The National Weather Service said that rain is likely throughout Wednesday and Thursday.

Between a quarter and half an inch of rain is expected on Wednesday, with wind gusts as high as 22 miles per hour expected.

Temperatures overnight are expected to drop into the 30s, the agency predicted, with as much as another inch of rain possible.

The National Weather Service said there is a 60-percent chance of rain on Thanksgiving, with the total expected to be up to a quarter of an inch. Southwest winds up to nine miles per hour during the day also are predicted.

On Thanksgiving night, temperatures are forecast to drop into the high 30s, with a 40-percent chance of showers and west northwest winds at around 9 miles per hours, the National Weather Service reported.

Weather through the rest of the week is expected to be sunny, with some clouds, and daytime temperatures in the 50s and 60s, according to forecasters.

The National Weather Service is predicting a slight chance of rain early next week

Caltrans urges travelers to be prepared for winter storms when traveling, to give themselves extra time to reach destinations during inclement weather, and be equipped with chains, blankets and flashlights, and food and water in case of travel delays.

Current road conditions can be found by calling 800-427-7623 or by visiting www.dot.ca.gov.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man formally entered no contest pleas on Monday to charges connected to a June shooting that killed a young child and wounded five others.

Twenty-nine-year-old Kevin Ray Stone pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory to murder and possession of a .22-caliber rifle by a prohibited person before Judge Stephen Hedstrom at the Monday court appearance.

At sentencing – due to take place early next year – Stone will face up to 10 years and four months in prison, and a possible fine of about $64,000, according to statements in court on Monday.

Stone – along with Clearlake Oaks residents Paul William Braden, 21, of and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23 – originally was charged with murder, mayhem, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and several special allegations for the June 18 shooting that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp and also wounded the child’s mother, Desiree Kirby, her boyfriend, Ross Sparks and his brother, Andrew Sparks; and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.

District Attorney Don Anderson said on Monday that, after five months of intense investigation by his investigators and the Clearlake Police Department, the decision was made to allow Stone to enter pleas to the lesser charges.

During an eight-day preliminary hearing that concluded in October, the court heard an interview police conducted with Stone in which he insisted that he had only driven Braden and Stone to the scene of the shooting after they had called him.

Anderson said the decision to accept Stone’s guilty plea – which he noted wasn’t an easy one – was made on Nov. 16 during a meeting in which he discussed the matter with Skyler Rapp’s parents, Clearlake Police and the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim-Witness Division.

After a complete discussion of the case’s facts and applicable law, Anderson said everyone at that Nov. 16 meeting agreed that the plea agreement was “a just resolution” regarding Stone’s involvement in the crime.

Based on the investigation of the shooting, Anderson told the court that on June 18 Braden and Lopez planned an assault on Ross Sparks and his family, and contacted Stone for a ride, telling him that they wanted to do an armed robbery in order to steal drugs from the residence of Curtis Eeds, who lived next door to Sparks and Kirby.

Stone – convicted in July 2010 of assault with a deadly weapon and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm – is alleged to have gotten a .22-caliber rifle from his apartment before driving Braden and Lopez to a location near Eeds’ residence, where they parked, Anderson said.

From there, Stone, along with Braden and Lopez – both armed with shotguns – walked into Eeds’ backyard, Anderson said.

Stone was going to go into the back door of Eeds’ home, but the other two men kept walking to the fence that separated Eeds’ home from Sparks’. Anderson alleged that Braden and Lopez then opened fire into a crowd of people, killing the child and wounding five adults.

Stone, who Anderson said was unaware of Braden and Lopez’s intentions, then left the scene with them and went back to the vehicle that he had borrowed from his girlfriend’s cousin, driving about two blocks before crashing.

The three then allegedly hid the firearms in nearby brush before fleeing in separate directions, Anderson said.

Hedstrom ordered that Stone return at 3 p.m. Feb. 28 for a continuation of the hearing, at which time he will schedule the sentencing. He also ordered that Stone will be held on no bail going forward.

Stone had several other misdemeanor and probation violation cases pending that Anderson said he intended to dismiss in the interest of justice.

Anderson said the investigation into Braden’s and Lopez’s actions on the night of June 18 is continuing.

Braden and Lopez are due for a joint trial – with separate juries – that will begin Jan. 11, 2012, as Lake County News has reported.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

The records released Monday confirm that a Caltrans employee, who was subsequently fired, falsified data on three projects:

• The La Sierra Avenue Bridge in Riverside in September 2008;

• A retaining wall at Braddock Drive on Interstate 405 in Los Angeles in April 2007;

• An overhead sign foundation on Interstate 580 in Oakland in March 2008.

