Category Archives: Crime

Articles, Crime, Local Government

‘Does Ice Have Access To These Cameras?’ Concern Over Automated License Plate Readers Reach Del Norte County Supervisors

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Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office have six automated license plate reader cameras from Flock Safety at several intersections in the community including Northcrest Drive and Washington Boulevard. | Photo by Heather Polen

Three days after the local use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras came up at a Crescent City Council meeting, Del Norte County Employees Association Vice President Eva Lopez voiced a concern she said many staff members have.

“Does ICE have access to these cameras,” she asked Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott on Thursday, “or will they?”

Lopez wasn’t alone in questioning the sheriff at the second of two budget workshops. Though his colleagues approved the DNSO’s contract with Flock Safety for six cameras more than a year ago, District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard called for a renewed discussion of their use. 

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Articles, Crime

Commenters At City Council Meeting Raise Concern Over DNSO’s Automated License Plate Reader Camera At Northcrest and Washington

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Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office’s automated license plate reader camera from Flock Safety at Northcrest Drive led to questions from the public at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting. | Photo by Heather Polen

Del Norte County’s sheriff says he understands the concerns commenters raised before the Crescent City Council on Monday about an automated license plate reader (ALPR) camera at Northcrest Drive and Washington Boulevard.

But in a rural area with few safeguards and only three deputies on duty during a shift, having “those eyes out there” to foil a kidnapping or any other crime is worth it, he told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday.

“For now, it’s a three-year safeguard,” Sheriff Garrett Scott said of the six Flock Safety cameras his office purchased in May 2025. “If, God forbid, we do have a kidnapping or something horrific at one of our schools or in the more populated areas, they’re a proven resource.”

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Alerts, Crime, Klamath, Regional News

Judge Rejects Request to Evaluate Defendant’s Mental Competency in Dante Romannose-Jones Case

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

A Del Norte County judge denied a request to determine if the 27-year-old man accused of killing 13-year-old Dante Romannose-Jones when he was still a teenager himself is competent enough to assist in his own defense.

During a hearing in juvenile court on Wednesday, Crescent City attorney James Fallman asked to have his client, Nathan Feliz, evaluated by a psychiatrist for competency. 

Fallman told Judge Darrin McElfresh that the defendant, who was 16 years old in 2015 when Romannose-Jones was shot and killed in Klamath, ended a conversation mid-sentence when he tried to discuss options with him.

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Articles, Crime, Klamath

Arrest Made In 11-Year-Old Shooting Death of Klamath Teenager

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(Updated at 5:15 p.m. to include input from Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott.)

A 27-year-old man faces a similar murder charge he received 11 years ago in connection with the homicide of Klamath teenager Dante Romannose-Jones.

Nathan Feliz, who was 16 years old when Dante was shot and killed, was arrested in Ukiah on Monday, the Redheaded Blackbelt’s Lisa Music reported. According to Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks, Feliz’s current charge — murder with a special allegation of use of a firearm — originated in juvenile court.

Feliz appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon, Micks said. His next hearing is scheduled for July 30 before Del Norte County Superior Court Judge Darrin McElfresh, she said.

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Agriculture, Articles, Crime

Animal Cruelty Charges Filed In Connection With Horse That Died In Fairgrounds Stables

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of dnfair.org

A 20-year-old Crescent City woman faces one count of felony animal cruelty in connection with the death of a horse that was housed at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds.

A complaint Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks filed Wednesday alleges that between Feb. 1 and March 27, Kaydence Rose Farley “subjected the horse to needless suffering” by failing to provide it with the proper food and drink. 

Farley is scheduled to be arraigned in Del Norte County Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. on June 29, Micks told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

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Articles, Crescent City, Crime, Local Government

Crescent City Council Approves 10-Year Contract With Axon For Cameras, Tasers, Data Storage

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Despite calling Axon the “best company out there,” Police Chief Richard Griffin couldn’t convince everyone on the City Council that entering into a 10-year contract for Tasers, body cameras, dashboard cameras and data storage was the best thing for Crescent City.

According to Griffin, Axon has great equipment, their data storage capabilities frees up the city’s server and allows for easy searching. The company also offers the ability to upgrade to new cameras and Tasers without needing to pay extra, the chief said. 

Appointed Councilman Steve Shamblin had misgivings.

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Articles, Crescent City, Crime

Dog Shot During Scuffle Between Crescent City Man, CCPD Officers, DNSO Deputy

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A joint investigation is underway following an officer-involved shooting of a dog during an encounter between two Crescent City Police Officers, a Del Norte County Sheriff’s deputy and a 40-year-old man Tuesday evening.

The dog received medical attention following the incident and is doing well, Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. The animal was released to another subject that was on the scene.

Officers encountered Crescent City resident Kevin Watson and a 42-year-old woman at about 11:04 p.m. in the parking lot at the Chevron South gas station on U.S. 101. They had two dogs in the vehicle with them, Griffin said. According to him, one appeared to be a pit bull.

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Articles, Crime

CHP Investigates Dead Horse Found at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds Stables

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of dnfair.org.

The discovery of a dead horse at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds has led to a California Highway Patrol investigation, authorities confirmed last week.

Officers responded to the fairgrounds, a state facility, at about 4:14 p.m. on March 21 and found the deceased animal in the horse stalls, the CHP reported on March 25.

According to a statement posted to the fairgrounds website, the deceased animal was in a stall its owner had rented prompting fairgrounds management to alert law enforcement.

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Articles, Crime, Local Government

Hooper Given 44-Day Jail Sentence, 3 Years Probation Nearly A Year After DUI Arrest;

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Hooper

Thumbnail photo: Randy Hooper was arrested on a DUI with injury charge after he struck Megan Postma’s vehicle at Sand Mine Road and U.S. 101 on April 19, 2025 | Photo by Heather Polen

Randy Hooper will serve 44 days in jail, a Del Norte County judge decided on Monday nearly a year after officers arrested the assistant county administrative officer on a DUI with injury charge after leaving Elk Valley Casino.

At a sentencing hearing before Judge William Follett, Hooper offered an apology to Megan Postma, the Grants Pass woman whose vehicle he struck at U.S. 101 and Sand Mine Road on April 19, 2025.

“I wish I could have apologized sooner, but I was advised not to by my attorney,” Hooper told the judge. “I think my conduct was not of character — it certainly is not the way my parents raised me nor the way my wife and I are raising our children.”

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Articles, Crime

Three Accused Of Killing 41-Year-Old Man During Maiden Lane Altercation

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Three Del Norte County men are accused of killing 41-year-old Robert Allen Cole during an altercation that took place on Maiden Lane the evening of March 16.

Robert Christopher Hunter, 46, Andrew Salinas, 43, and 23-year-old Donovan Natt face murder charges, Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

Hunter and Natt appeared before Judge Karen Olson on Wednesday. Hunter pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial. However, since Natt’s lawyer, Humboldt County attorney Russell Clanton, had just received the case, Natt’s entry-of-plea hearing has been postponed until April 9.

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