Jan 31, 2019

Word on the street is that Steve Thrap was put on admin leave after the EHS vs SB game for alleged comments he made


St. Bernard’s boys basketball head coach Steve Thrap and his staff were placed on administrative leave.

Word on the street is that Thrap was put on admin leave because at the EHS vs SB game on Monday,  he was on court "talking shit about the EHS players to his players." I am not printing the derogatory term he used. It was heard by a board member who reported it.

Elderly woman with Alzheimer's discharged in the middle of the night with no notification, according to her daughter



Costanza Zerbi claims  the College Medical Center of Long Beach placed her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, in a taxi in the middle of the night. They did not notify Zerbi they were discharging her mother.

Two flights from Humboldt to Los Angeles

The Redwood Region Economic Development Commission (RREDC) and the Humboldt County Department of Aviation announced today that United Airlines will be adding a second departure to LAX starting May 29, 2019.

Kentucky Governor Matt supports Kim Davis' stance against gay marriage but that does not include legal fees


Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin supported Kim Davis, the former Rowan county clerk who refused to issue same sex marriage licenses in 2015. In 2019, he says only she broke the law and should pay the legal fees of the gay and straight couples who sued.

Fake pharmacist hands out 745,355 prescriptions before being caught by the California pharmacy board


Kim Thien Le, Area is accused of posing as a pharmacist at three Bay Area Walgreens stores. She handed out 745, 355 prescriptions before she was caught by the the California Board of Pharmacy.

$105,000 bail for carjacking, assault and battery suspect Keith Robinson


On January 26, 2019, at about 12 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 2000 block of Ridgewood Drive for the report of a carjacking that had just occurred.

Burglary, stolen vehicle, evading a police officer and a parole violation




Justin Blaine Carlson arrested for assault on his housemate and assault on a police officer


On 01/30/2019 at about 6:27 pm, Officers of the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to the 100 block of Henderson Street for a reported assault with a deadly weapon.

Preliminary hearing finally scheduled for Patrick Holt who crashed a stolen semi into a tree and then ran off with a rifle


Patrick Holt had eight cases on calendar on January 31. Finally dates were set in his case.

His most recent arrest was in September 2018 for crashing a stolen semi into a tree near the Elks Lodge. He jumped out of the truck with a rifle and ran off. I covered the incident as it was happening.

Guess registered sex offender Ryan Landowski saved law enforcement time by getting arrested today

(Landowski)

Registered sex offender Ryan Landowski who was released on January 17 by Judge Christopher Wilson, then failed to show up for his commit date to the jail decided to add to his multiple parole violations by getting arrested by Arcata Police today.

Tristan Crossland, another frequent flier, was among the four arrested by Arcata Police today.

Attempted murder suspect Matthew Ramsey's preliminary scheduled for March 14


Setting for attempted murder suspect Matthew Ramsey's preliminary hearing was scheduled this morning. Intervention set for March 12. Preliminary hearing scheduled for March 14.

Arson suspects Riley and Flower arraigned this morning, despite reduction in bail still in custody


(Flower) 
(Riley)

Chad Smith jury trial for alleged molestation reset to March 25; Smith pulls his time waiver again


Trial confirmation was scheduled for alleged molestor Chad Smith this morning. Jury trial scheduled for February 11 was vacated since Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads is in a no time waived trial for Cory Fisher.

She had indicated that when the February 11 date was set that as the specially assigned prosecutor for this case, the February 11 trial date would not work.

Defense did object and Smith pulled time waiver today. Judge Lawrence Killoran granted the continuance requested by the People. Jury trial reset for March 25. At the last hearing Smith threatened to pull his time waiver.

Jan 30, 2019

No bail reduction for alleged molestor Michael Franco


Bail review hearing was scheduled for alleged molestor Michael Franco on January 30. It was scheduled at 8:30, continued to 1:30. Judge Bruce Watson denied the defense motion for bail reduction.

Blood on the scene, milk spilled near Dirty Dave's body, a lanyard and eye glass lens found near his body


Preliminary hearing for Gary Cudney was scheduled for this morning. Cudney is charged with the death of Dwight Davis aka Dirty Dave.

Cudney was held to answer on all counts and special allegations.  The court denied the defense motion to reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors. Arraignment on information is February 14 at 8:30.

