MCT: Tuesday, June 16, 2020

• Sunny Breezy
• Cliff Fall
• Pepper Pelfrey
• Real Estate
• FB Updates
• 76 Years
• Name Change
• Mendo Follies
• Lumber Skid
• Wildlife Services
• Duncan Springs
• Positive Encounter
• Six Vehicles
• Kinion Wagon
• Foggy Way
• Sheriff's Plan
• Grape Truck
• Ed Notes
• Psychic Flight
• Police Reports
• Yesterday's Catch
• Undisciplined Killers
• Rollover
• Paw Patrol
• Hunger Games
• Crash Scene
• Little Ruby
• Hart Landing
• Liberal Mask
• Show Me
• Comments
• Burned Out
• Pandemic Consequences
• Who's Next
• Street Protests
• Found Object

A FEW WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS will affect Humboldt and Del Norte counties mainly this morning, followed by increasing sunshine and breezy conditions this afternoon. High pressure will then allow for a mainly sunny and breezy rest of the week, with hotter temperatures inland lasting into the weekend. (NWS)

MEDICAL CALL FOR FALL FROM CLIFF, POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE. THIS WAS A FATAL INCIDENT.

The scanner [Monday, June 15] said (12:12 pm) first responders were dispatched to the Point Arena lighthouse for the report of a "35-year-old male, fall from a cliff." CalStar 4 will be responding, they had an estimated time of arrival at 12:40 pm. Dispatch said the fall was approximately sixty-feet onto the rocks near the water.

At 12:24 pm, dispatch also said, "The US Coast Guard will be responding as well."

It sounds like the person who fell came from a motorhome - there is no movement on the rocks.

A State Parks pickup truck came by MSP HQ (12:23 pm) "Code 3" (lights/siren) headed south on Highway 1.

At 12:59 pm, scanner traffic indicated they were packaging "the body" to bring it to the top of the cliff.

CalStar 4 said they lifted from the scene and were "clear & available" @ 1:10 pm.

Among the comments there was this one-

“Alison Grady— I am the one who found him and called it in. It appeared this person was taking pictures and got too close to the edge. My heart is broken for him and his family.”

PELFREY AGAIN!

On Tuesday, June 11, 2020 at approximately 1:23 PM, Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to investigate an assault that occurred at a store in the 800 block of Ford Road in Ukiah.

Deputies contacted a 37 year-old East Indian male who was suffering from physical effects of being sprayed with oleoresin capsicum spray (pepper spray).

After conducting a thorough investigation, Deputies determined the following in summary:

The adult male was working inside of a retail store along with a second male coworker. A white male adult entered the store wearing head and facial coverings, an unbuttoned blue collar shirt and blue jeans.

The adult male suspect was later identified as Anthony Pelfrey, 44, of Ukiah.

Pelfrey walked directly toward the adult male clerk (37 year-old male), who was stocking shelves behind the retail counter.

Pelfrey drew a large canister of pepper spray and deployed it, spraying the back of the adult male clerk's head. The adult male clerk turned and ran toward the back of the store. Pelfrey pursued while spraying him several more times. After the adult male clerk successfully retreated to safety, Pelfrey ran out of the store.

Deputies were not able to identify Pelfrey at that time. However, it was learned a similar unprovoked pepper spray assault had recently occurred within the City of Ukiah.

The victim in that incident was a Hispanic male. The suspect in that case was described as a white male adult.

Based on this information, Deputies suspected the crimes may be connected and may have been racially motivated.

Video surveillance within the store (Mendocino County Sheriff's Office 06-11-2020 case) captured the incident and provided a vague suspect description.

Deputies continued to follow up on the incident throughout the shift.

On 06-13-2020 at approximately 1100 hours, Deputies received a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) issued by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The BOLO identified Anthony Pelfrey as a suspect in an unprovoked pepper spray assault on an Asian couple. The assault was committed in the Bodega Bay area of Sonoma County.

Pelfrey had a listed address within the City of Ukiah and it was believed he may have returned home following that assault.

Deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and Officers from the Ukiah Police Department conducted surveillance on Pelfrey's residence. At approximately 3:15 PM, Pelfrey was contacted at his residence and taken into custody without incident. Pelfrey was transported to Sonoma County where he was booked on charges stemming from their investigation.

Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Detectives and the County of Mendocino Marijuana Enforcement Team responded to assist Mendocino County and Sonoma County Deputies with the service of a search warrant at Pelfrey's residence.

Evidence related to all of the reported pepper spray assaults was located in Pelfrey's vehicle and residence.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, it is believed the motive for the assaults was a prejudice toward the victims due to their actual or perceived ethnicity.

Investigators learned that in 2009, Pelfrey was convicted of attempted murder following an assault with a machete on two Hispanic males, which occurred in Mendocino County.

A report related to the incident within the jurisdiction of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office (06-11-2020 case) has been filed with the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office for review of potential filing for the following charges:

Violate the Civil Rights of Another, Causing Injury

Unlawful use of Tear Gas

Felon in Possession of Tear Gas

Burglary With Intent to Commit a Felony

REAL ESTATE PICKS UP!

by Anne Fashauer

I’m glad that I thoroughly enjoyed the forced vacation because I’m busy again. As the lock down has relaxed buyers have started to come out in force. The new reality of working remotely has also encouraged folks to make the move; many would have had to wait until retirement but can move ahead now and live the life they want in a rural setting. I went from no activity to two escrows in one week. Whew.

What we are lacking is more inventory. There have been few new properties put on the market recently, only about four in the past month. Some of the properties on the multiple listing service have been there for months. Of course, many of these properties are priced over $1,000,000. In fact, of the 18 residential properties listed, half are over $1,000,000 and half of those are over $2,000,000. Of the nine under one million, three of those are in escrow.

