KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A suspect in a fatal hit-and-run that took the life of a popular local restaurateur was arrested late Wednesday afternoon.
James Walter Nightingale, 30, of Kelseyville, turned himself in to authorities and was arrested at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Dallas Richey.
The CHP had been searching for Nightingale since last Friday, when he is alleged to have hit and killed Zino Mezoui, 57, owner of Zino's Ristorante in Kelseyville.
On Sept. 24 Mezoui, out for a long-awaited ride on his motorcycle, was traveling southbound along Highway 29 when Nightingale, driving a Chevrolet Suburban, allegedly failed to yield while pulling out onto the highway from Siegler Canyon Road, according to the CHP report.
Mezoui and his motorcycle collided with the driver's side door of the Suburban, the CHP reported.
Witnesses said Nightingale flipped a U-turn and then headed back up Siegler Canyon Road, according to Richey.
Mezoui was flown by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival, the CHP reported.
Richey said the blue 1993 Chevrolet Suburban Nightingale was alleged to have driven during the collision was found the same day as the crash. It was located on a property off of Siegler Canyon Road, not far from the fatal crash scene. Broken glass and tire marks were found on the road nearby.
What followed were several days of intense investigative work, in which the CHP, other local law enforcement agencies and the public worked together, said Richey.
Richey credited that teamwork for resulting in an arrest. “Everybody really played a part in this.”
Close to half of the Clear Lake office's 23 officers were assigned to the case at any one time, from responding to the scene to helping secure it late into the night, according to Richey.
He said the community responded with an enormous amount of tips, which gave investigators new places to look.
“Zino was well loved,” Richey said.
The CHP didn't leave any stone unturned. “A countless number of doors got knocked on,” he added.
Richey said that on Wednesday the CHP put out a “be on the lookout” for Nightingale in Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma and Napa counties. Richey then began preparing an all points bulletin to release to the media that contained Nightingale's name.
In what Richey believes may have been a coincidence in timing, about 10 to 15 minutes later after the be on the lookout went out he received a phone call from an attorney who Nightingale had been in touch with, who said that Nightingale “knew that we were looking for him and that he wanted to turn himself in.”
Richey said he and the attorney agreed to have Nightingale meet an officer at a location in Clearlake. Nightingale was then taken to the CHP's Clear Lake office in Kelseyville; from there, Officer Kevin Domby transported Nightingale to the Lake County Jail.
Nightingale was booked into the Lake County Jail on felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run resulting in death, along with a misdemeanor warrant from an outside agency, his booking record showed.
Bail was set at $50,000 for Nightingale, who was listed as a general contractor on his booking sheet. Richey said a bail hearing on the matter was held Wednesday night.
Once Nightingale was in custody, Richey said the CHP called to let Mezoui's wife, Jan, know they had made an arrest.
“She was the first person we called,” Richey said.
Nightingale, who remained in jail overnight, is scheduled to be in court on Friday, according to jail documents.
Mezoui's family has scheduled a memorial service for him at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at his beloved restaurant, located at 6330 Soda Bay Road.
For full details see Oct. 9 memorial planned for Mezoui.
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