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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Paul Jon Westergren pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor violation of Penal Code section 597(b), subjecting an animal to needless suffering or cruelty, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff. Deputy District Attorney Dan Moffatt prosecuted the case.
Dixie the pit bull was rescued from Westergren's home last summer, as Lake County News first reported last year.
Just 6 months old at the time, Dixie had been hit by a semi truck two days earlier and been left to cry in pain in Westergren's yard for two days while she suffered from a crushed pelvis and broken leg. She also had internal nerve damage and injuries to her bowel and urinary tracts.
Animal Care and Control received a call about the dog on June 27, 2008, and Officer Eric Wood went to Westergren's home, found Dixie and saw that Westergren had not sought medical care for her, as is required by law. The dog was injured so badly she hadn't been able to urinate in two days.
Dixie was taken to Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport where she underwent several surgeries to repair her shattered hip and repair the nerve damage.
Eventually, her right back leg had to be amputated because the leg did not heal right and was dragging the ground, causing sores on her foot and creating the possibility of infection.
Dixie has since gone to a new home out of county, where she lives with a loving new owner and several canine friends.
However, Animal Care and Control Deputy Director Bill Davidson said she has had continued health problems because of infections, and her situation is “touch and go.”
Hinchcliff said Westergren was prosecuted for not getting the dog prompt medical attention for two days and allowing her to suffer.
Judge Richard Martin sentenced Westergren to three years probation, 80 hours work service, search condition for residence, and a term and condition is he possess no pets for three years, Hinchcliff said.
In addition, Hinchcliff said Westergren will be ordered to pay restitution for vet bills for the animal and fined $100.
Hinchcliff said he thinks the sentence is a fairly typical one, if there is such a thing in animal cruelty cases.
He said if Westergren had caused the broken hip through abuse, he likely would have been charged with a felony rather than a misdemeanor, leading to a more severe sentence.
Westergren is looking at hefty restitution for Dixie's vet bills. Davidson told Lake County News last week that Dixie's care amounted to about $7,000, covering the surgeries and a rare internal bacterial infection she contracted.
Davidson said Westergren's overall sentence differed slightly from that of a woman convicted of neglect in the case of Hero, a German shepherd impounded in the summer of 2006 after he was found to be severely emaciated, with bleeding feet filled with foxtails.
Martin sentenced Donna Mae Heath to 180 days in the county jail for animal neglect and failure to provide medical care. She also was required to pay nearly $4,000 in restitution for the dog's vet bills, couldn't own an animal for three years and received three years formal probation.
The case involving “Luke,” a 10-year-old German shepherd rescued from a home in July 2008, also went to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution, said Davidson, but there has been no resolution in that case yet.
Luke, who was found unable to stand, with no food or water in the hot sun, had hair matted with foxtails and stickers and open wounds filled with maggots. He eventually had to be put down because he couldn't be rehabilitated, as Lake County News has reported.
Another case involving a dog named “Nellie,” found severely emaciated at her Lower Lake home last August, has gone to the District Attorney's Office. Davidson said she was adopted out to a new home but was put down recently due to continuing health problems.
Two other dog abuse cases from last year, those of Teiya, a pit bull whose owner beat her until her leg was broken, and a puppy named Sugar, whose juvenile owner picked her up and threw her, breaking her front elbow, didn't end up being prosecuted, Davidson said.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Two of the rapes were reported on Saturday, said Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman said the two rapes – one in Middletown, one in Kelseyville – were reported within an hour of each other by women from Hidden Valley Lake, and both incidents were alleged to have occurred on Friday.
In the first case, a 25-year-old woman went to Twin Pine Casino where she met with her family and friends and had some drinks.
The woman woke up the next day at home to find she was missing her underwear. Bauman said it's believed that a male subject who is an acquaintance of the woman, and who was seen at the casino that night, had sex with her while she was under the influence of alcohol.
In the second case, Bauman said deputies responded to Sutter Lakeside Hospital on Saturday night.
There they found an 18-year-old woman who reported she had been raped the previous night in Kelseyville. Bauman had few other details, as the report still is being written in that case.
