On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at about 10:50 p.m. Anthony Lux met with Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputies to return his daughter, Allison Shirey. Lux spoke with Investigators and stated he had received advice that there were no court orders in regards to Allison’s guardianship and he had legal rights to remove Allison from the home. Lux agreed to return Allison after speaking with Investigators after realizing his actions were unlawful and plans on pursuing custody of his daughter.
Deputies returned Allison to her guardian and was removed from the missing persons system. Allison was in good health and good spirits.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the public and media for their assistance in attempting to locate this child.
On Sunday, November 27, 2016 at about 7 p.m. Humboldt County Deputy Sheriffs responded to the 4100 block of Hillside Ct. in Eureka for a reported child abduction by parent. The reporting party told deputies when she was in another part of her residence, Anthony Lux (31) unexpectedly left with his daughter, 4 year old Allison Shirey. The reporting party provided court documentation stating she has temporary physical and legal custody of Allison. Lux did not have permission to take Allison from the residence.
It was later discovered Lux received a ride from the residence on Hillside Ct. to St. Joseph’s Hospital. Lux did not check into the hospital and has not been seen since. Lux has connections in Alderpoint, Eureka, McKinleyville, Montegue (Siskyou County) and Chico (Butte County). Lux’s whereabouts are unknown at this time.
Anthony Lux is a white male adult, 5’8”, 160 lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing an olive colored pea coat, black pants, and black shoes.
Allison Shirey is a 4 year old girl, 3’ tall, 50 lbs, with blue eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing pink pants with owls on them and a white shirt with blue and pink flowers.
A Be-On-the-Lookout (BOLO) was issued for Lux. Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.
Reps. Huffman, Grijalva Demand Accountability for Brutal Law Enforcement Tactics at DAPL
Washington, D.C.- Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) today requested an immediate meeting with White House and Department of Justice officials to demand accountability for alarming treatment of Water Protectors and peaceful demonstrators at the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, and to denounce the closure of the Oceti Sakowin camp. The lawmakers, who jointly led 21 Members of Congress in urging President Obama to deescalate the tension at Standing Rock in a November 14 letter, noted today that circumstances since then have only deteriorated:
“[H]eadlines of mass injuries, frigid water being sprayed at demonstrators in sub-freezing temperatures, and of rubber bullets and similar anti-riot weapons being fired at peaceful, unarmed civilians, make it clear that this situation is only getting worse. Additionally, the Army Corps of Engineers letter announcing the closure of the Oceti Sakowin camp to demonstrators represents a concerning and disappointing course of action by the federal government.
“We question the plan and reasoning given by the Army Corps of Engineers to close the Oceti Sakowin camp to the Water Protectors. The members of the Standing Rock Sioux and the hundreds of Americans who join them in opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline are constitutionally protected in their right to peaceably assemble.”
Eureka – The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District (HBMWD) announced today that Ruth Reservoir, the source of water supply to over 80,000 residents of the Humboldt Bay area, has filled for the first time in Water Year 2016-17 (which started on October 1, 2016). The reservoir holds 48,030 acre-feet of water when full, or 15.65 billion gallons.
Also since October 1, 15.58” of rainfall had accumulated as of midnight of November 23. This represents 258% of the normal amount of rainfall during that period. Additional rainfall on November 23 and through the rest of Thanksgiving week is expected to cause the reservoir to rise further, providing additional flow over the spillway at Matthews Dam, which impounds Ruth Reservoir. During October and November, HBMWD has been running its hydropower plant up to its capacity of 1350 megawatts, with 250 cubic feet per second of water flowing through both turbines (or approximately 134 million gallons per day).
The following graphs show lake levels in 2015 and 2016, as well as power production and river flows below the dam. This is the earliest in the water year that Ruth Reservoir has filled during the past ten years. Drought conditions did not exist on the Mad River last year, and so far, Water Year 2016-17 has been one of the wettest on record.
Formed in 1956, HBMWD supplies water to seven municipal water supply agencies, including the Cities of Arcata, Blue Lake and Eureka, and the following Community Services Districts: Fieldbrook-Glendale, Humboldt, Manila and McKinleyville. HBMWD also provides water directly to approximately 200 residences and businesses in Arcata and on the Samoa Peninsula.
SAN FRANCISCO – Rodney Vincent Ortiz and Vincent Rudy Ortiz (collectively, the defendants) pleaded guilty today in federal court today for their respective roles in the March 21, 2015, drug related shooting and murder on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in Humboldt County, Calif., announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The guilty pleas were accepted by the Honorable Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Judge.
According to the plea agreement, the defendants committed the shooting and murder following a dispute over a drug transaction that took place a week earlier. Vincent Ortiz, 27, of Willow Creek, Calif., admits he sold what was supposed to be a pound of marijuana to Victim 1, a resident and member of the reservation.
When Victim 1 complained that the amount of marijuana was less than a pound, Vincent eventually traveled with his father, Rodney Ortiz, 54, to Victim 1’s residence to resolve the dispute. Rodney Ortiz admits he brought a loaded firearm to the residence; Vincent Ortiz admits he knew Rodney Ortiz brought the loaded firearm and that it was foreseeable his father would use the weapon to shoot Victim 1.
When the defendants arrived at the residence, they encountered a group of people inside. An argument ensued between Victim 1 and Rodney Ortiz, resulting in Rodney Ortiz shooting Victim 1 and Victim 2 in the head. Rodney Ortiz then shot Victim 3 in the head and shoulder before fleeing the scene with his son, Vincent.
Victim 1 died as a result of the shooting, but Victims 2 and 3 managed to survive. In his plea agreement, Vincent Ortiz admits he aided and abetted Rodney Ortiz’s use, carrying, and discharging of the firearm in furtherance of and in relation to the drug conspiracy and the resulting murder of Victim 1. Vincent Ortiz also acknowledges in his plea agreement that he reasonably could have foreseen the shootings of Victims 2 and 3.
A federal grand jury indicted the defendants on December 17, 2015. In the indictment, the defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(D), use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) and 2; and use of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime causing murder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) and 2, obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C) and (k), and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
Pursuant to today’s plea agreement, the defendants both pleaded guilty to one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and one count of use of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime causing the murder of Victim 1.
The defendants are next scheduled to appear before Judge Seeborg on May 2, 2017, for a sentencing hearing. The maximum statutory penalties for use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime are life imprisonment, and a mandatory minimum term of 10 years imprisonment, to be imposed consecutive to any other term of imprisonment.
The maximum statutory penalty for use of a firearm causing murder is life imprisonment. Each crime carries a maximum term of 5 years supervised release and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Hopkins is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lance Libatique and Jessica Meegan. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, Eureka Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.