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Raul Delara Ruiz, 52, was found beaten to death at around 2 a.m. Sept. 11, according to a report from Lt. Rusty Noe of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies were dispatched to a remote property along Highway 175 in Hopland on the report of a beating, and found the severely beaten Ruiz in a marijuana garden, Noe reported.
Noe said Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of Ruiz's death was determined as blunt force trauma to the head, according to Noe.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Ruiz was cultivating marijuana with three suspects when they were involved in a dispute over the marijuana garden's water supply, Noe reported. Both Ruiz and his wife were assaulted, and Ruiz died as a result.
Mendocino County Sheriff's Detectives are attempting to identify the suspects and are asking anyone with information call Detective Eric Riboli at 707-463-4111 or the tip line at 707-467-9159.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED, AS THE USGS HAS DOWNGRADED THIS QUAKE FROM 3.4 TO 3.3.
LAKE COUNTY – A quake that occurred in Talmage late Sunday was felt around both Mendocino and Lake counties.
The 3.3-magnitude quake was reported at 9:33 p.m., according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake, which occurred at a depth of 2.8 miles, was centered eight miles south southeast of Talmage, 10 miles south southeast of Ukiah and 10 miles west of Lakeport.
Dozens of Lake County residents – most of them from Lakeport – reported to the US Geological Survey that they felt the quake. More than 160 responses came from the Ukiah area.
The survey reported that shake reports even came from the faraway areas of Danville and San Ramon, 170 and 175 miles from the quake's epicenter, respectively.
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Brandi Ehlers of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said a momentary power interruption just after 4 p.m. affected 8,500 customers.
A sustained outage for several more hours affected about 4,000 customers, said Ehlers.
The reason for the outages was equipment failure, but Ehlers said she was unsure of the origin of the equipment problems.
Power was restored to all of the area's customers by 7:30 p.m., Ehlers said.
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LOWER LAKE – Smiles, toe tapping, applause, and great American roots and bluegrass music filled the air at the fourth annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival held Saturday at the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park in Lower Lake.
Grammy award-winner Laurie Lewis, accompanied by Nina Gerber, headlined the show and brought the estimated 1,200 guests to their feet again and again.
Lewis, best known for her fiddle playing, singing and songwriting, has been called “one of the preeminent bluegrass and Americana artists of our time,” and enchanted the crowd accompanied by Gerber, who performs with many other luminaries of American roots music.
“This is a beautiful place and a wonderful festival,” Lewis told the audience from the stage just before her last song of the evening on Saturday.
The festival was presented by the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA), a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote education and interpretive activities at the park, the Children’s Museum of Art & Science (CMAS), and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, as a benefit to help support education in science, history and performing arts for the children of Lake County.
Bluegrass banjo player and Upper Lake resident Pat Ickes with his band Bound to Ride returned once again to the festival, which was much appreciated by their fans who were treated to original tunes and classics.
A member of Bound to Ride, Larry Chung, reintroduced this reporter to bluegrass about 10 years ago when he played weekly with a band of rotating musicians at Cato’s in Oakland. Growing up in southern Illinois, my grandparents were bluegrass fans, taking my brother and I to shows near and far, including the Grand Ole Opry.
Charlane Hill, 41, died at the scene of the crash, which occurred on Highway 29 just south of the Highway 175 turnoff to Hopland at approximately 9:42 p.m. Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Alejandro Aurelios Arias, 28, of Kelseyville was arrested after the crash but was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP report explained that Arias was driving a 1997 Ford Mustang westbound on Highway 29 at a high rate of speed when he entered the highway's northbound lane.
'Charlane Hill, meanwhile, was driving northbound in a 1994 Buick Regal at an undetermined speed, the CHP said. She had two passengers, Maria Hill, 40, of Clearlake, who was riding as her right front passenger, and a 10-year-old Ukiah girl was in the right rear passenger seat.
When Arias' vehicle entered the northbound lane he hit Hill head-on. The CHP report said Arias' vehicle came to rest on the highway's east dirt shoulder, facing in a northerly direction, while Hill's vehicle stopped facing the opposite direction and partially blocking the northbound and southbound lanes.
Lakeport Fire Protection District was dispatched to the crash, with Lakeport paramedic ambulance 5014 arriving on scene one minute after dispatch, according to a Lakeport Fire report issued Saturday.
Paramedics and CHP officers found one of the vehicles on fire, with all of the crash victims trapped and the roadway completely blocked, the report explained. The fire was quickly suppressed with a fire extinguisher before reaching the patient.
The Lakeport Fire Protection District responded with two engine companies and two ambulances. Fire Captain Bob Ray assumed command and immediately requested additional ambulances and helicopters for one critical patient and three patients with major injuries, Lakeport Fire reported.
Mutual aid assistance was provided by Kelseyville Fire, Cal Fire, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Lakeport Police, with helicopters for medical transport coming from REACH and Calstar.
Lakeport medic engine 5012 and medic ambulance 5013 arrived five minutes after dispatch and
were directed by Ray to reassess patients after his initial triage, according to the fire district.
All of the parties had to be extricated from their vehicles, and paramedics found Charlane Hill dead deceased. Maria Hill had major facial injuries and altered mental state, and the child had major injuries to her extremities and abdomen.
Arias also suffered major injuries. Firefighters found he was in and out of consciousness with critical injuries to the head, pelvis and legs.
The CHP said Arias was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DUI causing great bodily injury and gross vehicular manslaughter. He'll be booked at a later time, after he is released from medical care.
Helicopters landed on Highway 29 to transport Arias and Maria Hill to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, while REACH took the 10-year-old to Oakland Children's Hospital.
Both of the vehicles had extensive damage, and the CHP said vehicle inspections are pending to determine the use of safety equipment.
Lakeport Fire's report noted that all four crash victims appear to have been restrained and airbags were deployed.
The CHP said the crash closed the highway between Highland Springs Road and Highway 175 for two hours and 10 minutes, with traffic diverted to Soda Bay Road.
CHP Officer Jake Bushey is investigating the crash.
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The Oasis Fire was contained at 1,575 acres, according to Cal Fire's final report on the incident, issued Saturday evening.
Suppression costs are estimated at $3.5 million, Cal Fire reported.
The blaze broke out Monday evening in a wildland area stretching across a portion of Lake and Colusa counties.
It was located on Bureau of Land Management land in the Cache Creek Wilderness Area as well as wildlands in the Northshore Fire Protection District jurisdiction, south of Highway 20 and six miles west of Highway 16.
Cal Fire said the fire's cause remains under investigation.
During the week the number of personnel on scene topped out at more than 1,100, with Cal Fire, Northshore Fire, Williams Fire and Department of Corrections personnel on scene. Additional assistance came from the California Highway Patrol.
Remaining on scene Saturday were 153 personnel, with two engines, seven fire crews and two bulldozers, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire reported approximately four injuries during the five-day blaze.
Officials said mop up and patrol of the fire area will continue.
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