The Willits Police Department found a pipe-bomb at the scene of a domestic violence encounter yesterday morning. In a news release early today, it happened in a home in Brooktrails. Police found a man named Kristoff Suba who allegedly attacked a woman Sunday morning. The woman also told officers she was able to keep Suba at bay with a stun gun. She said she thought Suba had a pipe-bomb as well. Willits Police along with Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Humboldt Sheriff’s Bomb Squad confirmed the improvised explosive device in a family member’s car. Suba was arrested for domestic battery and possession of a destructive device.
California’s Department of Cannabis Control seized over $52 million worth of illegal cannabis plants in the first three months of this year. In a release in MendoFever, the department increased plants eradicated by 43 percent. They targeted large grows to serve a third less warrants. Since its inception last year, the task force has seized nearly$85 million in illegal cannabis plants and seized over a dozen firearms. The force is made up of officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Cannabis Control and is coordinated by the Homeland Security Division of Cal OES. Their work aims to eradicate the illegal grows and stop criminal organizations to protect consumer and public safety and safeguard the environment.
Over the weekend, Mendocino County Search and Rescue was looking for a missing person that reportedly fell from a cliff. The authorities are looking up and down the coast for about a 35 mile stretch. A witness reported seeing a man floating face down in the water along the coast near Mendocino headlands State Park. According to MendoFever, the man was apparently drunk and stumbled down the cliffs and washed into the waves Saturday. The search continued yesterday until about 3pm with no sign of the missing man. Authorities say a body usually floats for about 24 hours before it sinks. Authorities said they’ll continue searching nearby coves and shorelines. If anyone sees the missing man, call Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
Clearlake Police are looking for a 14 year old girl who is missing. Naedean Parker was last seen in Clearlake and is a black girl with short black hair and brown eyes. She is 5 foot 3 and weighs around 130 pounds. Call Clearlake Police if you’ve seen her or have any information on Naedean Parker.
A man involved in the September 2020 armed robbery and kidnapping of money couriers was sentenced to 30 years in prison last week. Roy Ha of Las Vegas was sentenced in Mendocino County for the attempted murder that happened two and a half years ago around Highway 162 and Highway 101. Ha and another man were involved in a high speed chase with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department. CHP joined in the pursuit of two trucks, when police were able to get the suspects after heated road and off road chase. Two men were found bound together with their heads covered, having been kidnapped. It was connected to a pair of marijuana couriers. Roy Ha settled his case last month and was sentenced a day before his 30th birthday on Wednesday.
A man has been sentenced for two murders. Christopher Gamble of Willits was convicted early last month for the murders of Ulises Ayala and Anwar Rodriguez at a grow site on Sherwood Road. He will serve life in prison without parole for the crimes. The Mendocino County District Attorney sent a release about the sentencing last week. Gamble was convicted of murdering the two men as well as animal cruelty for torturing chickens. The remains were found in a fire pit, with the human heads of the two victims were never recovered.
The Konocti Corridor is complete. Caltrans and Lake County officials were at State Route 29 at Konocti Rock Company Road last Wednesday to celebrate the $85 million dollar project is the first phase of a safety project to widen Route 29. The Konocti Corridor Project will make travel between Lakeport, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, and Middletown safer. The project has taken 23 years to come to fruition, with funding by Caltrans, Lake County and the Federal Highway Administration, according to Lake County News. 8 miles Route 29 is one of three projects to improve transportation safety.
There will be a prescribed burn at the Coyote Valley Dam tomorrow. The US Army Corps of Engineers with Cal Fire will begin tomorrow evening at 5pm until about 9pm. Smoke will be visible through the Ukiah and Redwood Valley Areas, according to a press release from CalFire. The aim is to reduce vegetation on the face of the dam for an inspection. Coyote Dam and the Fish Hatchery will be closed to the public tomorrow.
Senate Bill 553 has passed that would establish new workplace violence prevention standards. The bill would prohibit employers from “maintaining policies that require employees to confront active shooters or suspected shoplifters.” The legislation is intended to reduce workplace violence and protect employees from thieves. The law is not targeted at trained security guards and would not prevent them from confronting criminals or active shooters.