Besides actually working, I’ve mostly continued to stay home. I’ve been able to get out on my bike a few times; I set a goal of 30 miles a week and I’ve met that the past three weeks (well, last week I only did 27 but I made up for that in vertical feet of climbing). We had a nice, socially distanced Memorial Day BBQ in the vineyard and threw a baby shower via drive-by as well. The latter was a lot of fun - many folks made it up the hill to honor the mother-to-be and decorated their cars. It was very festive.

If you’ve been on the fence about listing your property and it’s not on the high end, now is a good time. I don’t think adding more high end inventory is a great idea right now, but the mid- and lower-range is seeing a lot of activity. I’m happy to discuss this personally with you when you’re ready.

UPDATES FROM THE CITY OF FORT BRAGG

New Health Order Issued Last Night. The much anticipated update to the SIP Order was pushed out about 7:30pm last night. A good summary of changes is provided in the County’s press release.

Lodging, campgrounds and RV parks are allowed to open, however due to the risk associated with tourism, lodges and campgrounds have to meet additional requirements. Tasting rooms and bars (until 12am) are allowed to open, as are gyms and fitness facilities, movie theaters (25% of occupancy or 100 people), museums, galleries, zoos, aquariums, charter boats and public pools, however all with additional restrictions. All businesses must self-certify at mendocinocountybusiness.org and understand the requirements provided in the revised SIP Order. 

Name Change for City of Fort Bragg. An agenda item to discuss whether the Fort Bragg City Council would like to place the question of changing the City’s name on the ballot in November is scheduled for the June 22nd regular City Council meeting. 

Public Meeting on June 22. The City Council meeting on Monday, June 22nd will be open to the public. So that there is ample room for social distancing of Councilmembers at the dais, most of staff will attend by Zoom. Zoom is also an option for Councilmembers who prefer to continue to shelter at home. Public seating in Town Hall will be limited to accommodate social distancing and facial masks will be required. Members of the public may continue to submit public comments through the online eComment agenda feature, by emailing City Clerk June Lemos at JLemos@fortbragg.com or by voice mail, (707) 961-1694. 

Bainbridge Park. The revised SIP Order still states that individuals cannot engage in sports or activities that use shared equipment (tennis, basketballs & playgrounds) at public recreation sites, so Bainbridge Park will not reopen at this time. 

North Noyo Headlands Park Restrooms Open. As of June 12th, the restrooms at the North Noyo Headlands/Glass Beach are open. These facilities have running water, so they provide proper hand sanitizing stations. With the recent reductions in City staff, the City is struggling with the additional COVID-19 standards for cleaning restrooms and other facilities. The south and middle Trail restrooms, without running water, will remain closed. 

Fort Bragg Surveillance Testing Results – All Negative. Mendocino Coast Clinics confirmed that the results of the recent COVID-19 surveillance testing completed on June 4th were all negative. 

ALBION RIVER BRIDGE BANNER 2020

The Albion River Bridge is now 76 years old...

There is no public gathering this year due to the 'SIP' orders.

The banner is hanging on the front of the Albion River Inn (parallel to Highway One)..

At over 14 stories tall, the Albion River Bridge has served the Mendocino Coast well beyond its original 20 year estimated lifespan. Indeed, just two years ago two world renowned professional (PhD) engineer and timber bridge experts, inspected the Albion River Bridge and found it not only in "Remarkably Good Condition" and "Safe for Continued Use", but estimated that, with continued maintenance and earthquake retrofitting, it has at least another 75 years of service left!

CHANGE IT

Dear Editor, 

The most significant thing to be done about deeply embedded racism in my community is to abandon the name “Fort Bragg” for our city. 

The use of this name insults us in 2 ways; one is the glorification of a confederate civil war soldier, and not a great one at that, who fought to deny freedom to African Americans, and the other is in honoring the existence of the Fort which resulted in slavery, child abduction and slaughter for many indigenous people of our coast. Documentation of the latter is found at the Kelley Museum and at the Guest House in the materials held by the Historical Society.

The process to rename a town is for the City Council to either put the question on a ballot or to, with a super majority, vote approval. Before either of course there would be public comment and much discussion.

What could the new name be? How about one that reflects Pomo and the timber history and also shows proximity to the coast, such as Noyo Landing? 

Congress, the military and the state of North Carolina are poised to change the name of the military fort of Fort Bragg. Let’s do the same. It would help the image of the entire county.

Molly Warner, near Fort Bragg

MENDO FOLLIES

Dear Editor,

Thank you for your coverage of Mendocino Follies every week. Some of my favorite articles have been “How the Government Steals Your Car,” “Mendocino County Gouges Fire Victims,” “Fort Bragg Mummy Case Goes To Trial,” etc. Jerry Philbrick is great. I even enjoy Mendo’s menopausal leftists who like paying more taxes to support all the follies, like the nut-house that won’t exist and the $20 mil that goes to the special friends outside the County. Keep it up.

Tom Madden

Comptche/Ukiah

CASPAR LUMBER SKID

END MENDOCINO’S CONTRACT WITH WILDLIFE SERVICES

Editor,

Most residents and visitors to Mendocino County have a deep love and respect for nature and for wildlife. Yet, each year our county renews its contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services to kill hundreds of bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes and many other wild animals, as well as unintended victims, such as endangered species and our beloved pets. 

The USDA’s Wildlife Services is a multimillion-dollar federal program that sets snares and traps, which grab the body of any animal that happens upon a trap. When trapped, the animal is left to suffer for hours or even days before it dies. Some chew off an entrapped limb in order to survive. Injured animals are vulnerable and have little chance of survival in the wild.

