Matthews and Christopher: A Tale of Two Dumps

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We in Lucerne extend many thanks to Elizabeth Larson and Lake County News for covering the illegal dumping here, as it happens and after adjudication.


And a big thank you to Lenny Matthews, you are a good friend and neighbor to the folks in Lucerne. Without your assistance I doubt anyone would have ever been held accountable for the illegal dumping at Morrison Creek.


Lenny has provided me her account as a witness of what it took to get this case to court – we already have seen the first dump and know its location in Lucerne. What most of us don’t know about is the other dump she had to deal with while bulldogging this mess to its conclusion.


She called in her original complaint in February 2007 and not being one to give up the good fight, she kept calling, be it Fish and Game Warden Loren Freeman, her Supervisor Denise Rushing, Code Enforcement Department Head Voris Brumfield, District Attorney Jon Hopkins, Sheriff Rod Mitchell, Caroline Chavez of Solid Waste and Ray Ruminski of Environmental Health.


One year later it finally came to court and this is where the second dump comes in.


Lenny went to the DA’s office to speak with the prosecuting attorney Daniel Moffatt, assuming that he would want to prepare his witness. He didn’t but he promised he would call her on Monday, the day before the trial was to start. He didn’t but she rose early and prepared to go to court. She left at 8 a.m., calling the District Attorney's Office repeatedly and getting a recording that the office was open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and as she said to me “then pick up your (expletive deleted) phone!”


She arrived at the court building in the City of Clearlake and “walked into the small lobby through the metal detector (no one was there and it went off). I accessed the building when a man finally showed up and asked, “Did you just walk through the metal detector?” So much for the argument about feeling safe because of metal detectors being installed.


Finding only the defendant Mr. Re in the lobby, she left the building “going back out in the cold to my car, it’s now about 8:40 and the DA’s office finally answers their phone … they attempt to contact Moffatt to let him know I am in the parking lot. About 10 minutes later Mr. Moffatt comes out. Now I’m really pissed! I let him know that it was totally unacceptable, exposing me to Mr. Re, not calling as he said he would. He is not really apologetic and escorts me to their office where he says have a seat anywhere.”


“I look around a room that accommodates two desks with chairs with 4 more chairs, most with items living in and on the seats. 'It shouldn't be long,' he said. He closes the door of the room and is gone.


“During my hour and a half long wait I make a full circle. I'm not any less angry and slowly begin to look around at the deplorable condition of the room. Dirty dishes on the desks, a floor that hasn't been washed in probably a year, blinds torn on the window, parts of the ceiling missing, exposing hundreds of wires and vents. Electrical wires under desks exposed in a jumble. I move on to the books and begin to check out the Law book for the Department of Fish and Game. I had provided both Moffatt and Hopkins with the California Penal Code section that allows me to collect half of the fine imposed.


Moffatt said he had never heard of such a thing ... that morning when I again brought it up Moffatt asked me if I know about Fish and Game and if they would be getting any of the fine imposed. I said , 'You would need to ask Fish and Game.' (Am I the only one wondering why a lawyer from the DA’s Office is asking a witness what the codified laws of the State of California are?)


“It took a while but I found the code section for Fish and Game and fines imposed regarding illegal dumping and the distribution for those fines. Restless, needing to pee and wanting some coffee, I again got pissed being dumped into a room without squat. I got brave and opened the door. Across the hallway there was the break room/stock room/community service followup interview room! Between individuals arriving I glance in. Unbelievable! And I thought the room I was in was bad!


“I began to imagine a fire and just how quickly it would explode. It had stock rooms with boxes shoved in and shelves falling. I found the bathroom down the hall way, the toilet paper holder was stuck, I used a paper towel. Finding myself back in 'the room' once again. In through the door bursts Moffatt with delight stating, 'Good news, he plead out.'


“Just as I was asking what that meant, a uniformed officer from the court came in and said to Moffatt that he was needed back in the court room. He said nothing and headed out the door. I said, 'Wait, can I take some pictures of this office while you’re gone. He stated NO!' (Gee, I wonder why).


“He is gone again this time for about half hour. I am now quite tired of this whole thing and being treated so poorly, without even access to water ... I look down the hallway and there is Loren Freeman from the Department of Fish and Game and Deputy DA Moffatt talking away in the lobby. Then it dawns on me, I probably could have been in the court room for the fruition of all of this but was not even asked. I walked down the hall and greeted Loren ... love that man.” (Lenny is right, we are lucky to have the wardens we have.)


“Moffatt and I return to 'the room' and he tells me that James Re pleaded out and was given a $1,080 fine! I can’t begin to express my disappointment. But I do ask about my half of the fine. He hems and haws, stating that he really isn't sure just how to go about doing that! I suggest to him that it probably should have been done in the courtroom and requested by you to the judge. He says, 'Yes, probably.'


“Now I'm really pissed and he knows it. He tells me he will look into it! Like I really think that is gonna happen!”


It is important for folks to know that Lenny did not report this crime and follow through because of any potential of reward money – it’s simply another way to get through to these miscreants that this behavior will NOT BE TOLERATED!


“I leave and head for Lakeport, go upstairs to the Superior Court Clerk's office and tell my story of woe. Liz Griffin comes out from behind the plexiglass to meet me. She's kind and interested in what I have to share regarding the penal code and every person giving information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person for a violation of 374.3 or 374(c) is entitled to a reward. She gives me her e-mail for me to send her the information, and her direct line.


“Next I go downstairs where the Board of Supervisors are just breaking for lunch. I catch Jeff Smith and share with him the deplorable conditions of the building. The conversation was within ear shot of Ed Robey who states, “The building is in transition and is now under the state.'


“I really don't give a damn what it's under, this is a public building that is not safe or fit for human kind at this time it's in need of help NOW! I feel like I did a complete circle, ending up where this all started whether it’s a garbage dump, a horrible filthy building or just proper etiquette (i.e., would you like a glass of water before I go, the bathroom's down the hallway, etc.). No one seems to be held to any standard of accountability.” Can we expect this to happen to the fourth floor of the courthouse while the powers that be point fingers and say, 'You did it/need to do it – no, you did it/need to do it.'


“This is not an isolated incident, it is all around us today. Frankly I'm sick of it. The donut snatcher gets almost three years and a man who contaminates a town's drinking water with his chemicals gets a $1080 fine, one year of probation and no community service or restitution to the citizens of Lucerne. The County of Lake or the Department of Fish and Game, which spent far more that $1,080 to clean up the dump site and prosecute this case.”


I am sickened also, Lenny. It’s been at least 15 years since I personally became involved in the illegal dumping in Morrison Creek. At that time we were told even though there was plentiful evidence to show who the detritus belonged to, then-District Attorney Steve Hedstrom said they couldn’t prove case. Say what?


At that time, the fine was $500. Not much has changed, my fellow Lake County citizens, it was Superior Court Judge Steve Hedstrom that imposed this paltry sentence for a crime that is very much an offense against every citizen of Lake County and nature. Again, say what?


Lenny Matthews and Donna Christopher live in Lucerne.


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