There will be a Mobile CRV Buy Back Recycling Pop-Up Event on Wednesday at the Redemption Center on Airport Road in Fort Bragg. It will be a drive-thru beginning at 8:30am through 5pm with a lunch closure from 12-12:30pm for lunch. There are daily limits of 100 pounds of aluminum and plastic and 1,000 pounds of glass. All items must be empty, clean and dry. A valid state ID is required.
An illegal and dangerous grow site was raided last week. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released a statement over the weekend, on a grow in Laytonville. The Department with Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies with the State water Resources Control Board investigated an illegal grow in the Rattlesnake Creek Watershed. They found not only un-permitted plants but environmental violations including moving streams and land. The team killed nearly 6,000 illegal cannabis plants, according to MendoFever.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors are slated to discuss their $2 billion budget. Tuesday morning the board will meet to cut some COVID emergency spending. In the Press Democrat next years budgets is just over 2 percent lower than last year’s that ends this month. Officials urged efforts to keep core county services in tact. Inflation, slow property sales and decreased tax revenue are part of the problems. While the board may pause some projects, interest continues in funding law enforcement and road infrastructure. The job vacancy rate among the county has remained at about 12 percent. The board will consider costs associated with increased hiring and retention, and with one time funds of about $44 million.
The Fort Bragg Police have their first fully electric police vehicle. It’s the first of four expected of the Ford F150 Lightning Special Service truck. The first two arrived in April but needed some additional upgrades like graphics and police equipment added before going into service. In a release last week from the department, the move to an EV fleet will help on energy and maintenance costs. The trucks are expected to last longer than the standard ones of the past and offer more utility to serve the community. There will be an introduction to the first of the fleet today at 5:15 near Town Hall in Fort Bragg.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow morning to present proclamations and funding for projects. In Lake County News, the board will present a proclamation recognizing June 19th as Juneteenth National Freedom Day. The board will also honor Record Bee Sports Editor Brian Sumpter for 4 decades of service. They are expected to approve a project between Lake County’s Office of Education for the Safe Schools Healthy Students Program mental health services for about half a million dollars for the next fiscal year. Several emergencies are expected to be continued as well as some projects.
This week the Ukiah Planning Commission will continue a hearing on a Redwood Credit Union branch proposed for the city on Wednesday. In the Ukiah Daily Journal, the new location at the corner of East Perkins and Main Streets may get denied. City Staff members have reasons for their opposition of the project that would demolish two buildings at 101 South Main Street. The meeting is planned for Wednesday, where staff will argue the new branch would conflict with future development of Ukiah under the general plan. They say it doesn’t fit in their zoning code and has no site specific traffic analysis. The project was approved by Ukiah’s Design Review Board last month, with the meeting continued to June 14th.
Caltrans posted reports of road construction on the North Coast. In Lake County News, utility work on Highway 20 continues west of Upper Lake near Scotts Valley Road with one way traffic from 9am to 4pm. IN Fort Bragg, the Pudding Creek Bridge project work continues. On Highway 101 in Mendocino County, emergency work between Piercy and Benbow near Milkyway Loop Road is ongoing. On Highway 162, Crawford Creek Bridge work will begin today with one way traffic from 7a to 7p.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to reconsider if West Coast fishers in NorCal warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. The animal is a relative of the otter and lives in old-growth forests. The Service has until August to decide if they should be protected. In a release in KymKemp, lack of resources kept the service from listing the mammal as endangered back in 2004. While confirming the fisher’s threat for more than a decade in 2016 it reversed course. In 2020 the Service granted protections to fishers in the southern Sierra Nevada alone. Authorities say logging, fires and more have pushed fishers to the brink. The consideration today is what some say is the last best chance to prevent extinction.
The deadline to pass the state budget is coming this Thursday, June 15. Anti-hunger advocates are making a last ditch push to include $35 million for the Market Match program. The program helps low-income residents buy fruits and vegetables from local farmers markets using CalFresh EBT cards to spend up to 15 dollars a day on fresh produce. The Market Match Program is part of the California Nutrition Incentives Program. If it is not funded in this weeks budget approval benefits would come to an end after next year.