In 2018 Wildlife Services reported killing nearly 1.5 million native animals nationwide. That year, in California, the program reported killing 26,441 native animals, including 3,826 coyotes, 859 beavers, 170 foxes, 83 mountain lions and 105 black bears. The 5,675 birds killed in 2018 in California included blackbirds, ducks, egrets, hawks, owls and doves. - USDA WS statistics

There is absolutely no moral reason to continue the horrific, archaic practice of implementing torture traps for wildlife management when there are non-lethal methods proven to be more effective and humane. 

“Wildlife Services’ indiscriminate killing of millions of animals annually has many damaging impacts on the environment. Peer-reviewed research shows that such reckless slaughter of animals — particularly predators — results in broad ecological destruction and loss of biodiversity. The program’s controversial and indiscriminate killing methods are employed largely at the behest of ranchers to protect livestock and have come under increased scrutiny from scientists, the public and government officials. In addition the agency has been responsible for the countless deaths of threatened and endangered species, as well as family pets.” - Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Marin-based Project Coyote.

Counties throughout the country, including neighboring Marin and Sonoma, have ended their contracts with Wildlife Services. They have brought in non-lethal wildlife management services to educate the public regarding deterrent and exclusion programs to protect property and livestock. Such non-lethal wildlife exclusion programs have proven far more effective than senseless killing by Wildlife Services. 

A bare majority of Mendocino County Supervisors want to continue our lethal contract with Wildlife Services, and use a non-lethal wildlife service as a supplement. This means the county would continue to subsidize WS to kill wildlife, while community members who did not want wildlife to be killed would pay a fee for non-lethal wildlife services.

We, of the Mendocino Non-lethal Wildlife Alliance (MNWA), believe that killing wildlife should be a last resort and only used to protect human safety, euthanize a rabid animal, or, when all other appropriate non-lethal methods of wildlife exclusion have been exhausted.

Ranchers have a legal right to kill a predator that threatens their livestock, so terminating the contract with Wildlife Services would not infringe upon their rights.

We are a progressive county that values and respects our majestic wildlife. We certainly would not be the first county in the US to end an agreement with USDA’s Wildlife Services; let us not be among the last!

Please sign our petition to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors to end the senseless killing now at: thepetitionsite.com/842/567/041/stop-the-killing-now

Mendocino Non-lethal Wildlife Alliance

Steering Committee

Rosebud Ireland

Carol Lillis

Carol Misseldine

Don Lipmanson

Jon Spitz

DUNCAN SPRINGS, 1909

WE TEND TO FOCUS on the negative when it comes to County government. So it’s only fair to offer some genuine praise when we have a postive encounter. On Monday, while checking the status of a Legal Notice with the County Clerk’s office, the woman who answered not only was the right person to talk to but she knew exactly how to answer our question in a personable, efficient way. We didn’t catch her name, but she was the very model of competence and professionalism. Thanks, whoever you are. (Mark Scaramella)

ACCIDENT SCENE, GREEN BRIDGE, HOPLAND

A LOCAL WONDERS, “Anyone have a picture of the station wagon Carl Kinion used to drive as the Valley ambulance?” I remember it as a two-tone orange and white, re-tooled station wagon owned by an elderly Cloverdale woman, but I’m sure an old timer out there has more reliable memories and maybe even a photo.

FOGGY WAY, POINT ARENA

SHERIFF MATT KENDALL is about to do something that has needed doing for decades. On Tuesday the Sheriff told the Supervisors:

"We have spoken with the presiding judge and the presiding judge will assign a judge to the courtroom at the jail to do 100% of the in-custodys. If we build the courtroom correctly we can do everything but jury trials. For any kind of hearing we can bring witnesses, based on the building capacity. We have a plan in place to do one at a time and leave the rest [of the defendants] in a holding area. That should keep the number of spectators down if people are there to just watch one case, then when that case is over the next one moves in and different spectators come in. We have a buy-in from the presiding judge that it will be used. The cost will be offset by how much it costs us to move prisoners in the county jail to the courts in Fort Bragg and Ukiah and back. … We are currently working on a memorandum of understanding. We are just waiting to make sure I can secure the funding from the local police chiefs. I should know that this month. Then we would get with the facilities staff and start with the plans and have a formal agreement after that. … I am in negotiation with the police chiefs so that I don't have to use any general fund money for this. We have some money that was put away by the Chiefs Association and the Sheriff's Office has put away a huge portion of it. I am in negotiations with them to let me remove my portion to be able to get this done. This is not the time to try to reach into the County’s general fund for things like this. If we have a way to do this without causing any pain for the county then we are saving on both sides. … I have already spoken with the facilities staff and they have drawn up some preliminary plans. I don't think it would take long, maybe two months, so I hope this would be up and running by September or October. I will find out about the funding at the next Chiefs meeting." 

I BELIEVE it was the late sixties when the jail on top of the County Courthouse was closed, and Low Gap Road, two-plus miles from the Courthouse, became the site of the County Jail, and ever since there's been an expensive logistics nightmare of driving inmates back and forth from Low Gap to central Ukiah for court appearances, this fifty-year fiasco supported by the superior court judges. Along comes Sheriff Kendall and at last we have a commonsense break through — arraignments, prelims and all the rest of routine matters convened at the jail itself.

MARK SCARAMELLA ADDS: So with this breakthrough, tell me again why we need nine judges, nine courtrooms and all of them soon to be housed over at the railroad tracks in an ugly new luxurious $100 million courthouse which does not accommodate any of the ancillary offices including probation, district attorney, public defender, etc. 

