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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – Five gang members were arrested Friday night after a man was stabbed in front of a restaurant near Library Park.
Lakeport Police Lt. Brad Rasmussen reported Saturday morning that the incident was reported at 7:57 p.m. Friday, when the Lake County Sheriff's dispatch center received a 911 call from a cell phone.
The incident reportedly happened in front of TNT on the Lake restaurant, at 1 First St., according to Rasmussen's report.
Three Lakeport Police units, assisted by two California Highway Patrol units and three Lake County Sheriff’s units, responded to the scene and located a 20-year-old male victim who had been stabbed numerous times, Rasmussen said.
Lakeport Fire Department medical units responded to the scene and transported the victim to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, said Rasmussen. However, the seriousness of the man's injuries resulted in his transport to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital by REACH.
Rasmussen said LPD officers identified and located five documented members of the Sureno street gang who were arrested within a few hours of the stabbing.
Arrested were 18-year-old Ricardo Tapia Muniz of Lakeport, for attempted murder with a felony criminal street gang enhancement; and Elias Hernandez, 19, of Lakeport, on conspiracy and attempted murder charges, also with the gang enhancement.
Muniz and Hernandez are being held in the Lake County Jail, with bail set at $155,000 for Muniz and $150,000 for Hernandez, according to a jail official.
In addition, police arrested three male juveniles: a 14-year-old male from Lakeport, on conspiracy and attempted murder charges with the gang enhancement; a 16-year-old male from Lakeport, facing charges of attempted murder and a street gang enhancement; and a 17-year-old Lakeport resident, who is charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and the enhancement for street gangs. No bail has been set for any of the juveniles, who remain in Juvenile Hall.
Rasmussen said Saturday morning that LPD investigates and documents known street gang members and associated activity within the city limits.
Three officers, led by Det. Norm Taylor, are responsible for that effort, said Rasmussen. All are trained in dealing with gangs, and they're assigned to gang investigations such as this one.
“This is why we were able to quickly locate and arrest the five gang members,” Rasmussen said. “Documented Sureno street gang members have been responsible for other crimes in Lakeport in the past.”
Rasmussen said the investigation into the stabbing will continue through the weekend.
Know Gangs, an organization that provides training about gangs for law enforcement, reports that the Surenos street gang developed in the 1960s out of the Mexican Mafia, which itself emerged during the 1950s in the California prison system.
In the late 1960s Nuestra Familia formed, Know Gangs reports. Most of Nuestra Familia's members were from Northern California, so they became known as the Nortenos, or Northerners. Out of the Mexican Mafia came young men from Southern California then took on the Surenos, or Southerners, moniker, Know Gangs reported.
Surenos are separate today from the Mexican Mafia, according to Know Gangs. They use the number 13 and its variations – XIII, X3, 13 – as well as the letter M (the alphabet's 13th letter) and “Sur” in graffiti and tattoos. Their chosen color is blue, and their
The gangs' presence is noted in local graffiti, especially in the Kelseyville area.
Know Gangs reports that the Surenos is the nation's largest street gang, with members found in every state in the nation.
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LAKEPORT – Despite weather delays during February and plenty of unexpected repair work, work on the Westshore Pool is moving forward, with the pool expected to be ready for action this summer.
At its Feb. 6 meeting, the council awarded a $313,370 bid for renovating the pool to Pleasanton-based Pool Time, which was the only company to submit a bid on the project.
The renovations, according to city staff, are funded primarily by Measure I proceeds, along with a $168,000 state grant.
City Engineer Scott Harter reported Pool Time began work on the pool Feb. 12.
Since work got under way, there have been several discoveries that weren't expected in the original project scope, Harter said.
Those included Pool Time's finding that parts of the pool, such as the main drain, needed to be re-plumbed due to leaks. That resulted in having to remove parts of the pool wall, which will have to be replaced with a special kind of concrete.
As a result, Pool Time Project Manager Bob Dwyer has attended the last few City Council meetings to ask for contract change orders to cover additional costs.
While the council grumbled about the requests, they ultimately approved them, saying they felt the community had made clear its desire for the pool's renovation.
“The pool has never been one of my favorite items, but if we're going to fix it, we're going to fix it right," Mayor Roy Parmentier said at the council's Feb. 20 meeting.
