CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is investigating the circumstances that led to a Clearlake man being severely injured last week.
Nicholas Vining, 29, known as “Caveman,” was found near his mother’s home on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 3, with severe injuries, including head trauma, according to social media posts and entries on a GoFundMe page reportedly written by family members and friends.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department confirmed to Lake County News that the agency is investigating the case, but that so far they have little information.
The social media posts claim that Vining – who is reported to have a cognitive disability – was attacked on Old Highway 53 at the time school was getting out for the day, and that the assailants were three to four teenage boys who jumped him.
“They pushed him off of his bike, beat him, cut off his hair and beard with a knife and stole his backpack, phone, foodstamp card and the shoes off of his feet. They left him with his wallet and his beat up bike,” a Facebook post stated.
Other posts on Facebook and GoFundMe said his 49ers hoodie and baseball cap also were taken, and that the boys threatened to kill Vining if he told who they were. Those posts also said there were no known witnesses.
Vining was reported to have gotten to his mother’s home, where she found him hanging over the fence. He told family members that he had been attacked across from the “court school,” and that “court school kids” were responsible for hurting him. He then lost consciousness, according to the posts.
The social media narrative said his mother called 911 and he was lifeflighted to the UCSF Medical Center where he is in the Neurointensive Care Unit with a brain bleed. Holes have been drilled in his head to relieve the pressure, and he has not regained consciousness since he was injured.
Hobbs said that the incident was reported to the Clearlake Police Department on Dec. 4, the day after it is said to have occurred.
“We interviewed hospital staff and Nicholas’ mother,” Hobbs said. “Nicholas was not able to be interviewed at that time.”
Hobbs said Vining’s mother wasn’t able to give much information, and that police don’t yet know what was the cause of Vining’s injury or if it was, in fact, the result of a fight.
The case has been forwarded to the department’s investigation division to conduct further investigation including follow up with Vining when he is able to be interviewed, Hobbs said.
While the account of the incident states that it happened near the “court school,” there is no court school on Old Highway 53, although the Clearlake Community School is located at 6945 Old Highway 53.
The Clearlake Community School is operated by the Lake County Office of Education.
“I became aware of this over the weekend,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg, who read the social media posts about the incident.
“I directed staff at the school this morning to reach out ot the school resource officer in Clearlake because we do have a lot of cameras around that campus and to see if there is anything that we can do to help with the investigation,” Falkenberg told Lake County News on Monday night. “We want to do everything we can do to make sure that justice is served in this particular case.”
He said his staff talked to the school resource officer, who told them that the incident didn’t happen near the school but somewhere else, and that it wasn’t related to the school.
There also are reported to be witnesses, based on what police told Falkenberg’s staff.
While Falkenberg said a court school is different from a community school in that it’s located at the juvenile hall, community schools are still often referred to as court schools. Community schools traditionally serve expelled and adjudicated youth.
He said the children attending the school are in grades kindergarten through 12th, but primarily in the elementary and lower grades.
All of the students at Clearlake Community School get door-to-door transportation, so they don’t walk back and forth to school, Falkenberg said.
There are numerous cameras around the campus, and Falkenberg said the Lake County Office of Education has opened up its cameras for police for other events and is happy to do it again.
As of early Tuesday, no arrests had been made in the case, according to Sgt. Dominic Ramirez of the Clearlake Police Department.
Anyone who has information about the incident or who saw Vining that afternoon are asked to call the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251 and speak with Investigations Department Supervisor Sgt. Martin Snyder, Extension 306.
The GoFundMe page for Vining had raised $745 of $10,000 goal by early Tuesday, with the funds raised meant to help his mother with travel and lodging costs, as well as medical expenses.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.