OVER-THE-SIDE GRAPE TRUCK, HOPLAND

ED NOTES

COVELO'S been a troubled community since the late 1960s when dope kicked in. For a long time now too many tough guys in one small population, tough guys defined here as people in and out of jail and apparently loving the experience since they keep going back. One day a stunned Bay Area man called up. "I just bought a place in Covelo, pretty much sight unseen, in an area called Chicken Ridge. Maybe I'm the chicken because here's what happened: Last weekend I drove up there with the wife and kids to camp for a couple of days. Everything was fine until the sun went down. We're in our sleeping bags looking at the stars when suddenly there's a lot of gunfire coming from the property behind us up the hill. I walk up there and here's this wild-looking hippie character who says if I don't leave he'll shoot me! I got my family and drove into town to call 911. A deputy showed up pretty fast considering we're out in the middle of nowhere. Nice guy. The deputy said he'd talk to my neighbor but, the deputy said, and I'll never forget this, ‘You should probably get yourself a gun’." The caller concluded, "Where the hell am I?"

MUST SAY I'M kinda proud of my fellow Mendolanders for faithfully masking up and socially distancing, at least that's my impression walking around Boonville and Ukiah. But COVID-19 infections have surged in the last week in many other areas of the country, as record numbers of new cases and hospitalizations continue to sweep through Florida, Texas and Alabama. Several states, mostly in the South, have seen an increase in new cases since Memorial Day when a lot of unsheathed yobbos hit the beaches and gathered in big piles of pink flesh for primitive rituals. Dr. Fauci warns that reopening prematurely is likely to swell the numbers of infected. Alabama, for instance, has reported a record number of new cases for the fourth day in a row. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina all had record numbers of new cases in the past three days. In Louisiana, which had been one of the earlier virus hot spots, new cases were again on the rise with over 1,200 — the most there since May 21.

DEPT. OF UNINTENTIONAL IRONY: Headline on the front page of the June 12th Independent Coast Observer: "Police back off nationwide as peaceful protests push reforms; Gualala calm." (Whew!)

AS SHOCKINGLY DEPRAVED as the murder of George Floyd was, the Atlanta death of Rayshard Brooks, perhaps because there was so much revealing dialogue before Brooks slugged his badged assassin, grabbed his taser and began running away when he was gunned down, and it's so clear from the dialogue that shooting the guy was crazy-indefensible. Brooks, drunk, had fallen asleep in the takeout lane of a Wendy's. One cop wakes him up. Brooks isn't sure where he is and doesn't know how much he's had to drink. The back and forth is calm, even friendly. The cop has Brooks pull out of the takeout lane into a regular parking slot, which Brooks does but, obviously impaired, he drives up over the allotted space. He then asks if he can just walk home, at which point the cop might have said, and probably wishes now he had said, "Yes. Give me your car keys and walk on." Instead…

A UCLA professor of accounting has been suspended because he refused a request from non-black students to lower grading standards for black students because of the “trauma” black students have suffered from George Floyd’s death and the ensuing civil unrest.

COVELO TUESDAY NIGHT

On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at approximately 10:53 PM, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a person stating a Round Valley Tribal Police Officer was in a physical fight with Kenneth Whipple, 45, of Covelo, in the 76000 block of Henderson Lane in Covelo.

Sheriff Deputies responded to the area and met with the Tribal Police Officer who was receiving medical treatment for facial injuries and lacerations to his ear that were bleeding heavily.

The Tribal Police Officer advised Sheriff Deputies he had responded to a residence because it was reported that Whipple was vandalizing the inside of the home.

Upon arrival, the 24-year old Tribal Police Officer confronted him resulting in Whipple immediately removing his shirt and then began attacking the officer by striking him about the face with closed fists.

During the assault, both went to the ground where the Tribal Police Officer tried to control Whipple and prevent him from striking him further. During this time, Whipple bit the Tribal Police Officer on the neck and ear, causing puncture wounds consistent with a human bite.

Whipple managed to escape and fled the scene on foot.

The Sheriff Deputies investigated the initial call the Tribal Police Officer responded to and learned that Whipple was at the home of his girlfriend, a 44 year-old adult female.

While there, Whipple became enraged during an argument and threatened to stab the adult female. At one point, when she tried to leave the residence to escape him, he used a large rock to smash her vehicle window while she was seated inside.

This assault potentially could have caused great bodily injury to her. It was also learned that Whipple had destroyed multiple electronics and appliances inside the adult female's residence while angry causing an estimated $5,000 worth of damage.

On Wednesday, June 10, 2020, Whipple was located in the 2300 block of Charlie Hurt Highway in Covelo and was arrested without incident.

Whipple was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on charges of criminal mayhem, criminal threats, felony vandalism, over $400, felony assault with deadly weapon not a firearm and Battery with Serious Bodily Injury, where he was to be held on $50,000 bail.

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MOMMY, IS THAT YOU?

On Sunday, June 7, 2020 at about 7:05 PM Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to an unwanted subject causing a disturbance in the 10000 block of Hearst Willits Road in Willits.

While responding, Deputies were advised the reporting party and the unwanted subject were in a physical altercation. Deputies were familiar with the location and the persons involved due to prior incidents.

When Deputies arrived they contacted a 54 year-old adult male standing outside the residence. Deputies learned approximately 30 minutes prior to the call to the Sheriff's Office, the adult male's ex-girlfriend and mother of his 2 year-old son (Michelle Cotton, 39, of Willits) had arrived at the location intoxicated.

The adult male confronted Cotton and requested she leave the location numerous times. During the incident Cotton came at the adult male causing both subject's heads to collide causing visible injuries to both persons.

Cotton then walked into the residence and began causing more of a disturbance.

A telephone call was made to the Sheriff's Office to request assistance in getting Cotton to leave the residence. During this time, Cotton began hitting and striking the adult male causing him to ask her to stop hitting him numerous times.

When Deputies arrived they found Cotton inside the bathroom sitting down holding her and the adult male's two year-old son.

