LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Independence Day holiday kept Lakeport Police officers busy throughout the day on Monday, with officers responding to a nonfatal stabbing, illegal fireworks and lost person reports.
A heavy law enforcement presence was visible throughout the downtown, particularly Library Park, where the daylong event was centered, with a command center across the street in City Hall.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his agency received assistance from the Clearlake Police Department, Lake County Probation and the Lake County Sheriff's Office in responding to the holiday calls.
The most serious incident on Monday was the stabbing, which Rasmussen said occurred at around 8:30 p.m.
He said officers responded to the area of the children's playground in Library Park to find a 43-year-old man with stab wounds.
The victim was stabbed three times in the head, neck and back, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the wounds were not serious and the victim refused to be transported to the hospital by the Lakeport Fire Protection District.
Police arrested 21-year-old Lakeport resident Dominic Ezekiel Tovar for the stabbing, Rasmussen said.
“We recovered the knife that we believed was used,” said Rasmussen, adding that the knife was found in Tovar's possession.
Rasmussen said the stabbing occurred during a fight between the two men, who police believe knew each other before the incident.
Tovar was booked into the Lake County Jail early on Tuesday morning on a felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, with his bail set at $25,000. He's tentatively scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, according to booking records.
The other main calls that police responded to during the Monday festivities were for five separate individuals – four children and one senior with Alzheimer's – who got lost. Rasmussen said all five were located within minutes and reunited with their families.
Rasmussen said police also received a large volume of calls over the entire weekend and on Monday reporting illegal fireworks in the city. The city allows “safe and sane” fireworks on certain designated days, ending on July 4.
Late Monday a police volunteer brought into the command center what appeared to be a small square box of illegal fireworks, handing them off to Rasmussen, who said they didn't have the safe and sane label.
Rasmussen said he believed a strong police presence helped keep the holiday celebration in the city relatively calm.
At the same time, he noted that it appeared the crowds were slightly smaller this year, which could be a result of the holiday falling on Monday and people needing to return to work on Tuesday.
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Lakeport Police respond to stabbing, illegal fireworks calls on busy July 4 holiday
- Elizabeth Larson
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