Police in Lakeport will soon have a new tool in their crime-fighting kit. The Lakeport City Council has approved a $22,000 contract for 8 automatic license plate reading cameras. Lake Co News reports the approval vote was 4 to 1, with Councilmember Michael Green voting no because of privacy concerns. Police chief Brad Rasmussen says privacy is protected because only trained and authorized people will get to see the images that will only be used when a vehicle has suspected involvement in a crime. He calls the cameras the equivalent of having an officer on the streets in many locations. Clearlake and Lake County already have similar systems in place Under the terms of the two-year deal with vendor Flock Safety, the city can have the cameras pulled for the cost of taking them down.
A man from South Korea has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing hundreds of endangered succulents from state parks in Mendocino and DelNorte Counties. 46-year-old Byungsu Kim will also have to pay 4,000 dollars restitution for expenses related to the stolen plants after his arrest. He pleaded guilty to the charges in September. Prosecutors say Kim and two co-defendants uprooted the Dudlyea plants from DeMartin State Beach, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Russian Gulch State Park back in 2018. They were arrested as they tried to ship more than 3,700 plants worth more than $150,000 on the black market to South Korea using false documentation claiming they had permits to do so. Kim skipped out on those charges and was eventually arrested again trying to pull the same scheme in South Africa and extradited to the US. One of his co-defendants has already served time, the other is still a fugitive.
If your travel plans include a trip to Yosemite this summer, you might want to re-think them. Park officials say they may require day-use permits and reservations due to major construction work planned at the park. The national park service says limiting visitors may be the only way to avoid huge traffic jams on roadways. Several popular campgrounds will also be closed. The construction is part of the Great American Outdoors Act passed by congress in 2020, which provides billions for repairs and upgrades at America’s national parks. The park service says inconvenience this summer will lead to a much better park experience once the upgrades are done.
After an attempted stop in Ukiah of a guy on a bike without the proper safety equipment, Deputies say he took off down a trail. Deputies tried to stop Paul Nelson for no forward facing light or rear reflectors. So they switched on their overhead lights to try to get Nelson to stop, but he refused, and picked up his speed and headed onto a trail to the Mulberry Street area. There he ran into California Highway Patrol Officers waiting for him. Deputies found he had a warrant out for his arrest, plus he was on probation. He was arrested for the Felony Arrest Warrant, and violating Probation and adding Misdemeanor Resist, Delay or Obstruct Public Officer and held with no bail.
Sheriff’s Deputies are searching the Gualala area after a 911 call about an attack. The victim said several people came to his home with guns, one was an AR-15 rifle. He said someone named “Yuri” was trying to kill him. A shelter in place order was announced to neighbors, but the alleged victim took off, leaving a friend behind. Deputies and the CHP saw someone running away and another man nearby and set up a perimeter. While there they found an illegal cannabis operation. They got a search warrant and took 1,900-pounds of processed cannabis from the home. They identified Yuri Andrade as a person of interest, but so far no arrests have been made.
The Mendocino Public Health Dept. has announced another two deaths from COVID-19 in the county. The 110th death in Mendocino County was an 89 year-old man from the South Coast; who was unvaccinated. The 111th was in a vaccinated 45 year-old man from the North County area. Public Health asks all Mendocino County residents to consider the best ways to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19, and when in doubt, consult with and follow all CDC and CDPH guidance. Vaccination, masking, and social distancing remain the best tools for combating COVID-19. Fully vaccinated people should strongly consider getting a COVID-19 booster to improve immunity. For more info: www.mendocinocounty.org/covidvaccine
A man has been arrested in Ukiah on several charges after a call to an apartment building. Police say Jose Estrada Wirt was arrested after a physical fight. One man was seen with moderate injuries and said he was in a fight with Estrada Wirt where he pulled a knife on him. Police say Estrada Wirt also drove an SUV at the victim and rammed him with the front of the vehicle, then took off. They are still searching for the man. The victim ended up in the hospital. A BOLO alert went out for Estrada Wirt who was found the next day and jailed.
A woman from Ukiah has been arrested after a call to a man being cut in the throat. Police say they reported to the scene, finding Tatiana Franco Cortez. Cortez reportedly had the knife on her when they got there. Backup officers arrived and found the woman and arrested her at gunpoint as she was still in possession of the weapon. Franco Cortez’s victim says he was eating breakfast when he was attacked and yelled at for an unknown reason. He says Franco Cortez put the knife against his neck, then took off. Witnesses confirmed the report. She’s charged with Assault with a deadly weapon and Possession of Dirk or Dagger, both felonies. She was booked into jail Wednesday.
The Ukiah Planning Commission is considering a new cannabis dispensary on South State Street near Talmage Road. At their virtual meeting Wednesday, Jatinder Singh’s application will be considered for a “major use and site development permit to allow operation of a cannabis retail/dispensary in a new building”. He’s proposing his business in the new building after demolition of two other buildings is done. The city planning staff reviewed it and passed it to the city’s Design Review Board who unanimously recommended approval of the project to the Planning Commission.
Outcry to release some inmates at four of the state’s juvenile jails due to the spread of coronavirus. There was an outbreak of the virus at the facilities, so some are asking the Governor’s office to release some of the youth who have only six months left to go before their parole date, or if they have underlying medical conditions. 640 juveniles are in the facilities and a report says 175 recently tested positive for COVID. It’s said to be the highest infection rate since the correctional institutions reported the first case in June of 2020. The hashtag #ProtectYouthNow has been trending on social media platforms the last several days.
Congressman Mike Thompson, Senator Diane Feinstein and several other congressional members have called on the Conference of Mayors to ban ghost guns. Congressman Thompson is the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair. He and Feinstein and 39 of their colleagues are trying to get the mayors to make the untraceable firearms known as ghost guns totally illegal. They say shutting off the “supply of ghost guns is essential, and they also need a strong local response” due to the existing supply of ghost guns. The members say cities are starting to pass ordinances to prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, receipt, and transportation of ghost guns and are asking the Conference of Mayors to do the same.
