Category Archives: Crime

Articles, Crime, Local Government

Del Norte Supervisors Greenlight Narcotics Enforcement Position at the Sheriff’s Office; 33-year Employee Norma Williams Retires; SEIU 1021 Raise Concerns About ICE

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey joined her colleagues in approving the creation of a narcotics enforcement position at the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office.

But after questioning County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez and Human Resources Director Kerri Vue about the cost and how it will be paid for, Starkey noted that there’s no guarantee the position will be permanent after the three year funding commitment was up.

“I think they were going to do a year-by-year assessment to see the benefits of this particular position,” Starkey said Tuesday, referring to the Community Corrections Partnership.

Continue reading Del Norte Supervisors Greenlight Narcotics Enforcement Position at the Sheriff’s Office; 33-year Employee Norma Williams Retires; SEIU 1021 Raise Concerns About ICE →
Articles, Crime

Sheriff Disputes Use Of Excessive Force Allegation Against Bailiff, Says Woman Caused A Disturbance At Courthouse

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The Del Norte County sheriff is disputing an excessive use of force accusation against one of his bailiffs. 

The allegation was posted on Facebook on Tuesday and is related to the removal of a Reno, Nev. woman from a family court hearing at the Del Norte County Courthouse on Monday. Sheriff Garrett Scott told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday that he is asking the Del Norte County District Attorney to criminally charge Amanda Dutton and Jordan Dutton. 

According to Scott, Amanda Dutton was disrupting the proceedings in the courtroom and refused to leave when one of his deputies, Luisa Ahumada, ordered her to. Ahumada escorted Amanda Dutton from the courtroom and into the hallway where they were met by Ahumada’s colleague, Dep. Jeremy Sutton, the sheriff said. 

Continue reading Sheriff Disputes Use Of Excessive Force Allegation Against Bailiff, Says Woman Caused A Disturbance At Courthouse →
Articles, Crime, Health

Healthcare District Is Investigating Allegations That Sutter Coast ER Doctors Are Refusing To Test, Treat Sexual Assault Victims

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Thumbnail photo by Persephone Rose

Editor’s note: The following article includes a reference to the sexual assault of a minor.

Del Norte Healthcare District officials are investigating allegations that Sutter Coast Hospital emergency room doctors have refused to examine sexual assault victims, including those who are minors.

The initial complaint came from Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office Det. Maia Mello, a member of the Sexual Assault Response Team. At the DNHCD’s July 28 meeting, Mello asked the Healthcare District Board to provide the hospital with a “letter of encouragement to follow established federal and state law, locally established and agreed upon protocols and the best practices in the treatment of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.”

“Sutter Coast is the best place for our victims to receive treatment for their acute injuries and conditions,” she said, according to meeting minutes for July. 

Continue reading Healthcare District Is Investigating Allegations That Sutter Coast ER Doctors Are Refusing To Test, Treat Sexual Assault Victims →
Articles, Crime, Prison

PBSP Officials Investigating Inmate’s Death As A Homicide

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Thumbnail photo: Pelican Bay State Prison inmate Javier Torres (right) died following an altercation with Jose Zapian (left). | Photos courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

From the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation:

CRESCENT CITY – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) as a homicide.

On Oct. 4, 2026, at approximately 8:24 a.m., correctional staff observed incarcerated person Jose Zapian attack incarcerated person, Javier Torres in the lower yard. Responding staff immediately intervened, quelling the attack.

Staff activated 911 and initiated life-saving measures. An improvised weapon was recovered at the scene.

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Articles, Crescent City, Crime, Local Government

‘Our Information Is Not Sold To Anybody Else’; CCPD Allowed To Keep Axon Automated License Plate Readers

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Crescent City’s police chief convinced policymakers Tuesday that the automated license plate reader cameras installed in his department’s patrol vehicles are not the Flock Safety cameras residents raised concerns about last month.

Richard Griffin told city councilors that the Axon ALPR devices the Crescent City Police Department uses helped a dementia patient get home to Southern Oregon and a MythBusters host recover a stolen vehicle.

They’re not stationary like the six Flock Safety cameras the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office has posted throughout the community, he said. Any agency that wants access to the data must go through him.

Continue reading ‘Our Information Is Not Sold To Anybody Else’; CCPD Allowed To Keep Axon Automated License Plate Readers →
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. 

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

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

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