A third rape was reported to have taken place Saturday night in Lakeport, according to Lt. Brad Rasmussen of Lakeport Police.
Rasmussen said an 18-year-old Lakeport woman attended a concert at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Martin Street Saturday night.
At the event she met a security guard who let her in for free, Rasmussen said.
The two exchange phone numbers, and Rasmussen said later that night the guard sent her a text message and got her outside of the concert.
There the male subject asked the woman for sex. When the woman refused, the male physically assaulted her, Rasmussen said. The rape was reported early Sunday morning.
Rasmussen said police have received forensic evidence in the case and are still investigating.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Eugene Klebe, 80, and his wife, Pauline, 73, of Hidden Valley Lake died at the scene of the collision, which occurred on Highway 29 at Spruce Grove Road Extension, across from the Hidden Valley Lake main gate, according to CHP Officer Steve Tanguay.
At 10:20 a.m. Saturday the Klebes were sitting in their 2008 Lincoln MKZ sedan at the stop sign on Spruce Grove Road Extension across from the main gate, said Tanguay.
Tanguay said Eugene Klebe then pulled out into the path of a 2001 Dodge Durango driven by Jon Johnson, 52, of Hidden Valley Lake, who was heading southbound on Highway 29.
Johnson was unable to avoid the collision, Tanguay said, and his Durango collided with the Lincoln's left side.
Tanguay said the Klebes' Lincoln came to rest blocking the northbound lane of traffic and the Dodge came to rest blocking the southbound lane of traffic.
The Klebes both sustained fatal injuries, said Tanguay.
Johnson was transported to St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake where he was treated and released for minor injuries. His son, Jason Johnson, reported over the weekend that his father was doing all right.
Tanguay said traffic was diverted around the crash and onto Spruce Grove Road Extension. Reports from the scene indicated that the roadway wasn't fully reopened for two hours.
This collision is still under investigation by Officer Steve Curtis, Tanguay said.
He added that alcohol and drugs are not considered to be factors in this collision.
The Klebes' death was greeted with sadness by community members and neighbors, who left messages on Lake County News over the weekend as well as sending in e-mails.
Michelle Forney, who had been the Klebes' neighbor on Spyglass in Hidden Valley Lake at one time, called the news “devastating.”
She said the couple had gotten together in recent years after his previous wife died in 2003.
Eugene Klebe was a smiling, joking, charismatic man, who walked around the neighborhood and talked to people, and liked to frequent all the yard sales on Saturdays with his wife – not to buy anything but just to visit, Forney said. He'd also enjoyed taking trips in his RV.
Forney said she had just seen Eugene Klebe the Saturday before the fatal crash.
“They were both adorable. It's so sad,” she said.
Forney added that she also knows the Johnsons, who she also described as wonderful people.
“My heart just was broken,” she said.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The National Weather Service in Sacramento (NWS) has issued a fire weather watch beginning Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening as a very strong and unusual (for this time of year) low pressure system moves inland.
As the system moves closer to the coastline on Wednesday, chances for thunderstorms along the coastal range of mountains will increase, bringing with it the possibility of lightening-induced wildfires.
On Tuesday, high temperatures are forecast to reach the low- to mid-80s, with temperatures overnight in the low 50s according to the NWS.
As Wednesday progresses and the low pressure system moves inland and past the Coastal mountain range, clouds will increase in Lake County along with the chance for thunderstorms and dry lightening strikes – but chances of precipitation are more likely in higher elevations according to the NWS.
A 20- to 30-percent chance of thunderstorm activity begins Wednesday evening and lasts throughout Thursday in Lake County, according to the NWS, with lesser chances for rain in Lower Lake and Middletown, as lower and middle elevations will have an increased possibility of dry lightening strikes and less chance of precipitation.
High daytime temperatures are forecast to top off around 80 degrees Wednesday through Friday, the NWS states, well below the average August temperatures for Lake County, which should be in the mid- to upper-90s.
A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are possible per the NWS, which recommends listening for later forecasts that could adjust the timing of the weather event and for possible red flag warnings.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at