Mendocino County Today: November 30, 2012

HANDS UP! You're under arrest for having a good time. “On 11/28/2012 at approximately 2:15am, deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a call for service in the Boonville area. When they drove by the Boonville Saloon (14161 Highway 128, Boonville), they noticed numerous cars parked out front and it appeared there were still patrons in the bar after closing hours. When the deputies cleared the call for service they responded back to the Boonville Saloon. They parked down the street and approached the bar on foot. When deputies arrived at the bar they noticed the front door was locked from the inside. They could hear music playing, and when they looked in the bar window they could see five subjects (two females and three males) drinking alcohol and dancing to the jukebox music well after closing time (2:30am). The deputies stood outside the bar for approximately 30 minutes and watched the two females serving alcohol to the male subjects and also drinking shots themselves. At 3am hrs a very intoxicated male subject exited the bar and the deputies made contact with him. The male was identified as suspect Jared Titus, 30 years old. As deputies spoke with Titus they could see he was too intoxicated to care for his safety so they arrested him for public intoxication. The deputies then entered the Boonville Saloon and contacted the remaining subjects. The second suspect was identified as the bar owner, Marcia Martinez 47 years old. She was confronted about serving alcohol to patrons after bar hours (2am). Martinez was very intoxicated and unable to care for her safety; she was also arrested for public intoxication. Deputies then contacted and identified the remaining subjects in the bar. They were later released without charges. The bar’s liquor license was checked and it was expired. Suspects Martinez and Titus were transported and booked into the Mendocino County Jail for public intoxication, later to be released with a court appearance date. Martinez will also have two additional chares filed against her through the District Attorney's Office for 25631 B&P [Business and Professions Code]: Sales of Alcohol during closing hours and 25632 B&P: Consumption on premises during closing hours. This report will also be sent to the Alcohol Beverage Control Board (ABC) for further review.”

THAT'S STRAIGHT from the Sheriff's Office. I know these people, and I know that like many small businesses in the County, Ms. Martinez, co-proprietor of the bar, is co-proprietor of a business that struggles. Mr. Titus is a great guy. He cooks for the Senior Center. I think the cops should have kept on driving through Boonville instead of pausing to do this chickenfeed bust.

DRUNKS DANCING behind the locked door of a closed bar? Where's the harm? If they'd driven off drunk, bust 'em. But that's not what they did.

THIS ISN'T EXACTLY a straight moral line I'm drawing here, but we happen to be deep in Caesar's Wife territory here. Mendocino County, as a political entity, is under federal investigation for drug trafficking, i.e., the zip tie program. Essentially, the Sheriff was selling grow licenses at the direction of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. The Under-Sheriff is being investigated by both the feds and, as I understand it, a friend of the Sheriff's who works next door in Sonoma County because, the allegation goes, the Under-Sheriff lived next door to the property where his father and brother apparently presided over a big pot op. And out on the Mendocino Coast the feds say some of Mendocino's leading citizens are running dope to Kansas.

LOOKED AT from the outside, which is where the feds look at it from, Mendocino County looks like one great big criminal conspiracy. Late night drunk dancing in Boonville is not a big deal. It's not even a little deal.

THE AVA of November 21st reached San Francisco readers on November 28th. Also on November 21st, a letter was mailed from the Republic of Congo to Syria, both of which are engulfed in civil wars. The letter posted in Brazzaville on the 21st reached Damascus on November 27th. I ask you, dear reader, what has become of our Post Office?

FORT BRAGG CROOKS really have to start thinking a lot bigger than twenties, and if they're going to fake twenties they better do a better job of it. The Fort Bragg PD says they've had three phony Jacksons turned into them in a week. All three bills had the same serial number — E48787097B — and were missing watermarks and holograms. The cops say a counterfeit testing pen would have revealed the bills' bogus-ness right away.

ART GODDESS LAUREN SINNOTT of Point Arena has become the first person in modern Mendocino County political history to lose an election to a write-in candidate. The Mendocino County elections office released final election results for the November 6 election Thursday. The results in all other local elections were unchanged by final tallies. According to County Elections Supervisor Katrina Bartolomie, Former Councilwoman Sinnott got 57 votes, losing to write-in Candidate Caitlin Riehl who got 79 votes. (Eight votes were for what Ms. Bartolomie euphemistically called “unqualified candidates” aka Mickey Mouse, Jesus Christ, etc.)

NO SOONER had the final results been posted when Point Arena Town Clerk Hunter Alexander issued a press release: “The newly elected officials for the City of Point Arena will take their oath of office and begin their terms at the December Point Arena City Council meeting, to be held Tuesday, December 18, 2012., at 6pm. City Council is comprised of five Councilmembers: Doug Burkey (currently Mayor) and Terry Hughey (currently Vice Mayor) and the three newly elected members Burfoot, Koogle and Sanders. Notice of Reorganization of the City Council will be released immediately following the Dec. 18, 2012 meeting, during which the new City Council will affirm or re-elect the positions of Mayor/Vice Mayor, make committee appointments and the Mayor will then assign Commissionerships. Please join the City of Point Arena in welcoming our City Officials!”