In a separate and independent review validating Caltrans’ findings, the Federal Highway Administration also concluded that the employee’s falsification was limited to those three structures. Certified engineering reports released Monday confirm the safety of each of the structures.

The records show that although the former employee worked on the Bay Bridge, none of his work on the bridge was falsified. The records also show that the Bay Bridge is structurally sound.

“We have confirmed that the totality of the problem regarding falsified data is limited to one transportation technician’s work in three locations,” said acting Director Malcolm Dougherty in a letter sent to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing. “Caltrans performed an engineering analysis to ensure that each location is structurally safe.”

An executive summary of the documents, table of contents and the acting director’s cover letter can be seen below.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

112111 Caltrans Letters to Mark DeSaulnier

112111 Caltrans Project Reports - Table of Contents

112111 Caltrans Project Review - Executive Summary

Clearlake Police officers responded to D&M Compassion Center, located at 14491 Olympic Drive, shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

Joseph said officers arrived at the scene and discovered that a glass sliding door had been shattered.

Officers made entry into the business, but no suspects were located, Joseph said.

It is believed that the suspect, or suspects, made off with some personal property, however Joseph said no marijuana was stolen.

Evidence at the scene suggests that the goal was to try to steal marijuana secured inside the building, Joseph said.

He said the case is still under investigation.

Joseph added that this is the third burglary of D&M Compassion Center in the last few months.

Anyone who may have information about this burglary is asked to contact the police department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Scott Eric Feil, 45, of Upper Lake and Redwood Valley, was sentenced in federal court on Nov. 3 to five years in prison for one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and filing a false tax return. Several other charges were dismissed.

When contacted for comment on the case, Feil’s lead attorney, Paul Gabbert of Santa Monica, said he had no statement at this time.

Jack Gillund, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District, told Lake County News of Feil’s case, “We have no further comment other than what’s in the [sentencing] document.”

The case against Feil alleged that he and his wife, Diana, were part of a marijuana distribution operation with bases of operation in Lake County, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Also charged in the case are Steven Swanson of Sebastopol, Tom Carter of Upper Lake, Brett Bassignani of Nice and Mark Garcia of Southern California.

Gillund said Diana Feil is set to be sentenced on Dec. 8.

Feds seize millions in property, cash

In addition to handing down the five-year prison sentence, Judge Jeffrey S. White ordered Scott Feil to pay the Internal Revenue Service $164,682 in restitution and, along with his wife, to pay a forfeiture judgment of $2,695,146.

Judge White further ordered Feil to forfeit properties at 8838 East Road in Redwood Valley;1975 Hunter Point Road, Upper Lake; 10850 Bachelor Valley Road, Upper Lake; 1960 South Dora St., Ukiah; Scottsfield Executive Hotel, 270 Fifth St., Eureka Quality Inn Hotel and Tradewinds Grill and Bar, 400 S. Main St., Fort Bragg and a mobile home at 511 Della Ave., Willits.

The forfeiture didn’t stop at land.

It included two airplanes – a 1973 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza and a Cessna 172M Skyhawk – as well as a 2004 MB Sports boat and 2004 Zieman boat trailer; 2005 Allegro motorhome; 2006 Chevy Uplander; 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle, a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid, $74,095 seized from a merchant account, $131,132 seized from Feil in November 2005, and digital scales and a DD2020 personal RF detector taken – used for detecting covert surveillance devices – seized from the 8838 East Road address.

The court proposed Feil do his prison time at a federal facility in Lompoc, where it’s recommended that he take part in a residential drug treatment program.

After his release from prison, Feil will be subject to four years of supervised release during which he is ordered not to have any contact with any of his codefendants, other than his wife; to participate in drug and mental health programs; register as a drug offender; and not possess firearms, according to sentencing documents.

Other sentencings delayed

Sentencings for the remaining defendants in the case appear to have been delayed.

Carter had been scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 6 but he was not on that day’s judicial calendar, according to Gillund, who did not have information on a new sentencing date.

Geoffrey Hansen, Carter’s federal defender, did not respond to messages seeking comment, nor did any of the lawyers representing the rest of the codefendants, all of whom Lake County News contacted.

No sentencing documents have been filed on any of the other codefendants, including Carter, who in May pleaded guilty to one count of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute marijuana, admitting that in August 2009 he possessed 730 marijuana plants, according to his plea agreement, which can be viewed below.