Murder suspect Lorna Leen's preliminary hearing scheduled for February 28


Setting for murder suspect Lorna Leen's preliminary was scheduled this morning. Intervention is set for February 26. Preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 28.

Lack of courtroom availability, attorney's schedule delays Antone Aubrey preliminary hearing


Murder suspect Antone Aubrey's preliminary hearing was scheduled for this morning. Both parties were ready to proceed but due to lack of courtrooms available and Mr. Russ Clanton not being available late afternoon, the preliminary hearing was vacated.

Setting is scheduled for February 1. Aubrey is expected to withdraw his time waiver. Mr. Clanton is starting a trial in Mendocino so Ms. Sara Zalkin will appear for him in court on Friday.

Judge Christopher Wilson released registered sex offender, a man with multiple parole warrants and cases over DA's objection


Court records show registered sex offender Ryan Taylor Landowski
was ordered released with a recommit date. This was over the objection of the DA. Just spoke with Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer. The reason for Landowski's release; he needed to see a doctor. Judge Christopher Wilson granted the defense request for his release.

This is a man with multiple parole warrants and violations. If I listed all his Humboldt County Superior Court cases in the system, they wouldnt even fit in one screenshot.

Clayton Lasinski jury trial vacated for several reasons


Trial confirmation and receipt of a second doctor's report was scheduled for Clayton Lasinski this morning. Jury trial is scheduled for February 11 was vacated.

Same information as last hearing in murder suspect Gearold Sotolongo's case


Trial confirmation was scheduled on January 30 for murder suspect Gearold Sotolongo. Jury trial is scheduled for February 25.

Jan 29, 2019

LA doctor may lose his license for prescribing marijuana cookies to a 4 year old but not for the reason you think



A California medial board says Dr. William Eidelman improperly diagnosed a 4 year boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder and then recommended marijuana cookies as the treatment.

Defense files proposed witness list, request for jury instructions and motion in limine in alleged molestor Andrew Cunningham's case



Alleged molestor Andrew Cunningham's jury trial is scheduled for February 4. Trial assignment is scheduled for February 1.

Observant reader gives me tip about inmate who "escaped" from today's jail report


(Megan's Law)


A reader just asked me about Ryan Taylor Landowski. Today's jail report shows that the inmate "escaped".
Landowski is a registered sex offender.

HCSO Lt. Mike Fridley said the court allowed Landowski out on a two day pass and Landowki did not return.

1/29/ update:

Court records show registered sex offender Ryan Taylor Landowski was ordered released with a recommit date. This was over the objection of the DA. Just spoke with Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer. The reason for his release; he needed to see a doctor. Judge Christopher Wilson granted the defense request for his release.

This is a man with multiple parole warrants. I couldnt even fit his cases on one screen.

Defense subpoenas records from Furniture Design Center in alleged molestor Chad Smith's case



Alleged molestor Chad Smith has trial confirmation scheduled on January 31. Records from Holiday Inn Express had been subpoenaed and provided to defense. Defense recently subpoenaed records from Furniture Design Center.

Defense given subpoenaed records from Humboldt County Mental Health in alleged sexual batterer Ralph Horn's case


Setting of alleged sexual batterer Ralph Horn's preliminary hearing was scheduled this morning. Intervention is scheduled for February 27. Preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12.

Fortuna Police Department provides seminar for active clergy and law enforcement



"Hopefully, the case goes today; I have been waiting for a year and a half" is what Cory Fisher says to me before court officially starts


Trial confirmation was continued to January 29 for former correctional deputy Cory Fisher. Jury trial  scheduled for February 1 was vacated and reset for February 25. Motions in limine and review of hardship questionnaires will start on February 21. Trial estimate is 8 weeks.

Brad Houghton arrested again, this time for his 2018 case for alleged criminal threats


Brad Houghton arrested yesterday for his 2018 case with charges of criminal threats. Arrest warrant was ordered in November 16, 2018.


Jan 28, 2019

Several officers shot in Houston



Hung jury in Michael case; mistrial declared; People will refile charges


Jury in Michael Black case could not reach a verdict. At 3:15 jurors were polled individually. The jury tried 6 times to reach a verdict. Judge Kaleb Cockrum declared a mistrial.

Jury in Michael Black asks, "what happens if they cannot reach an unanimous verdict?"



