known use date back to 1850 while unconfirmed records indicate that the earliest burial occurred in 1824.
He said the first confirmed burial was in 1857.
“Lower Lake Cemetery has been the final resting place for many generations,” Pearson said. “Keeping this cemetery tranquil and serene is the best way to honor the people of our community.”
Pearson said that throughout history, the cemetery has been referred to by many names.
“At one point it was called the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery, Lake View Cemetery and the Catholic Cemetery,” he said. “In 1939, a petition of J.W. Constable was approved and granted by the county of Lake establishing and organizing what is now known as the Lower Lake Cemetery District.”
The Lower Lake Cemetery Districts serves the communities of Lower Lake, the City of Clearlake, Clearlake Park, Clearlake Oaks and Glenhaven.
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Deborah Lawrence, 44, was arrested for animal cruelty, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
On Monday afternoon Mendocino County Sheriff's Animal Control officers were dispatched to 10160 Main St. in Potter Valley regarding a possible animal cruelty investigation, Smallcomb said.
When the animal control officers arrived Smallcomb said they contacted witnesses who stated that they observed Lawrence yelling and stepping on a small Chihuahua puppy. They then observed the suspect open her car door and slammed the puppy inside the door jam causing the door to strike the puppy.
Smallcomb said other witnesses advised the officers that Lawrence had been seen holding the puppy by its neck, as well as kicking the puppy.
When the officers contacted Lawrence, she spontaneously stated, “I just accidentally killed my puppy.”
The officers then requested to view the puppy, who according to witnesses had viewed the suspect place the puppy into a blanket and then placed it into her car, Smallcomb said. The suspect gave the officers permission to enter the car and view the puppy.
The officers located a deceased, approximately 3-month-old Chihuahua wrapped in a blanket, Smallcomb said.
Lawrence subsequently was placed under arrest and booked into the Mendocino County Jail. Her bail is set at $15,000.
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Samuel Glen Sugarman, 30, and Duane Russell Jones, 33, both of Lucerne, were arrested after deputies found them in the home on Ferrand Drive, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman said that shortly before 7:30 a.m. the sheriff's office received a call from the homeowner, who lives out of the area, asking for his home to be checked.
The man said he called the home to check his messages on the phone and someone picked up the phone to answer it when no one was supposed to be there, Bauman said.
When the deputies arrived on scene they found a broken window, Bauman reported.
Bauman said the deputies could hear what sounded like people wrestling around inside the home. When they told the men to come out, they wouldn't.
Additional deputies were brought in to secure a perimeter around the home, Bauman said. When a K-9 team arrived, they gave the standard warning to come out or the dog was going to go in, and the men came out.
Bauman said it's unclear if the two men were linked to other burglaries reported around the Lucerne area.
The men were charged with felony first-degree burglary and vandalism, and misdemeanor charges of tampering with a vehicle.
In addition, Sugarman was charged with receiving stolen property and Jones was charged with use of a controlled substance, according to Lake County Jail records. Both Sugarman and Jones also had outstanding misdemeanor bench warrants.
Bail was set at $50,000 for Sugarman and $10,000 for Jones, based on their booking logs.
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Before you head out for the long weekend, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) reminds all motorists to drive safely, and buckle up.
Memorial Day weekend is a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) for the CHP, every available officer will be out on the road during this time period looking for motorists who are a danger to themselves or others on the state’s roadways.
The Memorial Day holiday reporting period begins at 6 p.m. Friday, May 28 and runs through 11:59 p.m. Monday, May 31.
“Insist everyone is properly restrained with a seat belt or a child safety seat before starting your engine,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Those two seconds could save your life or the life of someone you love.”
During last year’s MEP, 45 people were killed on California’s roadways. In addition, CHP officers made 1,465 arrests for driving under the influence (DUI) during the 78-hour reporting period.
According to statistics, nearly half of the vehicle occupants killed within CHP jurisdiction were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
To combat the problem of improperly restrained passengers, all CHP areas will be participating again this year in the national Click-It or Ticket Campaign May 24 through June 6.
“Our officers have seen first hand how effective using seat belts and child safety seats are in reducing injuries and saving lives of those involved in motor vehicle collisions,” said Farrow. “It’s simple. Buckle up. Watch your speed and never drink and drive.”
In an effort to keep impaired drivers off the road, the CHP is encouraging motorists to be a part of the team: Report drunk drivers, call 9-1-1.
When calling be sure to note the location and direction the suspected drunken driver is traveling. A color, make and model of car are also helpful.
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