Carter’s plea agreement from May states that if he cooperates with the government he could receive a sentence of four years of probation including six months served in home detention; if the government decides he has not sufficiently cooperated, he could be sentenced to between 24 and 30 months in federal prison, and four years supervised release.

Swanson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and tax evasion. He must pay $242,562 in restitution, and serve four years probation with six months of home detention if he cooperates with the government or, if he doesn’t, an unspecified amount of prison time.

Also pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana was Garcia, who additionally is the subject of separate immigration proceedings, according to plea documents.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

110711 Scott Feil Forfeitures

050911 Tom Carter Plea Deal

The California Employment Development Department’s latest unemployment report showed that California’s unemployment rate dropped from 11.9 percent in September to 11.7 percent in October – compared to 12.5 percent in October 2010 – and saw an increase of 25,700 nonfarm payroll jobs.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that nationwide unemployment dropped from 9.1 percent in September to 9 percent in October, down from 9.7 percent in October 2010 and 10.1 percent in October 2009, when nationwide unemployment peaked.

Lake County, however, saw an uptick in unemployment in October, when it registered a 16.2 percent unemployment rate, up from 15.8 percent in September, but down from 17.6 percent in October 2010, according to the state.

Lake remained at the rank of 53rd among the state’s 58 counties for unemployment. Rates for surrounding counties included Colusa, 15 percent, No. 46; Glenn, 13.5 percent, No. 39; Mendocino, 9.9 percent, No. 13; Napa, 8.3 percent, No. 4; Sonoma, 9.3 percent, No. 8; and Yolo, 11.1 percent, No. 24.

Marin County, had the state’s lowest unemployment rate, 7.2 percent, while Imperial County had the highest, 28.9 percent, according to the report.

Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department’s North Coast Region Labor Market Information Division reported that Lake County lost 530 jobs from September to October, much of it in the form of seasonal farm jobs, which saw a reduction by 240 positions.

Another 120 jobs were lost due to cutbacks in leisure and economy, plus 90 jobs in the government category; 30 jobs in other services; 20 in mining, logging and construction and 20 in trade transportation and utilities; and 10 manufacturing jobs, Mullins reported.

Month-over job growth occurred in private educational and health services, where Mullins said 10 jobs were gained. There were no changes in the information, financial activities or professional and business services categories, according to Mullins’ report.

Looking closer at Lake County’s overall job picture, the Employment Development Department reported the following unemployment rates for areas within the county: Clearlake Oaks, 24.1 percent; Nice, 23.6 percent; city of Clearlake, 23.2 percent; Lucerne, 17.1 percent; Kelseyville, 16.5 percent; Middletown, 16.4 percent; city of Lakeport, 15.6 percent; Cobb, 14.5 percent; Lower Lake, 13.7 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 13.4 percent; north Lakeport, 12.9 percent; Upper Lake, 8.4 percent.

In October, Lake County’s workforce consisted of 24,330 people, of which 3,950 were unemployed, compared to a 24,860-member workforce with 3,930 unemployed in September, according to the report.

The Employment Development Department reported that there were 494,752 people statewide receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits during the October survey week, compared with 494,882 last month and 592,475 last year.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 68,724 in October 2011, compared with 53,861 in September and 67,168 in October of last year, the agency reported.

State numbers look better

The Employment Development Department said nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,151,600 in October, an increase of 25,700 jobs over the month, following a gain of 39,200 jobs in September, according to a survey of 42,000 California businesses. The year-over-year change – October 2010 to October 2011 – shows an increase of 239,000 jobs, up 1.7 percent.

The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed people, the Employment Development Department said.

The agency reported that the smaller survey estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in October was 16,008,000, an increase of 92,000 from September, and up 128,000 from the employment total in October of last year.

The number of people unemployed in California was 2,123,000 – down by 28,000 over the month, and down by 144,000 compared with October of last year, the state reported.

The state report showed that seven categories – construction; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services – added jobs over the month, gaining 35,500 jobs. Professional and business services posted the largest increase over the month, adding 17,300 jobs.

Four categories – mining and logging; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; and government – reported job declines over the month, down 9,800 jobs, the state said.

Of those groups, the report showed that manufacturing and government posted the largest decreases over the month, each down 3,900 jobs. In a year-over-year comparison – October 2010 to October 2011 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 239,000 jobs, a 1.7 percent improvement.

Nine categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and government – posted job gains over the year, adding 243,700 jobs, the state said. Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 83,300 jobs, up 4.0 percent.

The Employment Development Department reported that the information category posted the largest gain on a percentage basis, up by 5.9 percent, increasing by 25,400 jobs.