Jury back from lunch at 1:30, around 2:30 p.m. they had three questions.

Instead of another Marsden motion, Seng Yang should be thanking Public Defender Marek Reavis for representing him well despite Yang tanking his own case


Alleged molestor Seng Yang filed another Marsden motion. The hearing for that motion is scheduled on February 4. His previous Marsden motion was denied on August 27 2018.

Yang is charged with 16 counts which include forcible rape of Jane Doe (his own daughter) and exhibiting a minor in pornography.  Jane Doe is the alleged victim for all counts.

Frequently arrested Shiloh Chase booked for vehicle theft


On 01-28-2019 at about 5:00 am, officers of the Eureka Police Department (EPD) were dispatched to the 3400 block of L Street for vehicle theft report.  The Reporting Party stated that their vehicle had been stolen out of their driveway, while it was unoccupied and warming up.

Jorge Luis Valdez-Chavez arrested for distributing multiple pounds of heroin in Humboldt


On January 25th, 2019, at approximately 1:00 p.m., Special Agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force, with the assistance of narcotic detection K9’s with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office and Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, served a search warrant at a residence located in the 500 block of Warren Creek Road, Arcata.  

Fernando Joel Calderon arrested for multiple felony warrants; ineligible for bail


On January 25th, 2019, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Special Agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force, with the assistance of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, served an arrest warrant at a residence located in the 4200 block of Mitchell Road, Eureka. 

Jury requests readback from Russ Clanton and his wife's testimony


Jury for Michael Black, the man charged with criminal threats against local attorney Russ Clanton and two counts of vandalism started their deliberations, again at 9 a.m. this morning.

The jury asked for read back from Russ Clanton and his wife's testimony.

As indicated, defense filed a motion to continue human trafficking suspect David Anderson's hearing


Preliminary hearing was scheduled for human trafficking suspect David Anderson on January 28. Defense has indicated they would file a motion to continue due to discovery. They did. People did not oppose the motion. Judge Timothy Canning  granted the motion.

Eureka Visitor Center receives funding for hosting "Eureka Salt and Fog" event



Jan 27, 2019

Does Ray Christie own the cow involved in traffic collision this a.m.?


Reader just forwarded me a CHP incident about a traffic collision this morning at 5:21 a.m.; Hwy 101 and School Road off ramp. A black cow ran into the reporting party's truck. At 5:43 a.m. Inquiry if this is Ray Christie's cow.

Humboldt, you have come through for so many, here is one more chance to help a local family who lost their home in the Camp Fire

If you can help, please message Nazy Javid for the address. Nazy and her family are dear friends.  I am sharing this Facebook post with her permission.


"Hi friends, I am posting because I am in desperate need of community help. As you know, my family lost their home in the Camp Fire."

"I think it is pretty clear that the prosecutor is trying to make a tresspass and drunk in public into a criminal threat."



"Mr. Kamada in his closing said, It is pretty clear this and it is pretty clear that," said Ms. Andrea Sullivan, Michael Black's attorney. "I think it is pretty clear that the prosecutor is trying to make a tresspass and drunk in public into a criminal threat."

"It's really Russ versus the defendant."


The jury started deliberations at 3:45 in the Michael Black case where he is charged with alleged criminal threats against local attorney Russ Clanton.

Deputy District Attorney  A.J. Kamada gave his closing argument and a brief rebuttal.

Jan 26, 2019

911 dispatcher helps young boy with homework emergency


"Can Ray Christie receive a fair and impartial jury in Humboldt County?"

(Christie)
Trial setting and ruling on the 995 motion is scheduled in Ray Christie's case on February 4. I reached out to one of his attorneys, Mr. John Cogorno with some questions. Posted below is a five page statement from Mr. Cogorno in it's entirety.

St. Louis police officer Katlyn Alix killed during a Russian roulette-style game



Nathaniel Hendren was charged yesterday with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. The victim, Katlyn Alix, was also St. Louis police officer who died during a Russian roulette-style game.

British newspaper removes article about Melania Trump, issues an apology and agrees to pay damages



The Telegraph, a  British newspaper agreed to pay U.S. First Lady Melania Trump “substantial” damages after running a January 19 article in its magazine a week ago that made erroneous claims about her family and career. The article can no longer be found its website.