Cotton was not cooperative with Deputies verbal commands and appeared highly intoxicated.

She attempted to stand up with the child but was so intoxicated she lost her balance and a Deputy intervened to insure Cotton and the child would not sustain any injury.

Cotton was told she was going to be arrested and she physically resisted the Deputies by pulling away and twisting her body. The Deputies were subsequently able to physically control Cotton.

Cotton was arrested for domestic violence battery, Child Endangerment, Trespassing and resisting or delay a Peace Officer.

Cotton was later found to be in violation of a court order (166.4 PC) stating she could not be at the location or within 100 yard of the adult male.

Cotton was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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IS THERE A GENTLEMAN IN THE HOUSE? 

On Friday, June 12, 2020 at about 6:24 PM, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a reported domestic violence incident in the 2400 block of Center Valley Road in Willits.

Prior to arrival, Sheriff's Office dispatch advised a 31 year-old adult female had been involved in an altercation and was bleeding from a head injury and had left the location.

Deputies arrived on scene and contacted Jason Waits, 45, of Willits, who had a laceration to his right hand.

Deputies learned Waits and the adult female had been in a romantic dating relationship for over the last year. There was some arguing on and off over the last two days, which began on 06-11-2020 between the two over a clogged toilet.

The adult female left for a portion of the day and when she returned to the residence, another argument ensued between the couple. The argument escalated into a physical altercation wherein Waits punched the adult female in the face with a closed fist, causing an injury to the left side of her forehead.

The adult female left the location and got a ride to a local hospital where she was treated for her injury.

Waits was subsequently arrested for Domestic Violence Battery and was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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LOVE HURTS

On Friday, June 12, 2020 at about 9:22 PM, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a reported domestic disturbance in the 2300 block of Poppy Terrace in Willits.

When Deputies arrived they made contact with a 35-year old adult male outside of the residence. Deputies learned Kristy Richardson, 32, of Willits, and the adult male had been involved in a romantic dating relationship for the past year.

Richardson reportedly had been drinking and while spending time together some prior issues were brought up between the couple.

Richardson became angry and walked off. The adult male went to bed, but was awoken by Richardson slamming cupboards and dishes inside the residence.

Richardson then set off a fire alarm and continued to be loud. The adult male asked Richardson to gather her belongings and go home to her own residence. An argument ensued and both parties began screaming at each other.

The argument escalated into a physical altercation wherein Richardson began punching the adult male with a closed fist in the head and face, causing minor injuries to the back of his head and upper lip.

These injuries were observed by the Deputies.

The adult male was able to push Richardson away from him, which caused her to fall to the ground allowing the opportunity to call 911.

After further investigation, Richardson was determined to be the primary aggressor during the incident and was subsequently placed under arrest for Domestic Violence Battery.

Richardson was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held in lieu of $25,000.00 bail.

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SLAMMER FOR LAMOUREUX

On Saturday, June 13, 2020 at about 8:55 PM Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to a domestic violence incident in the 46000 block of Fox Rock Road in Laytonville.

Deputies were advised the incident involved an 45-year old adult female and her boyfriend, Levi Lamoureux, 31, of Laytonville.

When Deputies arrived they located Lamoureux walking down the roadway from the location. The Deputies discovered Lamoureux was on active county parole during this contact.

Deputies learned on June 13, 2020 the couple got into an argument which escalated into a physical altercation.

During the altercation Lamoureux reportedly grabbed the adult female by her hair. Deputies did not see any injuries on Lamoureux's body.

When Deputies contacted the adult female they noticed her left eye was bruised, there was a small scrape on her cheek and a laceration near her nose. The Deputies learned these injuries had been caused by Lamoureux.

Lamoureux was arrested for domestic violence battery. Deputies contacted Lamoureux's Probation Officer and a hold was also placed on Lamoureux for violation of his parole terms.

Lamoureux was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on charges of Domestic Violence Battery and Violation of County Parole where he was to be held on a no bail status due to the parole violation hold.

CATCH OF THE DAY, June 15, 2020

JAVIER ACEVES-LIZARRAGA, Willits. Domestic abuse, vandalism, protective order violation, tampering with vehicle.

JAKE BONDY, Hayward/Hopland. DUI.

ANDRU CAMPBELL, Ukiah. Probation violation.

OSVALDO GARNICA, Ukiah. DUI, under influence, controlled substance, false personation of another.

THOMAS GUYETTE JR., Nice/Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, suspended license, probation revocation.

JANIECE LAVALLEY, Clearlake/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

BRANDON MARTIN, Willits. Willful cruelty to child, criminal threats.

WOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED

Editor: 

I served in the military some years ago, and every commander’s greatest fear was to have an undisciplined killer in his (it was always “his” in those days) command. The military is diligent in identifying and removing the unstable, the depraved and the dangerous before tragedy occurs. I am certain that any soldier who had Officer Derek Chauvin’s record would not have remained in the military for 19 years. The warning signs were there.

It is too obvious that police commanders and their civilian masters lack the will to timely identify and remove officers such as Chauvin. Police commanders not only tolerate such individuals but come to their defense. Too often the “good cops” stand by and condone outrageous conduct by their code of silence. Three officers who could have saved George Floyd’s life did nothing.

Civilian bosses are usually politicians who covet police support and aren’t inclined to exercise serious oversight. Sonoma County’s Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach is a weak organization despite its name.

Incidents such as the Floyd killing will continue until police commanders and civilian authorities begin to seek, find and discharge officers such as Chauvin.