Two categories, financial activities and other services, posted job declines over the year, down 4,700 jobs, the state reported, while other services posted the largest decline on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 2,400 jobs, a decrease of 0.5 percent.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

The group OneJustice has organized the hearings, which are co-sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce, the State Bar of California and the Access to Justice Commission.

In July, the Judicial Council of California allocated a $350 million reduction for fiscal year 2011-12, the largest budget cut in state court history, as Lake County News has reported.

The Administrative Office of the Courts said that reduction translates into a 6.8 percent cut in funding for the 58 California trial courts, a 9.7 percent cut in funding for the California Supreme Court and the six Courts of Appeal, and a 12 percent funding reduction for the Judicial Council and its staff organization.

The Lake County Superior Court, which for 2011-12 has a $3.6 million budget, received a $300,000 cut, according to court officials.

The first of the planned hearings around the state took place Nov. 15 in Sacramento at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

Additional hearings are planned for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Administrative Office of the Courts, 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Dec. 2, Southwestern Law School, 3050 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 7, University of California, Irvine School of Law, 401 East Peltason Drive, Irvine.

For more information visit www.CaliforniaHearings.org.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Four Clearlake residents were taken into custody as a result of the incident, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

Those arrested included two juveniles, whose names were not released due to their minor status, and Anthony Monize, 20, and 19-year-old Ian Griffith.

At 12:08 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to a report of a 10-person fight in the parking lot of the Arrowhead Resort at 5735 Old Highway 53, Joseph said.

When officers arrived on scene they discovered a large fight still in progress, Joseph said. As the officers approached, the fight quickly broke up and all involved parties began fleeing on foot.

A majority of the group ran towards a nearby residence and went inside. Joseph said Monize was arrested by police in the parking lot and charged with public intoxication. He later was released on a citation with a pending court date.

Joseph said officers chased several of the subjects and caught a 15-year-old male Clearlake resident as he was trying to get into the residence. The suspect was physically combative and made several attempts to physically strike officers.

After several minutes of struggling and with the assistance of other officers, the teenager finally was taken into custody, Joseph said.

The male juvenile was placed into the back seat of a patrol vehicle. Joseph said the teen managed to kick out a patrol car window, and was charged with felony vandalism, resisting police officer and public intoxication. He later was booked into the Lake County Juvenile Hall.

Officers ended up forcing entry into the home where numerous adults and juveniles were located, Joseph said.

A 16-year-old female Clearlake resident was found on scene and refused to comply with officers’ orders. Joseph said the girl ultimately was arrested and placed into the backseat of a police vehicle.

The teen claimed that police could not touch her due to the fact that she was a juvenile, Joseph said. While she was in the backseat of the patrol car, she began kicking at the patrol car window and actually managed to bend the window frame from the car.

Joseph said the girl was charged with resisting police officer, public intoxication and vandalism, and booked into the Lake County Juvenile Hall.

Griffith was found on scene and also arrested. Joseph said Griffith was charged with public intoxication and booked into the Lake County Jail.

In June, Griffith was wounded during the late-night shooting that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp. Four others also were injured.

During the investigation of the incident, officers had to clear from the scene to respond to other priority calls for service, Joseph said.

The case has been forwarded to the Lake County District Attorney Office and to the Lake County Juvenile Probation Department for review, Joseph said.

Any person with information about a crime occurring in the city of Clearlake is asked to contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Much of the decline was in the nation’s largest cities, those with a population of one million or more, where the homicide rate dropped dramatically from 35.5 homicides per 100,000 residents in 1991 to a low of 11.9 per 100,000 in 2008.

The sharp increase in homicides from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, and much of the subsequent decline, is attributable to gun violence by teens (age 14 to 17) and young adults (age 18 to 24), according to the report.

Despite the recent decline, the number of gun homicides committed by teens and young adults in 2008 remained similar to the counts of the mid-1980s, the report showed.

Most murders were intraracial. From 1980 through 2008, 84 percent of white homicide victims were murdered by whites and 93 percent of black victims were murdered by blacks.

During this same period, blacks were disproportionately represented among homicide victims and offenders. Blacks were six times more likely than whites to be homicide victims and seven times more likely than whites to commit homicide.

The number of homicides known to involve adult or juvenile gang violence has quadrupled since 1980, increasing from about 220 homicides in 1980 to 960 homicides in 2008.

From 1980 to 2008, gang violence increased from one percent to six percent of all homicides. During this same period, gun involvement in gang-related homicides increased from 73 percent to 92 percent.