During a special council meeting on March 9, the council asked Dwyer to come and answer questions about the project, which he did as part of asking for a fourth change order.
The council approved that order, bringing the total cost of the pool now to $370,515.
Dwyer, who has been building and remodeling pools in 1973, said delays during remodeling projects aren't uncommon.
He's had about a week's worth of delays due to rainy weather in February and that, along with the other renovation issues, has caused him to be little behind in his timeline. However, Dwyer said he expects to be finished in time for the summer season.
Harter said the local swim team start training in May.
In his meetings with the council, Dwyer said he felt they've been receptive to the issues with the pool.
When the work is done, said Dwyer, “Everybody will be very pleased. It will look so much cleaner than before.”
That's because it will have new coping, tile and plaster, and 75-percent new plumbing, Dwyer said. In fact, everything but the pool floor has been completely replumbed, he added.
There is some electric repair that remains, he said, but for the most part, he believes most of the surprises are past.
“I think we've discovered most of the stuff that is extra, above and beyond the original contract scope,” he said.
Remodeling the pool will make it essentially brand-new, he said, for less than half of what it would cost to build a new pool.
He said he has plans to build a new pool for the City of East Palo Alto that will be 4,300 square feet, about the same size as Westshore. That project, he said, will cost about $1 million.
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In Lake County, there appears to have been a slight increase both in fatal collisions and the resulting fatalities.
CHP said increased enforcement, along with education, resulted in lives saved statewide.
Highway collision fatalities decreased 9.22 percent in 2006, with 3,907 collision fatalities compared to 4,304 in 2005. Statewide, there were 3,542 fatal collision in 2006, down from 3,822 in 2005.
Jaime Coffee of the Sacramento CHP Office reported that fatal collisions in Lake County in 2005 numbered 12, with 13 victims killed. Statistics for 2006, which she said were preliminary and only extended through September, listed 16 fatal collisions and 20 victims killed.
The county's fatality statistics over the last 10 years show a steady overall increase, with some years showing notable drops. (See graph below.)
“While I am saddened to see these deaths, I am pleased to see what appears to be a substantial reduction in the number of casualties,” said CHP Commissioner Mike Brown. “The projected reduction reflects the emphasis the CHP places on safety.”
CHP said its goals include preventing death, injury and property damage. The indicator of a state’s relative success in traffic safety is represented by the number of traffic fatalities per every 100 million miles of vehicle travel, referred to as the Mileage Death Rate (MDR). The MDR is affected by both increased educational and enforcement efforts.
“Early indications are that California’s estimated mileage death rate in 2006 is 1.21, that’s a dramatic improvement from the previous year’s 1.31 if that holds up,” said Brown.
The MDR won’t be official until the third quarter of 2007 when all data elements are finalized.
“These projected reductions in collisions and victims killed are primarily the result of increased enforcement and education in the three main causes of fatal crashes – seat belt usage, DUIs and speeding,” Brown added.
The preliminary figures were also good news at the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).
OTS awards grants to agencies throughout the state for programs aimed at reducing deaths and injuries on California's roadways.
In the last year OTS awarded $103 million to 290 agencies, more funding to more agencies than ever before, with greater emphasis on combating DUI offenders, increasing seat belt use and promoting public awareness campaigns.
DUI arrests statewide rose 4 percent between 2005 and 2006, going from 89,944 to 93.690. In Lake County, 2005 DUI arrests numbered 360, compared to a preliminary estimate of 411 for 2006 (for 10 years of Lake County DUI statistics, see graph below).
The Lake County District Attorney's Office received an OTS grant last year, according to District Attorney Jon Hopkins. The funds, said Hopkins, were used to create a new DUI Vertical Prosecution Unit and fund a prosecutor whose sole function is to work DUI cases. The unit won its first prosecution in February.
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The incident took place at the park's boat ramp at about 8 p.m., according to Lakeport resident Harold LaBonte.
LaBonte said the victim survived, and that two arrests may have taken place at the nearby Willopoint trailer park.
He reported some confusion at the scene as patrons at the nearby TNT on the Lake restaurant hurried to leave the area.
Police officials at the scene would not release details, said La Bonte.
A dispatcher at Lakeport Police reported at shortly before 11 p.m. that no one with the authority to release information on the case was available for comment.
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