Patrick Coyle

Santa Rosa

ACCIDENT SCENE, HIGHWAY 101

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

So the whining, faceless, feckless, hand wringing, pansy ass, fraidy cat, wussy do-gooders are protesting against my granddaughters favorite cartoon Paw Patrol because of its portrayal of a cartoon dog character named Chase who drives a police car that rescues other cartoon charecters. Elmer Fudd’s gun has been taken away for future episodes, even though poor Elmer is always outwitted by Bugs Bunny, two popular reality TV cop shows (Cops and Live PD) have been canceled. How does this help bring awareness to the racial divide and certain dirtbag cops actions against minorities? Sick and tired of this phony baloney virtue signaling over reacting. Leave Paw Patrol alone and bring back Cops and Live PD and give Elmer’s shotgun back so he can hunt that wascaly wabbit. If not, then the anonymous powers that be are obligated to remove every violent video game that has guns, military, the police violence, death, blood and mayhem. We all know that this won’t happen.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY #2

I left SoCal at the end of February this year and purchased a house in Ohio along the Ohio river sight unseen. That’s right, never even been to this little town.

I purchased this house because it is near a coal fired power plant and this region has enough coal and natural gas to run the entire country for the next 250 years. I purchased this house because it sits on the edge of a forest. I also wished to be near a navigable waterway. The zip code that I am in is over 95% white so the people both look like me and do not have any one minority group to hate. I am also just South of several large Amish communities.

I did all of this because I looked at my situation in my $3200 a month one room apartment at the beach and realized that my situation was entirely unworkable going forward and I was correct. I am so thankful that I didn’t get locked down in that tiny apartment.

SoCal has but two industries – entertainment and tourism and the democrats wishing to remove Trump from office have destroyed both industries. Most of the people I knew worked in entertainment and enjoyed the fact that all the fancy bars, restaurants and tourist attractions (like our well manicured boardwalk) were just outside their door and made the financial burden worth it. Well, now they have nothing – zero.

They screech and wail about BLM and metoo but will only do so as long as the $1k a week from a bankrupt government allows them continue virtue signaling. Once that ends, the hunger games will become real.

ACCIDENT SCENE NEAR LEGGETT

MEET RUBY BRIDGES, at six years old, she was the first Black child to attend an all-White elementary school in the south. For her to attend school her first day, men with guns had to make way through a crowd of grown men and women screaming “nigger,” threatening her life and waving confederate flags. Nearly all the teachers abandoned the school except for one. In her classroom, all her classmates abandoned the class refusing to sit with the six year old. 

For the entire school year, Ruby went to school to a classroom that was just her and the one teacher who didn't refuse her. She refused to eat any food that wasn’t pre-packaged and sealed because White protestors frequently threatened to poison her like a rat. Ruby is 65 years old now, younger than most of your parents. If you think America doesn’t have dramatic and urgent work to do on racial equity, you still have blinders on.

— Remy Merriex

HART FAMILY MURDER SUICIDE

BURLAPPED

Editor:

First off: let it be understood that there is no, repeat, NO intent of racist feeling in the following!

To those who missed the five o'clock evening Channel 7 news on or about June 8, 2020:

May I paraphrase or comment on those profound revelations presented?

The mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, stated the following:

“One, I am black. Two, I am the mayor of San Francisco. Three, but first I am black and second I am the mayor. Four, I am going to initiate a large budget cut within the San Francisco Police Department. The monies obtained from this cut will be dispersed within the black community."

The writer is not sure in the real world exactly what or where we are going with this declaration. Perhaps a hint of allegorization? Not sure!

The writer must take off his hat for a woman who is in possession of great insight, vision and prognostication of the highest level. She, Ms. London Breed, must possess Nostradamus qualities known only to her! To the common layperson reducing the SF police budget would seem counterproductive to keeping the peace in San Francisco. Ya think!

The Winter of Discontent is a two-edged sword!

These massive peaceful — yeah, right — protest marches are in fact a "liberal mask" covering or hiding the seeds of socialism. Don't kid yourself, open your eyes!

Wake up America. We are about to be "snowballed" into --? 

We will wake up one morning and look out our window and ask ourselves, "How in the hell did we allow this to happen?"

Answer: Good old American, you've been burlapped!

Name Withheld

Boonville

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK

[1] Every year, American police officers have about 370 million contacts with civilians. Most of the time nothing happens, but 12 to 13 million times a year, the police make an arrest. How often does this lead to the death of an unarmed black person? We know the number thanks to a detailed Washington Post database of every killing by the police. What is your guess as to the number of unarmed blacks killed by the police every year? One hundred? Three hundred? Last year, the figure was nine.

That number is going down, not up. In 2015, police killed 38 unarmed blacks. In 2017, 21. What about white people? Last year, police killed 19 unarmed whites, in addition to the 9 unarmed blacks. We know the number of black and white people arrested every year, so it is possible to make an interesting calculation. The chances of being unarmed, arrested, and then killed by the police are higher for whites than for blacks. For both races, it’s very rare: One out of 292,000 arrests for blacks, and out of 283,000 arrests for whites. This is hardly what we would expect from the way the media report these deaths.”

I recommend this article to any of that handful of people in Amnesia …sorry, America …today who are interested in actual facts.

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[2] I often wonder how cops nowadays have the guts to pull someone over, especially someone who is driving erratically, or even worse, aggressively. If I were a cop, I would always wonder, “What’s this character going to do? Will he open fire with that pistol he has under the seat?” It does happen. Which reminds me of those clowns who have excessively tinted driver and passenger windows. If I had to pull one of those bozos over, I know what I would do, and it certainly would not be to walk over to the driver’s door. They would get a blast from the cop car PA system telling them to get out of the car, hands high and visible, and put those hands on the roof of the car, spread their legs and don’t move. I certainly think it takes a very special person to be a good cop. It’s a scary, mostly thankless but dangerous job.

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[3] The bad apples cannot be rooted out of police forces for one simple reason: Police Unions. There was even a front page article about it in “The New York Times” on Sunday. 

Fierce Protectors of Police Impede Efforts at Reform

Maybe defunding the police is not a bad idea. They should at least threaten to do that until they make police unions illegal. The times story describes how in St. Louis any attempt to reform the police was met with a work slow down and a rise in crime. “It operates a little bit like a protection racket,” said one of the reformers. I’m not confident they can end this for the simple reason that it goes against the liberal mind-set of most people running big cities. After all, it’s the unions that fund the campaigns of the politicians that are supposed to oversee them. The same is true of teachers’ unions.

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[4] Speaking of comforts and conveniences, yesterday my husband and I were driving through unknown territory and he needed the bathroom and we saw a country store (very rural here). They were open, had indeed never closed, but were not allowing bathroom use because of covid. So we drove nearly a half hour till we got to the town where we were headed for me to go into the small hospital and get my blood drawn. But family members have to sit outside in their cars. Not allowed in. I asked if he could please use the bathroom. They said no. I said we were leaving. Husband said he could wait. I said no. As we were discussing, they relented. Life in the new America. I fought, most people won’t.

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[5] The 90% of white people [ pre-civil-war ] who did not own slaves should not be incriminated with the aristocrats or their policy-enforcers. Reparations should come from the oppressors, not from fellow victims. 

Even the black slaves realized they were better off than the poor white trash sharecroppers and indentured servants who were responsible for their own welfare. Angry white males are more furious with their white bosses than with their black fellow employees [ wage slaves ].

Poor whites are deplored constantly by the ruling class and it obviously cannot be attributed to skin color. If racism is systemic oppression – the wielding of power, then the poor white trash redneck hillbillies must be a different race from the white liberal mucky-mucks who are running things.

Poor working whites are living hand to mouth, paycheck to inadequate paycheck. Their jobs have gone overseas where the living corporations pay foreign wage slaves even less to bring it back here to sell to people with credit instead of money.

What amount of redneck hatred comes from generations of being annihilated on the front lines of bankster wars, shot down by Pinkertons, chewed up like sausage in industrial accidents and poisoned with industrial waste ? Instead of bigotry, intolerance, bias or prejudice could it be overwork, debt, broken promises and having to live in a trailer while watching your teeth fall out and your friends die because you and they cannot afford the doctor and hospital bills, and decent nutrition.

The oppressors are not “whites”, they are “the rich men of the earth” – wealthy people of all races, not the poor shmuck that works his arse off to rent a run-down shack and feed his rug-rats macaroni and cheese.

I’m not denying oppression of former slaves. I am rejecting false guilt for actions of others. Most of the white people here now did not even have any ancestors in country before the civil war. And after 3 or 4 generations of being taxed to make amends for the sins of others, I’m done.

We didn’t do the crime, but we HAVE done the time. It is over.

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[6] The election this year is gonna be a fiasco, regardless of who wins. There will be real chaos, and because of the problems with the coronavirus, the attempt to use mail in ballots, and the general clusterfuck, much turmoil will be caused. Perhaps enough to bring down the whole country. Trump and Biden. When either one of these two dudes starts looking good, there isn’t much hope for the country. Down the road, I think we will have a better understanding of how the Romans felt as they watched the dissolution of their society. 12 years ago I watched the large company that I worked at, slowly rupture and die.

The company made printed circuit boards, and had the second largest plating line in the world, the largest in the US. Former third world manufacturers got as good as we were, and then proceeded to undercut us with much cheaper manufacturing costs. We went down hard. I always thought that when the third world learned to manufacture, our jobs would be on the line, and that turned out to be the case. That helped to create the conditions that have led us to the current nightmare.

There’s no good way out of this mess, and things are gonna get very real and unpleasant in a short period of time. Just like when I watched my company die, I expect to be a front row spectator to the demise of my country, which I never before thought could happen.

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[7] The simple fact of the matter is America has never come to terms with the fact that half this country fought a war for slavery. They fought a WAR. We’re the only country that took a civil war to get rid of slavery. The only one. We wanted slaves that badly. You would have thought some Southern senator or representative would have gone on record saying do you realize how bad this is going to look 100 years from now. Crickets. We have to pay reparations to these people. $100,000 to every black man, woman or child. They have never been compensated for building this country. We stole the fruits of their labor and called it our own. This must be fixed.

BURNED OUT CAR, MENDOCINO

STATE OKS THE NEXT REOPENING PHASE

by Jim Shields

As a former long-time labor leader, (I was the Vice General Chairman of the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks and then later was the International President of the Air Transport Employees) I always pay attention to the state of union affairs and labor relations in the state and Mendocino County. Here in California there is trouble on the horizon as the union which represents CAL FIRE firefighters is locked in a negotiations stand-off with the state.

By the way, the North Coast, including Mendocino County, is classified as being in severe drought conditions, thus leading experts to believe we are probably in for another extended season of wildfires. Couple that with PG&E’s penchant for igniting murderous wildfire infernos, and, well, you know what it probably means.

CAL Local 2881 President Tim Edwards this week explained his union’s predicament with state negotiators who served a demand for firefighters to take a 10 percent paycut.

“Our decision to oppose the cut in wages to firefighters is not an indication of any personal disregard for Governor Newsom and the work he has done during this difficult time, said Edwards. “We oppose the cut in wages because it creates chaos within the department and it is fundamentally unfair to firefighters who have been on the front line through the recent historic fire seasons, as well as being first responders to the pandemic, and the range of calls that are made to a full service fire department.”

According to Edwards, Newsom is asking that CAL FIRE firefighters — who were just given increased firefighter staffing to bring fire engines to an appropriate level and limit the practice of keeping firefighters on the line for weeks, and even months, at a time — give up a 2.5% raise they negotiated through bargaining and also take an additional ten percent cut in pay.