Among the report’s other findings, from 1980 to 2008, nearly a quarter of the victims (24 percent) of gang-related homicides were juveniles (under age 18). Juveniles were also a fifth (19 percent) of persons killed by family members and a fifth (18 percent) of persons killed during the commission of a sex-related crime.

In 2008, two of every five female murder victims were killed by an intimate. Among female murder victims for whom the victim/offender relationships were known, 45.3 percent were killed by an intimate whereas only 4.9 percent of male homicide victims were killed by an intimate.

Overall, more than two-thirds of victims murdered by a spouse or ex-spouse were killed by a gun. Boyfriends were more likely than any other group of intimates (50 percent) to be killed by a knife and girlfriends were more likely than any other group of intimates (15 percent) to be killed by force involving hands, fists or feet.

Most homicide victims under age 5 were killed by a parent. In 2008, 59 percent of young child homicide victims were killed by a parent, 10% were killed by some other family member and 30 percent were murdered by a friend or acquaintance.

From 1980 to 2010, the number of reported law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty dropped by 46 percent, from a reported 104 law enforcement officers killed in 1980 to 56 reported law enforcement deaths in 2010.

Most justifiable homicides by police were the result of attacks on officers, accounting for 64 percent of these homicides in 2008. The most frequent circumstance cited for justifiable homicides committed by citizens was the disruption of a crime in progress (55 percent of justifiable homicides by a citizen in 2008) or when a citizen was attacked (41 percent of justifiable homicides by a citizen in 2008).

Most of these findings are based on the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), which collects yearly supplementary data regarding homicides committed in the United States. From 1980 to 2008, contributing agencies provided supplementary data for 508,568 of the estimated 565,636 murders.

The FBI’s annual report, Crime in the United States, provides additional summary data for 2009 and 2010.

The report, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (NCJ 236018), was written by BJS statisticians Alexia Cooper and Erica L. Smith.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

November 2011 - Homicide Trends in the United States, 2009-10

Law enforcement is still seeking the suspects, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Smallcomb said Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at 8:30 a.m. Monday to the 300 block of MacMillan Drive in Hopland on the report of a home invasion robbery.

When deputies arrived they contacted a woman at the residence, who advised that she – along with two other subjects – were inside the residence when two masked suspects forced their way inside, Smallcomb said.

The woman told deputies that the robbers sprayed her in the face with some type of caustic chemical, which Smallcomb said is believed to be some type of pepper spray or mace.

Smallcomb said the suspects then allegedly took approximately $1,500 in cash and approximately 10 pounds of processed marijuana before fleeing the residence.

Deputies checked the neighborhood for any possible suspects but didn’t find anyone, Smallcomb said.

Mendocino County Sheriffs Deputy Butch Gupta is requesting anyone with information regarding this incident to contact him at 707-463-4086.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Michael Alan Toso, 53, died at the scene of the wreck, which took place on Petrified Forest Road west of Franz Valley Road on Wednesday, Nov. 16, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol’s Napa office.

Toso, who was alone, was driving a 2006 Nissan Titan pickup eastbound at an unknown time when, for an unknown reason, the pickup went off the north roadway edge and traveled down a steep embankment and overturning, the CHP reported.

According to the crash investigation, Toso was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the pickup, which came to rest on top of him.

The CHP said Toso was pronounced dead at the scene.

The collision remains under investigation, the CHP reported.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

“Be patient and attentive while traveling on the roadways this holiday season,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “People are eager to see friends and loved ones, but it’s important to get to your destination safely.”

The CHP will be keeping a watchful eye on the motoring public as they head out on their road trips during the Thanksgiving Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP), which begins Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 6:01 p.m. and continues through Sunday, Nov. 27 at 11:59 p.m.

This MEP coincides with the “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign which begins tomorrow in California.

“Our goal is to encourage motorists to make safe choices to prevent tragedies,” said Commissioner Farrow.

The CHP reminds all motorists to buckle up, observe the speed limit and not to drink and drive.

During the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend, 21 people were killed in collisions throughout California.

Among the five vehicle occupants killed in CHP jurisdiction, one person was not wearing a seat belt.

It’s also important to remember to designate a non-drinking driver before the celebration begins.

Last year during the Thanksgiving holiday, CHP made 1,546 arrests for driving under the influence, a nearly 6 percent increase from the same time the previous year.

“Whether it’s impaired or distracted driving, speeding because you’re in a hurry or you forget to buckle up, a careless decision made in an instant can hurt a family for a lifetime,” added Farrow.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .