Category Archives: Law

Articles, CC Harbor, Law, Local Government

Municipal Law Attorney Says CCHD’s Insurance Policy Satisfies Faithful Performance Bond Requirement

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Harbor commissioners thought the word of a highly credentialed attorney would put the faithful performance bond issue to bed.

But while Michael Colantuono, who has practiced municipal law since 1989, pulled back the covers and plumped up the pillow, at least one commissioner and two members of the public weren’t quite ready for sleep.

Commissioner Annie Nehmer, who obtained an individual faithful performance bond and filed it with the county in December, said she had been asking to see proof that the Crescent City Harbor District has protection against crime and fraud for its elected officials for months.

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Articles, Law

Sex Offender Sweep May Have Led To ICE Rumor, Del Norte County Sheriff Says

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The Del Norte County sheriff says a Facebook rumor stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in the community may have been started because of a sex offender sweep his deputies conducted Wednesday.

Sheriff Garrett Scott said his department and others, including Del Norte County probation, conducted a pre-planned sweep of the sex offenders who are supposed to be registered under California Penal Code 290.

There are about 100 registered sex offenders living in Del Norte County and the sheriff’s office regularly puts a team of law enforcement officers together to ensure they’re complying with the law, Scott said.

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Articles, Law, Local Government

Del Norte Sheriff May Ask Supervisors to Unfreeze Positions Previously Frozen To Increase Staff Salaries

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A move to freeze positions in his office to increase salaries and retain deputies has been effective. 

But now that a compensation study and structural analysis of all positions in the county is completed, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said he’ll be asking the Board of Supervisors to reverse that decision, probably around March.

“My goal is to ask for the funding to unfreeze those positions so I can put more than just two deputies per shift out there and I can start working on more narcotic enforcement and search warrants, things like that,” the sheriff told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday. “The public, Del Norte County, deserves to have more than two deputies on a shift. I know we’re not a rich county and that ask is not just a simple fix, but I think our Board does want that.”

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Articles, Law

Inmate Dies at the Del Norte County Jail

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An investigation is underway into the death of an inmate who died at the Del Norte County Jail on Thursday.

Tyrel Grant, 31, was pronounced deceased by sheriff’s deputy coroners despite receiving medical assistance from corrections staff and medical personnel, according to a Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office post on Facebook. Corrections staff were notified that Grant was having a medical emergency at about 6:30 a.m. Paramedics also responded to the jail to administer medical aid, according to the sheriff’s office.

Grant had been in custody at the jail since Nov. 17, DNSO Capt. Kyle Stevens told Redwood Voice Community News. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and a post-release community supervision violation. 

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Articles, Law, Youth

DN Probation Chief Asks Supervisors To Oppose Proposed Limit on Probation Period for Juvenile Offenders

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte County Probation

Calling it a solution looking for a problem, Lonnie Reyman urged Del Norte County supervisors to oppose a bill that seeks to place a 12-month limit on the probation period for juvenile offenders.

The chief probation officer asked the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to send a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting his veto on Assembly Bill 1376. The state’s juvenile justice system is already tailored to the youths’ individual needs, Reyman argued, and a judge determines how long they’ll be on probation.

“As stated in the letter, this takes away that authority for the court to determine what is in the best interest of that youth given all the information they receive,” he said, “both from my department, other agencies involved in the crime that occurred and any other entities and agencies that have input on the length of that probation and what that probation looks like.”

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Articles, Crime, Law

Del Norte County Sheriff Speaks Out On Randy Hooper Character Reference, Says He Disagrees With How It Was Used

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Thumbnail photo: Randy Hooper’s felony hit-and-run and DUI charges stem from a collision that occurred at Sand Mine Road and U.S. 101 on April 19. | Photo by Heather Polen

Though he provided a character reference for Randy Hooper, who faces felony hit-and-run and DUI charges, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said he disagrees with how it was used during an Aug. 26 preliminary hearing.

In an email to Redwood Voice Community News on Aug. 27, Scott said he did not support efforts by George Mavris, Hooper’s attorney, to reduce his client’s charges from felonies to misdemeanors. Scott said he also refrained from using his title when signing the character reference, though he acknowledges that he “inherits the title.”

He said he also took issue with a comment prosecuting attorney Keith Morris made during the hearing, that he was “disappointed that a sitting sheriff submitted a letter.”

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Articles, Crescent City, Crime, Emergencies, Law

Three Children Are Safe After Law Enforcement Arrest Male Suspect Following Hours-Long Standoff

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Thumbnail photo: Law enforcement with the Crescent City Police Department, Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, Pelican Bay State Prison’s CERT Team and others secure the scene after an hours-long standoff ended with four children being taken into protective custody and a male and female suspect arrested. | Photo by Heather Polen

Four children are in protective custody Monday evening after officers from multiple agencies engaged in a standoff with a 50-year-old man that lasted more than seven hours.

Three of the youngsters, ages 1, 2 and 4, were in the Crescent City apartment with Robert William Thraen when officers responded to the area to conduct a welfare check at about 10:30 a.m., Police Chief Richard Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News. 

Griffin said they were able to get the children to safety and arrest the suspect after he decided to have his officers break the window to open the front door — a technique he called a breach and hold. 

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Articles, Crime, Law

Elder Suspect In May 28 Shooting Near Safeway Is Sentenced; Son’s Case Continues Through Juvenile Court, DA Says

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Thumbnail: Russell Walters Jr. and Russell Walters Sr. | Photo courtesy Crescent City Police Department

While his son continues to go through the legal system, Russell Walters Sr. will be out on probation soon, Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks confirmed.

Walters pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for helping his son, 17-year-old Russell Walters Jr., evade arrest following a shooting at the Jedediah Smith Shopping Center on May 28, Micks told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday.

There was no viable evidence to support additional charges against Walters Sr., the district attorney said. 

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Articles, Infrastructure, Law, Local Government

Though Immediate Focus Will Be Juvenile Probation, Study To Determine Whether Del Norte Could House ‘Justice Services’ Separate From Courthouse

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Thumbnail photo: Though it’s owned by the state, the Del Norte County Courthouse houses the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department. | Amanda Dockter

Pointing out that Del Norte County has 23 youth under its supervision, according to her most recent statistics, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey said a feasibility study to determine how their needs would be met during the rehabilitation of the county jail seemed unnecessary.

Coming about a month after she and her colleagues approved a proposal to house adult inmates at the Youth Opportunity Center building while the jail is under construction, Starkey said Tuesday she worried that having to go through a feasibility study would delay the process.

“I feel it’s one extra layer,” she said before voting against the county’s proposal. “And I don’t know necessarily why we’re doing this now and in this process.”

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Articles, Community News, Law, Local Government

Firefighters Lauded For Response During Officer-Involved Shooting Incident; New CHP Commander Introduces Himself

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Thumbnail photo: Crescent City firefighters Beau Smith, Dave Bowdish and Eugene Starkey received commendations from Fire Chief Kevin Carey for distinguished service after facing a dangerous subject armed with a “knife-type weapon.” | Screenshot

Crescent City Fire Chief Kevin Carey applauded three of his firefighters, not only for facing a dangerous subject armed with a “knife-type weapon,” but for providing aid to that person when law enforcement shot him.

Carey awarded distinguished service commendations to Capt. Beau Smith, Engineer Dave Bowdish and Firefighter Eugene Starkey, who had responded to a call for an individual covered in blood on the beach near Anchor Way on June 27. 

The chief praised their decision to call on law enforcement for help when the patient approached firefighters, saying it showed great courage and situational awareness.

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