That means a 12.5% pay cut for state firefighters.

“CAL FIRE is already the lowest paid among the major fire departments (in the state),” said Edwards.

Edwards argued that CAL FIRE firefighters are among the lowest paid firefighters in the state. He alleges that CAL FIRE has become a training ground for higher paying local fire departments.

He says that CAL FIRE firefighters have been on the front line, responding to COVID-19 medical emergencies and more than 500,000 calls each year for assistance. The proposed 10% cut is frustrating and demoralizing union members.

I’m certain that all of these points are valid arguments but Edwards needs to understand the context of the time these negotiations are occurring.

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed unemployment to its highest level since the Great Depression, currently 42.6 million people are out of work.

And even as businesses tentatively reopen, the threat of the coronavirus has not gone away. Many of these about-to open businesses may take a long time to bounce back, and some will never open their doors again.

I’m sure Edwards knows that Gov. Newsom’s updated $203.3 billion budget proposal cuts school funding, cancels a planned increase in public pensions spending, cuts Medi-Cal services and draws down reserves to make up for a projected $54.3 billion budget deficit brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic.

California’s Coronavirus-driven job losses have disproportionately hit low-wage jobs, according to the state Department of Finance, thus widening the gap between the rich and the poor. DOF estimates personal income will drop by nearly 9 percent and housing construction permits will drop more than 21 percent.

But most important of all, the revised 2020-21 budget plan calls for 10 percent paycuts for all California state workers, including CAL Fire firefighters. In other words, state firefighters have not been singled out to shoulder the entire financial burden brought on by this historically devastating pandemic. As I’ve said numerous time before, we are all dealing with both a medical pandemic as well as an economic pandemic.

The undisputable truth is just about every person in this country is suffering the consequences of this Pandemic.

It’s the very definition of tone deafness and self-centeredness for a union not to recognize that they are in the very same boat as we all are.

(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, and is also the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org.)

MOVING STREET PROTESTS FROM FUTILITY TO UTILITY

by Ralph Nader

The nationwide street protests following the gruesome murder of George Floyd, who was pinned to the ground and choked by a Minneapolis police officer and three accomplices, were spontaneous and diverse. No leaders, charismatic or otherwise put out the call for people to turn out in the face of militarized police legions. It was a wondrous display of civic self-respect.

Showing up is half a Democracy.

The New York Times asked some of the protesters who stood in solidarity, why they turned out? Their responses boiled down to inner compulsions that required action. A municipal employee in Minneapolis, Don Hubbard said “…I feel like if I don’t come out here, and we don’t all show up, then what are we doing?” and he added, “We’re letting this man die in vain.”

In Los Angeles, Beatriz Lopez replied “I felt I had to go. I had been asking ‘what can I do?”

Beth Muffett of Austin, Texas declared “If you’re not standing up for George Floyd, who’s going to stand up for you? It’s just a level of wrongness, that I couldn’t say no to going out to try to do something.”

Young Chad Bennett (age 22) from St. Louis – “seeing the video of what happened to Mr. Floyd left him “numb,” he said. “It’s a silent rage, I guess.”

The personal and conscience-driven feelings which arise from these people and many others are not uncommon.

These protesters are well aware of previous mass demonstrations that did not lead to reforms and did not even result in prosecutions of the felonious police officers.

“Not this time” is the sentiment of these seekers of justice against the broader criminal injustice system. The Attorney General of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, promptly brought second-degree murder charges against the knee-choking police officer. The signs carried by protesters called for defunding bloated municipal police budgets and using the proceeds for housing, education, and healthcare. “Abolish the police” speeches meant establishing community-shaped security for neighborhoods.

Even the presence of pre-meditated vandals destroying stores and other properties could not overshadow the historic continuing grievances of Black Americans.

They face racism daily. It is built into conditions of discriminatory poverty – no jobs or low-paid jobs, or unprotected work that is too often dangerous in nature. As tenants, many African Americans are defenseless against evictions and landlord safety code violations. As ripped off borrowers (payday loan rackets) defrauded consumers (the poor pay more for less), are grossly under-served by a wide array of public services, such as health care, crumbling schools, and inadequate mass transit where they experience on-going discrimination. They are arrested and imprisoned more often for similar offenses committed by white people. Then there is the obstruction or suppression of their voting rights in Republican states. They face public harassment and targeted racism while walking, jogging, or driving. Add it all up and their suppressed pain, despair, dread, fury, and fear for their children can’t be ignored anymore.

No matter how many books, articles, documentaries expose this aggregate life under “The New Jim Crow,” little changes. Even concerned politicians routinely break their promises to communities of color.

How then can this current moral force avoid dissipation once the media loses interest and the protesters become exhausted? How can such widely praised demonstrations produce real change?

Seize the movement. Immediately secure funding from enlightened or guilt-ridden wealthy residents of these cities to form full-time citizen watchdog groups leveraging the reforms demanded by the protesters. Some permanent presence must be established to thwart the status quo ante. That’s what seizing the moment means.

The collective street experiences must become the engine for massive early voter registration and voter turnout by Black and Hispanic Americans. Such a turnout is essential to replacing many of the corporatist racists like Senate ruler, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, with elected officials who will stand with and for the people.

The conscious raising of such vocal mass challenges to the dominant powers brings new leaders to the forefront to run for office, to forge new advocacy groups, to join existing groups, and to litigate and educate and motivate.

Innocent Americans died and were injured in these peaceful protests. Many others risked batons, harmful tear gas, pepper spray, and other weaponry. Awareness, authenticity, and resolve can be the products of such confrontations. These are seeds for a strengthened, enlarged democracy of justice, freedom, and equality.

Again, seize this moment! Big Time!

(Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer and author of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!)

FOUND OBJECT